Hirsi Ali Book Censored

UPI reports that the Finnish translation of a book by Ayaan Hirsi Ali is missing passages that are critical of Islam.

Hirsi Ali, a member of the Dutch Parliament, said that the Finnish publisher of the book, Otava Publishers, had asked for permission to omit the passage in which she described Mohammed as a ‘pervert and a tyrant’ because it might be found to be offensive by Muslims, Helsingin Sanomat reported.

However, she did not give permission for any such omission.

At Otava, Tero Norkola, head of publishing at the company`s non-fiction department, was unaware of the missing passage when Helsingin Sanomat contacted him. He said that he is certain that Otava did not deliberately order the cut.

I personally don’t agree with Ayaan Hirsi Ali, but I do not believe that her opinions should be excised from any book bearing her name. The case is a little muddy, since the book in question is actually a collection of articles that originally appeared in two different books, but if it turns out to be true, then it’s a clear violation of freedom of speech.