More free speech death in Seattle

There are many things that are Haram, or forbidden in Islam: dogs, beer, levis, laughing, Driving if your a woman, many things you cannot do because Muhammad did not do them.  One of those is draw any depiction of people, especially Muhammad or Allah.  Therefore it is not surprising that
Molly Norris, cartoonist in Seattle would now have to disappear because she dared to draw Muhammad, and encourage others to do the same.

Fatwa issued, life over.  Thank you Islam.

The Death of Free Speech in Seattle

Earlier this year, a cartoonist named Molly Norris decided to create "Draw Muhammad Day" in response to the Islamic agitation over similar cartoons, particularly the drawing of Muhammad with a bomb on his head by Dutch cartoonist Kurt Westergaard.  She wanted to point out the stupidity of calling for the death of cartoonists by encouraging everyone to draw, thus deflating the cries for revenge.  She was immediately threatened and so she shut down her facebook page and apologized publicly.  That would be the end of the story, right?

   No it wasn't.  As of today, Sept 15, 2010 she is no longer Molly Norris.  Anwar Al-Awlaki, the American-born imam who is linked to  jihadist activity in the United States, including the Fort Hood jihad assassin, the Christmas underwear jihad bomber, and even 9/11, has issued a fatwa calling for her death.  In response, the FBI has her "going ghost", a nice little moniker for giving up your life as you knew it and taking to hiding for the rest of your life.  She has effectively disappeared, her life as Molly Norris done, and all due to Islamic doctrine which demands death for anyone who "insults" Islam. 

   Her witness protection program is, unfortunately not paid for by the government so she must pony up whatever it takes to maintain her ghost status, a departure from virtually all other witness protection plans where it is the feds who pay the cost to keep these people who put their lives on the line alive and well.  Why is her situation so different that she is forced to provide for her own security where others are not?

   Another question this situation begs: where is Obama on Molly’s free speech rights, the first amendment and what it means to protect the absolute right to speak ones mind?  As James Taranto points out in a recent podcast through his work with the Wall Street Journal "Last month, speaking to a mostly Muslim audience at the White House, the president strongly defended the right of another imam held up as a moderate to build a mosque adjacent to Ground Zero. Now Molly Norris, an American citizen, is forced into hiding because she exercised her right to free speech. Will President Obama say a word on her behalf? Does he believe in the First Amendment for anyone other than Muslims?"  For the moment the White House is silent and as the days pass with no word from Obama the appearance of capitulation to Muslim sensibilities over an Americans guaranteed right seems more plausible.

   Molly Norris as a cartoonist sees the world with a different view, thus her humorous, throw-away line when responding to the fact that now she will have to always look over her shoulder when outdoors "Well, at least it'll keep me from being so self-involved!  Her comment about this being a similar situation to having cancer: it might basically be nothing, it might be urgent and serious, it might go away and never return, or it might pop up again when she least expects it rings of optimism and rationality yet when it comes to a Islamic fatwa issued by a most devoted jihadist, Anwar Al-Awlaki one needs a more pragmatic approach.  Al-Awlaki tells Muslims that Ms Norris ""should be taken as a prime target of assassination" and there are plenty of Muslims who take his word as law and will try to execute his order. 

   To be as safe as possible Molly Norris needs to understand that her fourth choice with this "cancer", popping up when least expected will probably end up being the most likely to happen.  Those today under Islamic death fatwas: Geert Wilders, Ayyan Hirsi Ali, Robert Spencer, Salman Rushdi and others all must live with constant security, both for their personal and public life.  They understand that at any time they can be attacked, and possibly killed by those practitioners of the "religion of peace".

   First they came for the cartoonists, and I said nothing.  Then they came for the pundits, and I said nothing.  Then they came for the reader, and there was no one willing to speak for me.

Anyone?  Hello!?  Anobody?