"Europe has moved on to the next tragic stage of its civilizational suicide: rationalizing its surrender."

It seems to Mark Steyn that

...the most powerful European institutions (courts, media, police, bureaucracy) are increasingly eager to shovel core western liberties into the landfill. ...Following The Mark Steyn Show's Free Speech Forum, many readers have asked me to comment on the recent decision by the European Court of Human Rights, summarized in this headline:

Calling Prophet Muhammad a Pedophile Does Not Fall Within Freedom of Speech: European Court

There was "no violation" of freedom of expression because the courts "carefully balanced" freedom of expression with the right of others to have their religious feelings protected - and came down on the side of protecting feelings rather than freedom of expression.

...If your right to free speech has to be balanced with people's "feelings", then as a practical matter there is no free speech.

There is also no truth: It is not the defendant who "had made statements suggesting that Muhammad had had paedophilic tendencies" but the Hadith, which after the Koran are the most sacred foundational texts of Islam and in whose literal truth Muslims are enjoined to believe:

[60] What about he, who consummated a marriage with a girl of nine

5158- Urwa narrated: The Messenger of Allah 'Allah's blessing and peace be upon him' married A'isha when she was six years old and consummated his marriage with her when she was nine. She remained with him nine years (till he died).

So it's not that it's illegal to "suggest" that the Big Mo "had paedophilic tendencies", it's just illegal to suggest there's anything wrong with that.

...There will be much more of this: In the interests of "religious peace", the prohibitions of Islam are being extended to infidels, and the linguistic contortions of courts and media and police and bureaucrats confirm that Europe has moved on to the next tragic stage of its civilizational suicide: rationalizing its surrender.

Read more here.