Monday, April 2, 2007

German Hardware Store "Obi" Threatens Blogger to Protect Muslim Feelings

The German hardware store "Obi" first withdrew its ad campaign to have huge posters of the seven world wonders on the store floors because one of the wonders is the Taj Mahal, which apparently has the Koran text on it, and Muslims might be offended by unbelievers walking on a copy of the Koran (and Muslims are easily offended).

The real problem with Obi came when it threatened a well-known blogger (PoliticallyIncorrect.de) with legal action if it didn't remove an article that was critical of Obi for being overly sensitive to (potential and possibly faked) feelings of Muslims. Succinctly: Obi stifled the free speech of a western blogger in order to appease some Muslims that would want to control what images we are allowed to display.

My suggestion: Don't buy at Obi if you want to send the message that you value freedom. There are numerous other hardware stores in Germany.

Source: OBI: Vor Moslems kuschen - Bloggern drohen!