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Press Freedom Day is being celebrated in the Islamic world, according to this report from the Saudi government "Arab News." The Organization of Islamic Conference has endorsed press freedom with one little catch. Here's the money quote:

The OIC has always underscored the importance of ensuring freedoms for all, chief among which is the freedom of expression. The organization has demanded that journalists performing their professional duties be protected.

However, the pan-Islamic organization said that with freedom comes responsibility. "The publication of the blasphemous caricatures of the Prophet (peace be upon him) last September and its ramifications, have provided each and everyone with the absolute evidence of the consequences of non-abidance by these regulations," the statement said.

"Therefore, the organization demands that an international legislation or a code of conduct be issued affirming the need to prevent dissemination of hatred, premeditated defamation and incitement of denigration," it added.

Freedom of the press, then, is ok so long as it complies with Islamic censorship. Orwell had a names for this: "newspeak" and "doublethink."

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Islam