Literature Suppressed on Religious Grounds

Galileo Galilei February 15, 1564 - January 8, 1642

Dialogue concerning the two chief world systems

Nicolaus Copernicus (building on work by Aristarchus of Samos ~ 200 B.C.)

16th century

On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Bodies

Galileo Galilei

Dialogue concerning the two chief world systems

Dialogue between:Salviati - representing GalileoSagredo - an intelligent laymanSimplicio – an Aristotelian

Galileo Galilei

Dialogue concerning the two chief world systems

• Summoned before the Inquisition• Charged with teaching and defending the Copernican

doctrine that holds that the Sun is at the center of the universe and that the earth moves (a doctrine that had been deemed heretical in 1616)

• Ordered to kneel while his sentence was read• It was declared that he was “vehemently suspect of

heresy”. • Galileo was made to recite and sign a formal abjuration

Galileo Galilei

Dialogue concerning the two chief world systems

“I have been judged vehemently suspect of heresy, that is, of having held and believed that the sun in the centre of the universe and immoveable, and that the earth is not at the center of same, and that it does move. Wishing however, to remove from the minds of your Eminences and all faithful Christians this vehement suspicion reasonably conceived against me, I abjure with a sincere heart and unfeigned faith, I curse and detest the said errors and heresies, and generally all and every error, heresy, and sect contrary to the Holy Catholic Church.”

Galileo Galilei

Dialogue concerning the two chief world systems

• Sentenced to house arrest• Remained there the rest of his life

Ahmed Salman Rushdie (a.k.a. Sir Salman Rushdie) (born June 19, 1947, Bombay [now Mumbai], India

The Satanic Verses

• Some adventures in the book depict a character modeled on the Prophet Muhammad

• Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini of Iran condemned the book and issued a fatwā against Rushdie

• Bounty offered to anyone who would execute Rushdie

Malala Yousafzai(born July 12, 1997, Mingora, Swat Valley, Pakistan)

spoke out publicly against the Taliban’s prohibition on the education of girls

• When 11 years old gave speech at local press club: “How Dare the Taliban Take Away My Basic Right to Education?”

• speech was publicized throughout Pakistan• Taliban shut down all girls’ schools in Swat

and blew up more than 100 of them

Malala Yousafzai(born July 12, 1997, Mingora, Swat Valley, Pakistan)

spoke out publicly against the Taliban’s prohibition on the education of girls

• Became a blogger on BBC under an alias• Made television appearances• awarded Pakistan’s first National Youth Peace

Prize in 2011• Shot in the head by a Taliban gunman while

she was en route home from school in 2012

Malala Yousafzai(born July 12, 1997, Mingora, Swat Valley, Pakistan)

spoke out publicly against the Taliban’s prohibition on the education of girls

• Taken to Britain for treatment• Survived the assassination attempt• Awarded United Nations Human Rights

Prize in 2013• Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize (jointly

with Kailash Satyarthi of India)

Hate speech?

Black’s Law Dictionary (17th ed.)“Speech that carries no meaning other than the expression of hatred for some group, such as a particular race, esp. in circumstances where the communication is likely to provoke violence.”

Fighting words?Black’s Law Dictionary (17th ed.)1. Inflammatory speech that might not be

protected by the First Amendment’s free-speech guarantee because it might incite a violent response.

2. Inflammatory speech that is pleadable in mitigation – but not in defense – of a suit for assault

Nigeria Counts 100 Deaths Over Danish CaricaturesBy LYDIA POLGREEN

The violence linked to anger over cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad has reignited old ethnic and political tensions between Nigeria's Muslims and Christians. (New York Times February 24, 2006)

What do you think?