A Clash of
the Hypocrites
By Siddique Malik
www.spreadfreedom.com
US
Forget the ‘clash of civilizations’;
what the world is witnessing is a clash of the
hypocrites.
Europe prides itself on its commitment to freedom
of speech, but this pride is nothing more than
unsubstantiated self-glorification. From various
European governments to the European Union itself,
government leaders, cabinet members (except a
fanatical Italian minister who was later fired)
and bureaucrats generally disapproved of the caricatures
depicting Prophet Muhammad that recently appeared
in various European newspapers. But in the same
breath they qualified their comments by reiterating
their devotion to freedom of speech and expression.
Undiluted freedom of expression is indeed a hallmark
of modern civilization but its selective application
backstabs the concept. No sooner had the ink dried
on the above-mentioned statements than David Irving,
a British historian was jailed for three years
in Austria for saying, over 16 years ago, that
gas chambers were not used extensively in the
Holocaust. Austrian prosecutors expressed dismay
over the ‘leniency’ of the sentence,
vowing to appeal against it in their bid to have
it raised to 10 years.
Austria is not the only European country with
a draconian law that outlaws to say (repeat: just
to say) that there was no Holocaust. France and
Germany have similar laws, too; not to mention
Poland, Bulgaria and some other late entrants
to the ‘civilized’ side of Europe.
When Prince William of the United Kingdom wore
a shirt depicting a Nazi symbol, there was a big
hoopla of anti-Semitism.
Even Canada has a law that makes it illegal to
say or write something that may offend someone.
With such laws in place, one could only publish
cookbooks, or perhaps not even that. What if Hindus
found beef recipes offensive? Would a cookbook
with pork recipes not offend a Muslim who on his
way to a halal meat shop stopped at a bookstore
and happened to glance at such a book? Would non-Kosher
recipes not prompt a Jewish person to call the
Police for help? Who would define offensiveness?
France has another draconian law that forbids
female students to wear a headscarf at public
schools; so much, for the freedom of expression.
Ironically, one of the reasons some EU countries
object to Turkey’s admission to the EU is
that Turkey has a similar law. These countries
consider Turkish law to be in breach of human
dignity (which it undoubtedly is) but are mum
over the similar French law. What Turkey needs
to do is abrogate its anti-headscarf law, and
then demand France’s expulsion from the
EU because of France’s disregard of human
dignity.
On February 24, 2006, Ken Livingstone, the Mayor
of London, England was suspended from his position
for 4 weeks by a disciplinary tribunal, because
a year earlier, while at a social function at
the City Hall, he likened the job of a Jewish
press reporter to a Nazi guard. I am sure that
the tribunal conducted a diligent inquiry into
the matter and functioned within the legal framework,
but this is exactly the point. You cannot have
such laws and then claim allegiance to the freedom
of speech.
The London Mayor’s words were indeed offensive,
and pretty darn stupid. But the freedom of speech
includes the freedom to make offensive and stupid
comments just like freedom of expression includes
the freedom to write or create material that some
may find offensive.
Why do the EU and European countries not support
people’s right to say or wear what they
want, but are consumed over a few cartoonists’
right to offend not only the world’s Muslims
but also those non-Muslims who have the decency
and fairness to respect all religions? This is
hypocrisy and an ugly display of double standards,
no matter how you look at it.
However, hypocrisy is no stranger to many Muslims,
too. Those who are now ready to kill and die over
the caricatures issue were no where to be found
when the Bamyan Buddha statues were being destroyed
by the Taliban cult of Afghanistan. How can one
be extremely sensitive towards one’s own
religion but extremely insensitive towards other
religions?
The destruction of the Bamyan statues did not
even come under freedom of expression. It was
a criminal act of destruction of a holy site;
these statues were to the world’s Buddhists
what Mecca is to Muslims. Also, this act was in
clear violation of the Quranic command to respect
and protect places of worship of all religions.
Yet, the Muslim world looked the other way, as
a gang of murderous bigots carried out its dirty
deed in the name of Islam. Where was the Arab
League at the time? Where were Pakistan’s
self-declared puritans who always had tremendous
sway over the Taliban gang leader, Mullah Omar,
and are now burning vehicles and businesses over
the caricatures issue? Where was the OIC? All
it probably said at the destruction of the statues
was: oh, I see.
If it was blasphemous for European editors to
publish the offensive caricatures, it was no less
blasphemous for some Muslims to burn embassies,
churches and temples, and attack non-Muslims in
the name of Prophet Muhammad. It was even more
blasphemous for dictators and religious cultists
cum politicians from Nigeria to Pakistan to use
the situation to grind their axe.
An imam in Pakistan’s North Western Frontier
Province announced a bounty of half a million
dollars and a new car for any one who would kill
the Danish cartoonist. Even in secular India,
a Muslim minister in one of the State governments
announced a bounty of 11 million dollars. Obviously,
his constituency is home to many Muslim voters.
Today, as some Muslims commit arson and murder
so as to uphold the dignity of Prophet Muhammad
(peace be upon him), they really are insulting
him. Before you want non-Muslims to respect the
prophet, you should do it yourself.
The caricatures controversy became an opportunity
for Iran’s ruling cult to divert its people’s
attention from Iran’s increasing isolation
among the comity of nations. Also, the situation
allowed Syria’s ruling gang of suppressors
to ‘flex its muscle’ as it encouraged
a mob to burn the Danish embassy in Damascus,
and prompted its agents in Beirut to do the same.
Libya got in the act, too. A mob in Benghazi attacked
and burnt the Italian Consulate. I am sure if
Saddam Hussein was in power, he would have not
stayed behind. After all, it was during the first
Gulf war that he suddenly changed the Iraqi flag
to include Islamic inscriptions; this, after having
murdered many Islamic scholars because they spoke
against his tyranny.
If there was ‘freedom of expression’
in these Muslim countries, a Syrian Vice President,
Abdel-Halim Khaddam wouldn’t have to flee
to Paris to express his opposition to the ways
of the Syrian dictator, Bashar Asad. Libyan opposition
members wouldn’t have to leave their country
permanently, just to hold a meeting. Ayman al-Noor,
the man who ran against Egyptian president, Hasni
Mobarak, wouldn’t be in jail on fake charges.
Saudi women wouldn’t have to be virtual
prisoners in their homes, massaging the chauvinistic
ego of their brothers, fathers or husbands just
to get ‘permission’ to go to the mall.
Non-Muslims in Saudi Arabia wouldn’t be
arrested for simply practicing their faith.
In addition to being hypocritical, the knee-jerk
mentality on the part of many Muslims is self-defeating,
too. On February 22, 2006, terrorists attacked
a Shia shrine in Samarra, Iraq. Instead of focusing
their energy on defeating the terrorists, many
Iraqis went on a sectarian rampage, killing each
other. It is so easy to trigger many Muslims into
a mindless frenzy. Publish a few offensive sketches
or bomb a mosque, and then sit down at home and
watch them on the TV as they mercilessly kill
each other and any one else who gets in the way.
With this mindset of self-destruction, you don’t
need enemies. So, let Muslims stop blaming Jews,
Hindus, Christians and other non-Muslims for every
thing that goes wrong.
Today, no matter where you live, walk into a gathering
of Muslims at some mosques or in some Muslim homes,
and there is a chance that a bigot would suddenly
start cursing Jews, Hindus, Christians, and other
non-Muslims. If you think this is tragic, what
do you think of educated people in the gathering
saying ‘Amen’ to these diatribes,
in stead of shouting these down? And, don’t
forget, there can be kids in a congregation; bigotry
and hypocrisy will breed the same.
Now, consider American values and the depth of
America’s commitment to freedom and human
dignity. In America, one may weep upon reading
horrible tales of the Holocaust but one will defend
someone else’s right to deny that the Holocaust
happened. One will take comfort in the thought
that the Holocaust denier will not be incarcerated
for simply speaking his/her mind. One may feel
mist in one’s eyes upon seeing the Star-Spangled
Banner, the greatest symbol of freedom and human
dignity, but one will defend someone else’s
right to burn it, just to make a point.
After the Second World War, America stimulated
the spread of freedom and democracy in Europe.
Obviously, Europe’s cognizance of these
values is still not at par with that of America.
America has just introduced these values in the
Middle East, a region that is much more averse
to these values than Europe was. This shows how
far the destination is, in the sand dunes of the
Middle East.
Instead of making their religion a source of inner
strength, many Muslims have made it a source of
their mental handicap, bigotry and leadership
deficit. Today, when they want to get ‘involved
with the society’, their imagination does
not go beyond running to the mosque, and along
with their children, submitting to the perceptions
of self-declared imams some of whom are more bigoted
than bigotry itself and more blasphemous than
blasphemy itself. Submitting to the will of Allah
must not include surrendering to venomous clerics.
When the consequences of this abdication of humanity
catch up to Muslims in the form of their ever
diminishing relevance and importance on the world
stage, and the world’s increasing apprehension
of them, they become more miserable, more fanatical
and thus completely devoid of logic. The tragedy
is that this status quo of cognitive dereliction
and intellectual inertia is as severe in some
Muslim communities, right here in America (a land
of opportunities for all), as it is in slums from
Khartoum to Karachi. One’s limitations are
the product of one’s own mind.
Agitated Muslims are demanding the arrest and
trial of the Danish cartoonists who drew the offensive
caricatures, but who is going to demand the arrest
and trial of those who are indulging in violence
from Lagos to Lahore? Muslims expect non-Muslims
to respect Islam but how many Muslims have given
up eating beef simply as a mark of respect for
Hinduism? Graciousness begins at home.
Let me present the translation of an Urdu couplet
by Bahadar Shah Zafar: “When I was ignorant
of my own affairs, I judged others. But when I
became cognizant of my own weaknesses, I realized
that I could no longer consider any one else,
bad”.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
