Nina Shea, Paul Marshall

Is the international community facing a suppression of the freedom of religion and speech in the face of Sharia law? If so, will the world be dominated by theology, rather than democratic principles? Director of the Center for Religious Freedom at the Hudson Institute, Nina Shea and her colleague, Paul Marshall join Frank to discuss their new book, Silenced: How Apostasy and Blasphemy Codes are Choking Freedom Worldwide. Shea and Marshall give us an insight into the world, where fear of violence for speaking out against Sharia is leading to massive self-censorship. Additionally, the State Department has issued a memorandum to their employees barring them from saying such words as “Salafi, liberty, and jihadist.” Is this memo a way of curbing racism in the workplace or another example of the growing influence of Sharia?

 

Why are American leaders like Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton working with organizations such as the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to abolish negative speech about Islam? Isn’t this just an example of stripping Americans of their freedom of speech? If so, while do these same leaders continue to stress the importance of the freedom of speech? Moreover, why are people being put on trial on blasphemy charges in democratic European countries such as Italy and the Netherlands simply for expressing their opinions on Islam and Sharia?