About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline

LOG IN
LOG IN


16 Tulsa J. Comp. & Int'l L. 1 (2008-2009)
Freedom of Expression and Hate Speech

handle is hein.journals/tulcint16 and id is 3 raw text is: FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AND HATE SPEECH Onder Bakircioglu* Sir, I do not share your views, but I would risk my life for your right to express them. - Voltaire I. INTRODUCTION Not very long ago, it was believed that the sun rotated around the earth, that unicorns existed, toads were poisonous, and that there could be no men living in the antipodes as it was believed they would fall off. Not until the 16th Century was the efficacy of witchcraft questioned, and those who dared to question this superstition were burned at the stake.2 Similarly, the legitimacy of servitude was not questioned for many centuries. All these absolute doctrines are discarded and new truths have replaced the old ones. No doubt, some of today's truths will share the same fate one day. Moreover, some scholars who are now universally acknowledged to be remarkably virtuous were condemned or dishonoured in their own time. Socrates, for instance, was condemned to drink the hemlock because of his unorthodox views. Giordano Bruno was burnt alive by the Inquisition. Servetus Michael was branded as a heretic and executed by Calvinists.3 In short, throughout history, those who held untraditional views were despised and silenced. This, to a certain extent, holds true even today, although the methods of * Onder Bakircioglu, lecturer in law, Queen's University Belfast. I would like to express my gratitude to Professor Kevin Boyle, Professor Caroline Fennell, Olufemi Amao and Joanna Heffernan for their constructive criticism and suggestions. 1. Francious Marie Arouet, Voltaire, 1694-1778 (quotation attributed to Voltaire although not found in any of his writings). 2. BERTRAND RUSSELL, UNDERSTANDING HISTORY: AND OTHER ESSAYS 61-62 (Philosophical Library 1957). 3. ld at 66; see Ben Clarke, Freedom of Speech and Criticism of Religion: What are the Limits, 14 MURDOCH U. ELEC. L.J. 94, 95-98 (2007).