A landmark ‘hate speech’ trial in Finland could banish Christianity from the public square

Jan 21, 2022 by Jill

by Michael Cook, MercatorNet:

A distinguished MP is accused of lèse-majesté against the LGBTQI+ lobby.

Hate speech is a Thing. People do incite others to violence and they do vilify their enemies. In India, hate speech by prominent Hindu figures against Muslims is vicious and unrelenting, notwithstanding laws that ban it.

This week a militant Hindu priest, Yati Narsinghanand Saraswati, was arrested over speeches he gave at an event the city of Haridwar. “We have no trust in the Supreme Court and constitution,” he said. “This constitution is book for the murder of 100 crore [ten million] Hindus. Those who believe in it will be killed. Those who believe in this system, police, politicians and Army, they will die like dogs.”

Narsinghanand was temperate compared to his colleagues. Other speakers openly called for violence against Muslims. Pooja Shakun Pandey, a woman who is the leader of Hindu Mahasabha, a radical Hindu party, told the crowd: “If you want to eliminate their population then kill them. Be ready to kill and be ready to go to jail.”

That is what any sane person would call “hate speech”.

Now let’s move to consider a very different woman and a very different country and culture, Finland. A long-serving member of Parliament and former a Minister of the Interior, Päivi Räsänen, will stand trial on Monday, accused of hate speech against homosexuals.

Her offence? A tweet that she posted in 2019 which was directed at her church leadership for supporting an event organised by Helsinki Pride, a LGBTQI+ organisation.

Read here