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Finally, a horrible new type of censorship -- killing writers and publishers -- emerged in the current era of faith-based slaughter.
Islam is based on a belief that the angel Gabriel dictated the Quran to Muhammad -- but in 1988 Muslim-born novelist Salman Rushdie wrote The Satanic Verses, which contains dream scenes subtly lampooning the faith's basic claim. Muslims around the world exploded in rage and rioting. The Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran issued a fatwa calling on Muslims to murder Rushdie and his publishers. Iran posted million-dollar rewards for any killers. The author was hidden with round-the-clock police protection, but one of his translators was stabbed to death and two others wounded. In 1993 at Sivas, Turkey, a mob of worshippers from a mosque attacked a hotel hosting an arts conference that featured a writer who had attempted to publish Rushdie's book. Enraged attackers set fire to the hotel and killed thirty-seven people.
Another example: A satirical French magazine, Charlie Hebdo, repeatedly mocked Islam in writings and cartoons. In early 2015 armed Muslim attackers stormed the publication's Paris office and killed a dozen people. Various other religion-driven murders -- a supreme form of censorship -- have occurred.
Free speech and press are a central liberal ideal, but they can incur danger under this new menace.
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