As I have intimated before, when different freedoms clash, I would rank the freedom of religion as less important, in some respects, than the freedoms to express, develop, and debate ideas and concepts. Competition in the marketplace for ideas is much more important to me than whatever freedoms people might seek for their religious beliefs.
For the most part, there will be no conflict between the freedoms of religion, speech, and press. But sometimes some religions have held (or currently hold) that heretics or infidels should be killed. They further hold that others who question the religion should not be allowed to do so. Those are examples of what I have in mind. Here is another, current example [h/t BenS, JM]:
A novel about the Prophet Mohammed and his child bride, which has already caused controversy in the United States and Serbia, will be released in Britain next month, its publisher said Wednesday.
Publishing house Gibson Square, known for having sold other controversial books, such as Alexander Litvinenko's "Blowing Up Russia", said it was "imperative" that "The Jewel of Medina" by American author Sherry Jones be available to the public.
Random House announced last month that it had cancelled publication of the book -- a fictional account of the Prophet's relationship with his youngest bride Aisha -- in the United States, saying it had been informed by credible sources that the book could incite violence.
The book was also released in Serbia last month, but was withdrawn after protests from the local Muslim community.
Martin Rynja, publishing director at Gibson Square, said, however, that in "an open society there has to be open access to literary works, regardless of fear."
"As an independent publishing company, we feel strongly that we should not be afraid of the consequences of debate," he added.
Let's hear it for Gibson Square Books, Ltd! The Jewel of Medina is scheduled for release about October 30, 2008. As might be expected (unfortunately!) it is not available for pre-shipment order from either Amazon.com or from Amazon.ca; however, it is available for pre-shipment order from Amazon.co.uk:
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