It looks like there's a lot more nuanced in there than criticising Islam. Trying to convince people that all Muslims are pedophiles is a bit different than calling Mohammad a pedophile
You are equating criticizing a religion with spreading hate speech. Islam or any religion is not "off the table in terms of discussion". Many European countries, including Germany, simply don't want people crossing the lines into speech that can incite people to harm others.
> simply don't want people crossing the lines into speech that can incite people to harm others.
I think that's very very far from simple, since it necessarily requires the government slowly align, and converge, with those people, so they they are never offended and never cause harm.
> since it necessarily requires the government slowly align, and converge, with those people, so they they are never offended and never cause harm.
"Those people" are not the ones who dictate whether something is hate speech. Whether someone is offended is not a factor in hate speech laws. When I said "incite people to harm others" I am talking about physical harm or violence. It is perfectly legal to offend people in Germany.
General offense, usually only prosecuted if the offended wants it (but the prosecutor has discretion to proceed without). Harsher punishments if the offended is a politician.
I don't know what your point is here. You are citing particular laws in which a party is likely to be offended like public sex, defamation, and desecration of a flag. But the crime isn't that offense was caused. That offense is the byproduct of the actual crime.
Plus many of those are illegal in other countries too. You can't have public sex or defame people in the US either, but no one would say it is illegal to offend people.
FYI Austria and Germany haven't been a unified country in three quarters of a century.
My original comment was about laws against misinformation in Germany. That doesn't mean I endorse or need to defend all free speech laws in all of Europe.
Taking Islam out of the equation do you think it’s a good idea for any religion to actually be off the table in terms of discussion?