From Wire Service Canada:
Author Paris Dipersico has been discharged from Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital after he was dragged into a forest and beaten unconscious by two male assailants Wednesday morning. Police said the victim’s hands were bound and Det. Sgt. Anthony Odoardi said they are confident the attack was targeted due to the controversial nature of his book Wake Up Call.
Co-author Gabrielle Dipersico’s home was broken into just a day after the assault and they have received death threats by Muslim extremists for insulting Islam. The Police are currently conducting an investigation along with a safety plan for the authors.
Wake Up Call has angered several religious groups, family members and it was rejected by over a dozen publishers for being “extremely controversial” and “inflammatory.”
I thought it worth noting the author’s description of the book’s main character: “Although being brought up in a Muslim household, yet he questions the very existence of God and says: “Islam is a religion of ‘peace’ and Muslims will kill you to prove it.”
But so what? Whether the author’s views are politically correct or insane, what matters is that these threats are carried over into real world violence. And the motivation is islamic religious piety trying to police the rights and freedoms of others through intimidation and violence. This reveals why, at their core, islam and enlightenment values are in direct conflict. People need to choose which side they are on.
tildeb
Questionable Motives 
So how seriously should comedian and late night talk show host David Letterman take the fatwa directed against him? Here are the top ten thoughts that crossed his mind when her heard.
Speaking of fatwas, let’s see just how much ‘respect’ sharia law under islam grants to the testimony of women when a 14 year old girl and her mother accuse the father of rape over the past five years (fatwa 156817).
Comment by tildeb — August 24, 2011 @ 2:21 pm |
Wake Up Call “was rejected by over a dozen publishers for being “extremely controversial” and “inflammatory.”
Don’t they know that books that are “extremely controversial” and “inflammatory” sell and may join the ranks of other “extremely controversial” and “inflammatory” books like Origin of Species, Lady Chatterly’s Lover and Catcher in the Rye.
Wake Up Call is published by Createspace and is available on Amazon.ca
“Wake Up Call has angered several religious groups.” This means that at least one member of each of the “several religious groups” has read the book. That’s amazing since it is a relatively obscure book.
When the “two male assailants” end up in jail, they can spend their time pondering this: by attacking Dipersico, they have guaranteed that Dipersico and his book will come to the attention of more people and will be purchased and read by more people.
PS: Please don’t tell me that I have just described the Streisand Effect; that phenomenon existed long before the Internet.
Comment by Veronica Abbass — August 24, 2011 @ 6:10 pm |
Yep – just like Salman Rushdie – I had never heard of the bloke until hi life was threatened… ironic isn’t it.
Still democratic governments do not learn either, the more they hype up terrorism the more effective it becomes. The more airport scanners, the more searches, flight regulations and security check points, stupid privacy eroding laws etc. the more impact the extremists have on our way of life and our freedoms.
Comment by misunderstoodranter — August 29, 2011 @ 5:29 pm |