A Welcome Victory for Freedom of Expression
By Douglas Farah
Today brings the welcome news that the Islamic Society of Boston has folded its cards in the middle of the discovery process, and dropped its defamation lawsuit against Steve Emerson's Investigative Project and several Boston-area news organizations.
Like CAIR and other groups before it who have brought law suits primarily aimed at silencing their critics through legal intimidation, the ISB found that, unlike Saudi Arabia and other Wahhabist/Salafist societies, there are still some principles underlying U.S. law that make bullying more difficult, whether the name of Allah is invoked or not.
It is an expensive proposition to defend oneself against the harassment lawsuits of the Islamists, and they have clearly figured that out. The threat of lawsuits, or real lawsuits that are frivolous in nature but costly to defend against, have become one of the new, favorite weapons of these groups.
Unfortunately, there is some effect. People get tired of the cost and the hassle and simply shut up.
Not so this time, where the IP and media outlets launched an aggressive and ultimately completely successful counterattack. The Islamist groups are used to bullying their way into the political dialogue, corridors of power and the media. They don't like push back. Every time it has come the groups have walked away because to proceed their true ties would be placed under public scrutiny, not something any of those groups want. My full blog is here.
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