Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff is a woman caught up in extraordinary times. She has been hectored, vilified, persecuted and prosecuted for the grave offense of telling the truth about Mohammed and his “marriage” to a very young child as related in Islamic sacred literature.
Her case has exposed the grave danger to freedom of speech (and thus, freedom of thought itself) in Europe. She fought bravely in the legal arena through the Austrian courts and on to the European Court of Human Rights to defend her freedom (and by extension the rights of all Europeans), to freely voice her opinion.
She lost.
In Europe, human rights are no longer thought to be intrinsic to the individual as a gift given by God, but are rather thought to be a gift of the state, which can be limited and revoked at will. This is a dangerous development and it has already made its way here.
The book, written for Americans but applicable to UK, is an updated, revised version of her 2019 book The Truth is No Defense, begins by relating Elisabeth’s life’s odyssey, living in a number of Muslim countries even as a young child. Her father served in the Austrian diplomatic corps. She was living in Iran when the Islamic Revolution broke out. Later, she too followed the path of diplomatic service and gained extensive experience working in the Muslim world. She was living in Kuwait when Saddam Hussein invaded. Elisabeth knows whereof she speaks.
Her book serves as a warning call, because she believes that there are many willing to preserve their God-given right to free speech and because there is still still enough freedom to fight for freedom. Freedom of expression the basis for all freedom. There is no other freedom without it.
A key quote from the book:
"The appeals court verdict is interesting, but even more shocking than the first guilty verdict. The judge explained that while it is certainly within the law to say that “Mohammed had sex with a 9-year-old,” calling this spade a spade is considered “excessive” and thus “denigrating.” Imagine that you were no longer allowed to call a murderer “heinous” because you might be convicted of having an “excessive” opinion as a result."
Rread more about Elisabeth’s fight for freedom of expression in the Austrian and European justice systems. The book is available at Amazon in paperback and Kindle formats as well as most booksellers.