Not a Religious Zealot
I am not a religious zealot. I claim to be a moderate Muslim and probably the biggest supporter of freedom of expression. However, recently I stumbled across the blasphemous video that almost all of us are cognizant of- “innocence of Muslims.”
My reaction was just like every other Muslim’s across the globe. Yes, I was outraged. My religious sentiments had been hurt and I needed to vent out my exasperation.
However, what astounded me was our government’s reaction to this fiasco. Our esteemed officials were in a quandary, that is, to block the link or to not block the link whilst secular countries across the globe took immediate action.
Apparently, United States of America has ratified Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which recognizes freedom of expression as a human right. Is this a recent development that I was unaware of or is it only applicable where Muslims are concerned? Do they fail to understand that it has been further elucidated in the law that it is subjected to certain restrictions?
This kind of freedom of expression has incited violence across the globe. It has played a vital role in inundating feelings of resentment towards Islam in the West and vice versa. Why are the feelings of Muslims not taken into account when negative connotations are attached to the word they associate themselves with. Yes! I foist the blame on the advocates of freedom of expression who are responsible for the exponential rise in racism and violence across the globe.
I am not insinuating that I condone the assassination of the American ambassador in Lebanon because my religion has taught me to be steadfast and peaceful. (iE Editorial Board adds: It is an Islamic teaching that no man should be punished for another man’s crime)
It is imperative that we take a stand and peacefully protest against this malicious act but apparently the phrase “peaceful procession” has not existed in our dictionaries since Ghandi’s initiation of his passive resistance movement in the 20th century.
The purpose of this blog was to not victimize the Muslim ummah but to plead with them to help morph the image of Muslims as not terrorists but intellectuals who are capable of bringing about a positive change.
No related posts.
Sham Freedom of Speech.
What about so called Freedom of speech viz-a-viz Holocaust? What about antisemitism? Can advocates of Freedom of Speech dare to speak against aforementioned subjects? Each and every social media site warrants a protocol to subscribers which legally binds users to respect others by not using racial slurs, filthy criticism, blatant abuse, defamation words, false accusations, unethical language, blasphemy descriptions etc. These sites also warn violators to black list them and in some extreme cases a legal action against them. How Youtube so conveniently let this blasphemy trailer published on the site and the worst part defended it by saying it did not violate site’s subscribing requirements? Hypocrites, isn’t it? This is sham Freedom of Speech. It is a smoke screen for anti-Muslim activities. These type of people and media is promoting hatred against Muslims because they believe only their Religion and Religious Personalities are sacred. Islam teaches not to exploit others but also not let others exploit you.
I really approve the author’s view on this controversy at hand. We are the ones who have to create a positive image about our religion. Not get provoked by such shams and ridiculous attempts to spread unrest and violence in our countries. The reaction of our Ummah has been heart-wrenching indeed. It is sad to see us destroy our own homes. We should not be affected by such provocative steps by the Western Media. The Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H) never replied to any abuses and wished well for even his worst enemies. He forgave whenever he could. The stronger is not the one who is stronger in strength and power but one who is steadfast and patient. We cannot reach such an elevated level of excellence but we have been told to follow his lead and to treat him as our role model and do as much as we can.
Well first and foremost, I am not muslim and I am not a politican activist whatsoever. I know that everyone is entitled to freedom of speech. Here in South Africa an artist painted a picture of the president (Jacob Zuma) with his genitalia showing, he was expressing himself. I looked up the matter and a lot of other cartoonists and artists have done the same with other world leaders. My question is this:”does the freedom of expression mean people are allowed to mock other people to get their points accross? Because I am christian and I understood why the muslims would feel insulted by that video. I personally think the freedom of expression law is too one sided, and people like the creators of that movie are taking advantage.
I think the is a need to revise the freedom of expression laws since I think in certain scenarios it does more harm than good.