February 5, 2006 | In Law, Politics |
For the past several days, I’ve been following the worldwide uproar surrounding the publication of “blasphemous” cartoons depicting the Muslim prophet, Mohammad.
Many Muslims are insisting that the right to free speech doesn’t include the right to violate their religious beliefs and principles. They have argued, in some cases violently, that European newspapers shouldn’t be allowed to publish images that are offensive to those of the Islamic faith.
Anybody who thinks this way, however, simply doesn’t understand the whole idea of freedom of speech and freedom of the press.
As an independent journalist, I strongly believe that, short of blatantly inciting violence, it is a human being’s non-negotiable right to say and write what they please. Anything less leads to a downward spiral of control and repression.
I’m not saying that I believe in insulting the beliefs of others, and as a member of the Anglican Church of Canada, I probably wouldn’t continue reading a publication that gratuitously mocked or ridiculed Christianity.
It is, however, a person’s right to express their opinion, according to their own level of common sense and intelligence. Anyone that doesn’t want to listen doesn’t have to, and that’s all there is to it.
