Is free speech a license to provoke, insult and offend? Are Muslims justified in their actions? And how would the Prophet of Islam have reacted in similar circumstances?
As some so-called Muslims foolishly continue to defame their own religion, which they claim to believe in, and Islamophobes continue to spew their hatred of Islam under the false guise of 'free speech', we have to look at the issue of what ‘free speech’ actually is. Is there indeed complete freedom of speech to say whatever we wish at any time and place? Living in a pluralistic, open, equal and free society is great. It’s what a modern, fair and just society should be like. However such freedom and openness almost always pave the way for ignorant, narrow minded and intolerant individuals to spout hatred from their mouths justifying it under the label of ‘freedom of speech’. Yes, we do have free speech and it’s a brilliant thing but it certainly doesn't mean that anyone can say anything at any time. We have laws preventing defamation and slander. We have rules and codes of conduct. We have laws against libel in the media. Anything foul or inappropriate is stamped out in online forums and websites. Even offensive comments online can be deleted and the perpetrator can be banned. Schools have rules against swearing and using foul language. Hate speech or any speech which incites hatred or condones violence is illegal. So where is there complete freedom of speech? To say that it is OK to defame, mock and ridicule a personage as great as the Holy Prophet of Islam in the name of free speech is complete double standards, hypocrisy and delusion. No one would mock or defame a Jew for fear of being labelled ‘anti-Semitic’. If a person says anything against homosexuals, he’s called homophobic. A comment against black people is racism, saying something against women is sexism. Yet when it comes to Islam or the Holy Prophet, suddenly we have ‘free speech’. Free speech as with anything has its limits. What is happening here is not free speech nor is it right and acceptable to deliberately provoke the sentiments of 1.6 billion people by purposely abusing the right of free speech. This is not free speech, this is abuse of free speech. People may have the right to offend someone but it does not make mockery, abuse and defamation acceptable in any way whatsoever. To scrutinise, to question and to inquire promotes intellectual advancement and thinking, and has consequently led to great scientific, philosophical and intellectual achievement. In fact, Islam is such a religion which promotes freedom of conscience, intellectual thought and thorough investigation - as opposed to blind faith, wayward thoughts and mindlessly following others. All through the Islamic Holy Book, the Holy Qur’an, God exhorts men to observe and think for themselves and to not blindly follow what their forefathers did. Islam is against blind faith, for blind faith is no faith at all. True faith requires some evidence, signs and proofs and thus the Holy Qur’an is a book which expounds the signs and reasoning which leads a man to perfect truth, certainty and firm conviction - this is true belief, one which is backed up by evidence, reasoned thought and rational arguments. (1) However, freedom of expression is no excuse to insult, defame or mock religions or revered personalities, would you like if your father was mocked? And so said the Pope that if someone was to curse his mother, he could expect a punch.(2) Why deliberately inflame those who have a history of violence and intolerance anyway? One of the founders of Charlie Hebdo, Henri Roussel himself says that the editor practically ‘dragged’ the team to their death by ‘overdoing’ such provocative cartoons. (3) That being said however, what gives some Muslims the right to act in such a barbaric and primitive way? If they had any awareness of their own religion and were truly following the Islam of the Prophet Muhammad, they would do what the Prophet did. Pray. He was the most abused, slandered and ridiculed man of his time yet not once did he resort to violence against words of provocation. Rather he exhorted to goodness and truth while patiently enduring the insults. Abdullah ibn Ubayy was a man hostile to Muhammad who referred to himself as ‘the highest and most honoured’ and said that he would (referring to the Prophet Muhammad) turn out of the town, ‘the most meanest and lowest’. This was a flagrant attempt to incite people against the Prophet Muhammad and undermine the Muslims. At this, the son of Abdullah ibn Ubayy who was a sincere Muslim sought the permission of the Prophet to kill his own father on account of the insult to the Prophet. The Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) refused to have him killed and simply forgave him and took no action towards Ibn Ubayy against the recommendations of some Muslims, rather he exhorted them to treat him with kindness. (4) Instead of responding to provocation of the pen with the sword, Muslims should pick up the pen and fight back. ‘Fight fire with fire’. What sense is there to burn flags, kill innocent people and cause disorder and chaos. Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (peace be on him) claimed to be the Promised Messiah and Imam Mahdi as foretold and awaited by all major religions of the world. He appeared in a small village in India at the turn of the 19th century. He had the following message for the Muslims: “You should know it well that this is not the time to go the battlefield for religious purposes. The battles that were fought during the lifetime of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessing of Allah be upon him, were not meant to convert the non-believers to Islam by force; these battles were fought by the Muslims to defend themselves. When the Muslims were inhumanly tortured and turned out of Mecca and many Muslims had become martyrs, it was then that God commanded them to fight back; this definitely was a defensive measure. Now the times have changed. There is peace everywhere; it is with the pen that Islam is being attacked. That is why it is necessary that pen should be used to rebut the attacks. God the Almighty says in the Holy Quran that you should make preparation to defend yourselves with the same kind of weapons as the opponents happen to use. Think of the preparations that the opponents of Islam are now making. They are not lining up the armies. They are publishing magazines and books. We also should, therefore, pick up our pen and answer their attacks with magazines and books. It is not expedient that the prescription (treatment) and the sickness should be at variance. If the treatment does not conform to the sickness, the consequence is bound to be unprofitable and harmful.” (5) If Muslims had any sense, they would use the same freedom of speech under which people defame Islam, to defend their own religion. Burning flags, killing innocents, rioting and generally acting like animals are no way to react. The actions of Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) and his companions in the face of persecution and ridicule is the antithesis of how some brainwashed Muslims react today. It’s not correct to say though that 1.6 billion Muslims act like animals, the large majority are decent, true, upright and sincere Muslims practising Islam peacefully. But as with any negative news, only the violent and barbaric mostly make the headlines. Free speech works both ways and if some decide to misuse free speech to incite and inflame Muslims, Muslims should take the moral high ground and respond by prayer, good works and patience. After all, that’s what the Prophet Muhammad would have done. References 1. Holy Qur’an 2:100, 3:185, 3:191, 10:25, 13:4, 14:26, 16:12, 30:9, 30:22, 27:156 2. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-30838667 - 15th January 2015 3. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/11346641/Charlie-Hebdo-founder-says-slain-editor-dragged-team-to-their-deaths.html - 14th January 2015 4. The Life and Character of the Seal of Prophets Vol.2 by Hazrat Mirza Bashir Ahmad pages 429-43. Islam International Publications 2013 5. Malfoozat Vol. 8, pg. 20 - https://www.alislam.org/library/malf051.htm
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AuthorAtif Rashid writes about faith, extremism & mental health. Categories
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