Freedom
of Expression Has Responsibilities Too
By Dr. Ibrahim B. Syed
President
Islamic Research Foundation International, Inc.
Louisville, KY
In the last three decades
people have been fired from jobs, made to resign
from elected position, and excommunicated from
clubs and associations for saying socially and
morally reprehensible things against Blacks, Jews,
and other groups.
In Germany, France, and Austria, Holocaust denial
is a crime. In Austria, a case of Holocaust denial
charges was processed against British historian
David Irving, based on two speeches he made in
the country in 1989. In Germany, anti-hate legislation
that took effect last year has been used to rein
in Muslim preachers who call for terrorist attacks
or propagate hate.
On October 16, 1946, a man named Julius Streicher
was awarded the death sentence by an international
tribunal comprising representatives of the United
States, France, Great Britain, and the Soviet
Union. His crimes were horrendous. Streicher's
body was cremated, his ashes dumped into an unspecified
German river so that "no one should ever
know a particular place to go for reasons of mourning
his memory."
Julius Streicher was convicted at Nuremberg, Germany
of what was termed "Crimes Against Humanity."
The lead prosecutor in his case, Justice Robert
Jackson of the United States Supreme Court, argued
that the defendant did not kill anyone, nor personally
committed any violent act. Nor had Streicher held
any particularly important position in the German
government during the period in which the so-called
Third Reich is believed to have exterminated some
six million Jews, as well as several million Gypsies,
Poles, Slavs, homosexuals, and other untermenschen
(subhumans).
The solitary offense for which the accused was
put to death was for having served as publisher/editor
of a Bavarian tabloid entitled Der Sturmer during
the early-to-mid 1930s, years before the Nazi
genocide actually began. In that capacity, he
had penned a long series of virulently anti-Semitic
editorials and ''news."
Stories were accompanied by cartoons and other
images graphically depicting Jews in an extraordinarily
derogatory fashion. That, the prosecution asserted,
had done much to "dehumanize" the target
of his distortion in the mind of the German public.
In turn, such dehumanization had made it possible
or at least easier for average Germans to later
indulge in the outright liquidation of the Jewish
"vermin." The tribunal held Streicher
a complicit in the genocide.
Violence is not justified
Islam says it's right to demonstrate but not to
resort to violence. Violence must stop. Muslims
can condemn the cartoons but condemnation does
not warrant violence. The rioters are defaming
the name of Islam.
"You do not do evil to those who do evil
to you, but you deal with them with forgiveness
and kindness." (Sahih Al-Bukhari - Hadith
or Prophetic Traditions). This description of
Islam's Prophet Muhammad is a summary of how he
reacted to personal attacks and abuse.
Islamic traditions include a number of instances
of the prophet having the opportunity to strike
back at those who attacked him, but refraining
from doing so.
Muslims are given the example of the woman who
would regularly throw trash on the prophet as
he walked down a particular path. The prophet
never reacted to the woman's abuse. Instead, when
one day she did not throw the trash on him he
went to her home to inquire about her well being.
The prophet had the opportunity to have God punish
the people of a town near Mecca who refused the
message of Islam and attacked him with stones.
Again, the prophet did not choose to respond in
kind to the abuse.
Even when the prophet was in a position of power,
he chose the path of kindness and reconciliation.
When he returned to Mecca after years of exile
and personal attacks, he did not take revenge
on the people of the city, but instead offered
a general amnesty. During his lifetime, Prophet
Muhammad endured insults and ridicule on a daily
basis. His opponents mocked at his message and
used physical violence to stop him from challenging
the status quo. At no stage did the Prophet lose
his temper or react to the provocations. Instead
he prayed for forgiveness of those who had shown
contempt for him.
In the Qur’an, Islam's revealed text, God
states: "When (the righteous) hear vain talk,
they withdraw from it saying: 'Our deeds are for
us and yours for you; peace be on to you. We do
not desire the way of the ignorant'. . .O Prophet
(Muhammad), you cannot give guidance to whom you
wish, it is God Who gives guidance to whom He
pleases, and He is quite aware of those who are
guided." (28:55-56).
The Qur’an also says: "Invite (all)
to the way of thy Lord with wisdom and beautiful
preaching, and argue with them in ways that are
best and most gracious: for thy Lord knows best
who have strayed from His Path and who receive
guidance." (16:125)
The Qur’an states: "It may well be
that God will bring about love (and friendship)
between you and those with whom you are now at
odds." (60:7)
Another verse tells the prophet to "show
forgiveness, speak for justice and avoid the ignorant."
(7:199).
These are examples that Muslims should follow
as they express justifiable concern at the publication
of the cartoons. Violence must be shunned.
The US, UK and Vatican, have called for restraint
by editors in matters which touch upon the beliefs
of millions of people. Former President Clinton
has condemned the decision to publish such offensive
material.
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