OnBackground

An online journal of politics, policy, and society with a special focus on Maryland -- Contact: on_background at yahoo.com.

Wednesday, July 20, 2005

Cameras in Mosques?

As anti-terrorism hysteria sweeps the globe, otherwise rational people are agreeing to give up ever more of their liberty and privacy in a vain effort to be safe. One of the more perplexing choices is how far to allow cameras into our lives. The following is one that makes this writer nervous:

"And, Bavarian interior minister Gunther Beckstein has suggested that cameras should be installed in German mosques to enable government agents to monitor and censor inflammatory remarks by Islamic leaders in the fight against terrorism."