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Visiting Fellow Fred Thompson

You might have heard about the lawsuit brought by a radical Islamic advocacy group against passengers on a US Airways flight. Their offense was reporting suspicious behavior to the flight crew. According to reports, six Muslim men took up positions inside the plane similar to those taken by the 9/11 hijackers and vocally condemned America.

If the lawsuit goes forward, even if it fails, airline passengers will be far less willing to share information that might prevent another terrorist tragedy.

This problem pales in comparison to what’s going on in much of Europe today where the courts are being used to criminalize politically incorrect debate about Islam, though rarely Christianity or Judaism. One notable victim was Italian author and ex-resistance fighter Oriana Fallaci.

First, a Swiss court ordered her arrested for criticizing Islamic violence. Later, an Italian court ordered her tried as well. Though fighting cancer, she spent most of her last few years exiled from her own home rather than endure a trial.

A bill was introduced in the house last week to protect passengers from being sued for reporting fishy behavior, but its fate was never clear. Fortunately, New York Representative Peter King surprised the House yesterday by inserting the bill's language into a bill that will almost certainly become law.

The good news is that the vote yesterday will help keep America's courts from being used to squelch free speech. The bad news is that 121 U.S. representatives opposed it.

Fred Thompson is a visiting fellow at AEI.