Texas: Free Expression?

May 9, 2015

Published in Semana
(Colombia) on 9 May 2015
by (link to original link to original)

Translated from by India Prout. Edited by Helaine Schweitzer.

Pamela Geller, 56, left her anonymity behind this week after organizing a contest in Dallas, Texas that included caricatures of the prophet Muhammad, and ended in a shooting where the two aggressors died. The contest was designed to mock the symbols of Islam with the representations of the prophet and, as was expected, triggered the anger of Elton Simpson and Nadir Soofi, two Muslim fanatics who were shot by police. Geller –blogger and co-founder of the American Freedom Defense Initiative – argues that the United States must stop the “Islamization of the country” and the advance of Sharia law. Those who defend her assure that her act reaffirms the right to free expression established in the First Amendment of the Constitution. Her arguments were reinforced during the week when it became known that the two gunmen acted on their own, although the Islamic State terrorist organization claimed responsibility for the attack. Nevertheless, the woman has been strongly criticized for her defiant stance and xenophobia.

Pamela Geller, de 56 años, salió del anonimato esta semana tras organizar un concurso en Dallas, Texas, que incluía caricaturas del profeta Mahoma y que terminó en un tiroteo en el que murieron los dos agresores. El concurso pretendía burlarse de los símbolos del islam con las representaciones del profeta y, como era de esperarse, desató la ira de Elton Simpson y Nadir Soofi, dos fanáticos musulmanes que fueron abatidos por la Policía. Geller –bloguera y cofundadora de la iniciativa Defensa de la Libertad Estadounidense– sostiene que Estados Unidos debe detener la “islamización del país” y el avance de la ley sharía. Quienes la defienden aseguran que con su acto reafirmó el derecho a la libre expresión consignado en la primera enmienda de la Constitución norteamericana. Sus argumentos se vieron reforzados durante la semana cuando se supo que los dos pistoleros actuaron por su propia cuenta, a pesar de que la organización terrorista Estado Islámico reivindicó el ataque. No obstante, la mujer ha sido fuertemente criticada por su postura desafiante y xenófoba.

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