Freedom...

The battle between Freedom of Expression and Religious Sensitivities has spilled onto the streets...it was only a matter of time really. Even though I have been following this news for a while(thanx to my over dependence on Google News)I am unable to decide where my loyalties should lie...I am referring to the publication of caricatures of the Prophet in a Danish newspaper in Sept 2005. The motives behind the original publication are definitely questionable, but was republication of the caricatures by the media across the world wrong?

A bit of History first...The Danish daily 'Jyllands-Posten' on 30 September last year printed twelve cartoons of the Prophet. The editor of the "conservative" daily had asked Danish cartoonist to draw Mohammed with the intention of "testing" what kind of reactions this would provoke. He wanted to find out whether the rather large number of Muslim immigrants to Denmark were influencing the limits of freedom of expression in the Nordic kingdom...and for them the reaction proves their case...but the test case itself is flawed...to me it seems as sheer provocation...secularism(an argument often cited in favour of the publication) means detachment of the state with religions, not picking on religions...

On the other hand the threat of violence against the nationals of Denmark(burning of the Danish Embassy has since taken place in Syria) is even more silly...its like hitting the axe on your feet...it just make the community seem more violent and less tolerant...I think it all stems from the lack of effective leadership - Leadership that is more busy in building wealth for itself rather than addressing the issues of the people...this has allowed right wing groups to get support as they promise to be the voice of the people...and have themselves emerged from ordinary families...Arab governments seem to have taken the cartoons so seriously because they were afraid of being outflanked by such groups.

A number of Arab countries have withdrawn their ambassadors from Denmark and Norway, which was the first European country to reprint the cartoons, also the goods from these countries are being boycotted...I wonder how long it will last...oil will not remain at $60 forever...
This is unlikely to be the last issue between the West and the Middle East or even more broadly between West and the followers of Islam...that this incident has widened the divisions is hardly under doubt.

So coming back to where my loyalties should lie...as with any freedom, the freedom of expression carries responsibilities with it. It should not seek to create conflict. It is important that we respect other persons' beliefs. But ultimately the threat of violence is no way to carry a debate...

Read an article in a Norwegian daily that ended with raising a few questions...Are some of us abusing the freedom of expression to publish statements that are meant to provoke conflicts? Are some of us abusing this freedom to get cheap publicity? Is a relatively new religious minority in its right when demanding limits to freedom in its new host country? Can Muslims dictate others on their religious taboos? Can non-Muslims dictate Muslims on religious taboos? Do we want to let religious fundamentalists dictate our political agenda?

The article can be read at the Afrol's website
But let me warn you abt the blind me yellow background that they have used...who chooses these color schemes anyways...:)

7^th Feb Update : The GoI meddling with the issue and asking the Danish government to seek an apology from the newspaper has helped me make up my mind ;)

10^th Feb Update : An Egyptian Newspaper('Al Fagr') apparently published the caricatures in Oct itself...to show its displeasure...they didn't evoke any trouble then...now why doesn't that surprise me...