A note to the local, national and international Muslim Community

I just saw this local news online:

Local Muslims petition Obama to restrict 'hate speech'

The article:

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - More than 300 local Muslims are petitioning the White House for change.

Members of the Islamic Society of Greater Kansas City tell 41 Action News they have good reasons for wanting to limit first amendment rights. They said their petition to ban language that defames, insults or provokes violence has been sparked by a video that has caused outrage across the globe.

From violent attacks, to angry marches, the "Innocence of Muslims" film has encouraged local Muslims to fight for change.

"Insulting somebody else or putting somebody down can insight violence and lead to people losing their lives. We’re trying not to give these people a chance to misbehave," said Mohammed Kohia, who started the petition along with the executive board of the Islamic Society of Greater Kansas City.

First things, first here--sure, I'm all for a bit of limitation on true "hate speech." Millions of Jews were killed all across Europe due to the inflammation of this type of speech, sure, as just one example.

But what we're talking about here is limiting our Constitutional right of free speech OR ELSE MUSLIMS WILL KILL THE PEOPLE THEY SEE AS OFFENDERS.

It's patently not the same thing.

This is what happened in the last few days in Bangladesh. (see 2nd link below) Someone reportedly put a picture that offended some followers of the Muslim faith on their own Facebook page so thousands of followers of Mohammed took the law into their own hands and burned down Buddhist Temples and 40 people's homes.

And now, apparently, the local Muslim community wants us to limit our free speech, just so they won't have to--what?--go all crazy on us?

No. No, I don't think so.

It's as I said yesterday out on the internet--the entire, rational, educated, peace-loving Muslim world out there needs to come down squarely on the side of logic, sanity and reason and say that the radical Islamists must not, ever again, kill, maim, torture or otherwise go all looney on people just because they perceive Mohammed was defamed in some way. That, ladies and gentlemen, are what judicial courts are for. No one--no one--is supposed to take the law, immediately, into their own hands, as the radical, terrorist Muslim community has done, repeatedly, time and again, across the world.

We need an end to the terrorism and torture and killing, not an end or limitation of free speech.

So, in response to your request to us to limit our speech?

Oh, hell no.

Links: http://www.kshb.com/dpp/lifestyle/local-muslims-petition-president-obama-to-restrict-freedom-of-speech

http://photos.denverpost.com/2012/10/02/photos-thousands-of-muslims-go-on-rampage-burn-more-than-a-dozen-temples/