The Charlie Hebdo attacks in France earlier this month ave given me
many things to ponder, and based off of those I came up with my three
rules for dealing with what is an increasingly delicate topic in the
modern world; religion versus free speech.
Rule number 1: You cannot make fun of faith.
Rule number 2: One cannot offend, make war, or kill in the name of God or one’s religion.
Rule number 3: One should be able to have freedom of speech (within limits).
Religious conflict has been around for centuries, including the
conquest of Canaan by the Israelites in the Book of Joshua, but it’s a
problem that still continues in our modern society. People want to be
able to speak their minds, when others feel offended if they do.
The three days of terror that happened in France this January are no different.
Charlie Hedbo,
a French satirical magazine, suffered the largest terrorist attack in
France since 2011 for what is a presumed response to a number of
controversial cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed.
The irreverent political-cartoon newspaper stands for freedom of
speech, describing themselves as non-conformists, secular, and atheist,
and have been known to poke fun not only at Islam, but at any religion
that they see fit.
The latest in a line of cartoons published by Charlie Hedbo, that
offended the Muslim community and lead to the bloody massacre, has
Prophet Mohammed naked with a star placed on his behind along with the
saying: “Mohammed: A star is born!”
Here is the question though, how is that not offensive to the Muslim community?
There is no joke or humor in this cartoon. One cannot get laughs from others suffering.
Pope Francis, The Holy Father, spoke against Charlie Hedbo: “There is
a limit. Every religion has its dignity. I cannot mock a religion that
respects human life and the human person. He latter added on “If [a
close friend] says a swear word against my mother, he’s going to get a
punch in the nose. One cannot provoke, one cannot insult other people’s
faith, and one cannot make fun of faith.”
Even though I agree with
Pope Francis
and respect religion’s integrity, I do not stand for criminals and
terrorist. What Charlie Hedbo did was provocative and immoral, however,
it does not give terrorists the means to go take people’s life away.
The English translation of 32
nd verse of Chapter (Surat)
in the Holy Qur’an, states: “Because of that, We decreed upon the
Children of Israel that whoever kills a soul unless for a soul or for
corruption [done] in the land – it is as if he had slain mankind
entirely. And whoever saves one – it is as if he had saved mankind
entirely.”
The story gets controversial because most Muslims are against
terrorism attacks, and claim the Holy Quran, the central religious text
of Islam, which Muslims believe to be a revelation from God, is against
war and acts of terror. In fact, many Muslims believe Islam is the
religion of peace.
So though I as a journalist have a moral obligation
to protect free speech and decry any attempt made by any organization to
take away that liberty from others, there is a fine line between
exercising your rights and purposefully taunting someone, especially
when it comes to that person’s religious beliefs.
I cannot condone what was done by terrorists in the Charlie Hebdo
shooting, but I do think that provoking a community with such charged
imagery, especially when for many even a illustrated image of their
deity is considered sacrilegious, seems like just asking someone to have
an extreme response.
On that note, let’s live in a world of peace, where we all respect each other and accept them for who they are and what they believe. The war must end.
A version of this was published at The Vista.
