FRANCE BANS MUSLIM PROTESTS

Published on Sep 22, 2012 by PressTVGlobalNews After a French newspaper sparked global outrage by publishing obscene images of the Prophet Muhammad, the state decided to forbid all protests by Muslims - and their threats have worked. The protestors who expressed themselves were immediately arrested. Curiously, France is denying freedom of expression in order to defend the right to freedom of expression. The newspaper "Charlie Hebdo" is allowed to profit from a second printing of its scandalous cartoons, but Muslim political gatherings are banned to allegedly maintain order. Denying Muslims the right to protest automatically implies that they cannot protest peacefully, despite evidence to the contrary just last week in Paris. But the decision feeds into a common Western narrative of Muslims as people who need to be controlled. France averages 10 protests a day and this year only four have been banned. The nation's well-armed security forces have a lot of experience handling demonstrations so many believe that stopping the protests is a political decision and not out of concern that things could spiral out of control. Ramin Mazaheri, Press TV, Paris