In the wake of what has happened in Paris, I have read many accounts of Muslims condemning the attacks and stating that violence is to be abhorred. That was not at all surprising to me as I of course believe the vast majority of Muslims are good, peaceful people.
One thing that I have noticed however, is that I have not seen a Muslim give such a frank, unconditional statement of support to the principle of free speech. In fact I get the impression that Muslims living in Europe, or more specifically Irish Muslims, may believe freedom of speech should not cover depictions of Muhammed. I am completely open to correction on this as I could have easily missed it.
Take for example the
guidelines regarding Muhammed cartoons released recently by the Islamic cultural centre in Ireland. While these guidelines undoubtedly encourage a positive, thoughtful, and measured response, I would like to point out guideline no 3:
Muslims do believe in freedom of speech. And they do respect the right for people to say what they believe to be correct. However, we all know that there is no such thing as absolute free speech. There are laws to protect the dignity and properties of people. We urge all decent minded Governments and individuals to respect these sensitivities, as we should respect all races and religions. In the struggle for freedom of speech it was never the intention to extend freedom of speech to making fun or insulting customs, traditions, personalities that are sacred to a particular community.
It seems here that the Islamic centre think depictions of Muhammed should not be allowed as, they point out, "there is no such thing as absolute free speech". While it is true that there are & should be limitations to speech, I really think that the depictions of Muhammed in this case should certainly not be one of them. It's important to bear in mind that this guideline is in response to the satirical Charlie Hebdo depictions of Muhammed, and possible reproductions of such in other newspapers, which are valid satire and did not come from a place of hate.
Personally, I am a believer in the principle of freedom of speech. I don't just think that governments should not attempt to coerce or silence people in this way, I think us as individuals or groups should not do it either. I believe this because I think that freedom of speech is one of the foundations of a free society, and if we are truly to believe in it we should follow it ourselves and not just expect governments to (which apparently a lot of Irish people do not agree with, if the famine tv show controversy is anything to go by.) I am not advocating that there should be some law against lobbying, petitioning, protesting to silence some kind of art or satire, I am simply pointing out that it's not something you should do if you say you believe in freedom of speech.
I'll reiterate that I think there should be some limitations to free speech, specifically where it will incite violence or an immediate dangerous situation (shouting 'fire' in a packed cinema, etc.). Again, I do not believe the depictions of Muhammed are covered in these limitations.
I'll also make clear that I think Muslims have every right to be annoyed, disgusted, hurt, etc. I am in no way disputing that and completely understand how these cartoons are offensive to them. My point is that while you can be all these things, I believe it should in no way over-ride someone else's freedom of speech.
The thought occurred to me that perhaps my concept of free speech as I have outlined is incompatible with Islam as it is generally practiced today.
So I suppose my feeling is that I would really like the hear a Muslim say that although they disagree with depictions of Muhammed, they recognise that people should be free to do it. I have not come across this anywhere however and decided to come here to ask any Muslims (Irish or otherwise) if they would say so.
Sorry for the long post and thanks in advance!
