Welcome to Europe, where many say the difference between free speech and hate speech is dictated by left-wing political correctness and fear of Islam.
"Free speech is coming under increasing pressure by the day," Lars Hedegaard, head of the International Free Press Society, told CBN News.
It does not matter if the criticism is factual.
For instance, Islam teaches that when Mohammed was 52, he consummated his marriage to a 9-year-old girl. But when Austrian politician Susanne Winter said that, in today's world, Mohammed would be considered a child molester, she was convicted of hate speech.
Dutch Parliament member Geert Wilders is awaiting trial on the charge of "inciting hatred and discrimination." In Wilders' short film about Islamic violence "Fitna," he simply reprinted violent verses from the Koran itself and added video of radical sermons and photos of Islamic terrorism.
"He's being accused of hate speech for repeating in a film what radical imams and religious leaders have been saying about their own motives and their beliefs," Hedegaard said. "They're not being prosecuted for hate speech. He's being prosecuted for repeating it."
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