Cartoon Controversy
in Cambridge
By Sir Cam
Cambridge, UK
This time last year, the uproar
surrounding the publication of Islamophobic cartoons
depicting Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in a Danish
newspaper was in full swing. This time last week,
the controversy erupted once again in Cambridge.
"Danish cartoon printed at Clare [College]:
Anger sparked by student publication," was
the front page headline in last Friday's edition
of Varsity, Cambridge University's student newspaper.
Meanwhile, the local Evening News also reported
on its front page: "Student in Islam hate
probe". Over the past week the news was picked
up by other British papers, such as The Guardian,
The Times and the Sunday Mirror.
Here we go again, I thought. Another mindless
or deliberate provocation? As if there wasn't
enough demonisation of British Muslims already.
Students do odd things, I admit, but why stir
things up again by reprinting offensive material?
As a whole, the British media was restrained and
responsible last year by refusing to publish the
inflammatory material.
Now, as if oblivious of the controversy last year,
some bright spark, an undergraduate at Cambridge
University no less, thinks it funny to abuse his
privileges and bring his academic institution
into disrepute by publishing hate material in
a student magazine called Clareification. The
unnamed 19-year-old math and physics student at
Clare College, one of the 31 Cambridge University
colleges, found it such a joke that he's now gone
into hiding and faces disciplinary action by the
authorities. The Cambridge authorities have been
admirably swift in dealing with the issue.
The senior tutor at Clare College, Patricia Fara,
has said: "Clare is an open and inclusive
college. A student-produced satirical publication
has caused widespread distress throughout the
Clare community. The college finds the publication
and the views expressed abhorrent. Reflecting
the gravity of the situation, the college immediately
began an investigation and disciplinary procedures
are in train". The president of the Union
of Clare Students, Calum Davey, stated, "This
material does not reflect the views of Clare students.
We offer our sincere apologies for the offence
caused".
When I tried to access Clareification online,
I got this message: "It is probable that
you have reached this page because you are concerned
about the content of a web page belonging to a
student of this College. Clare College allows
any of its students to run a web server and/or
publish web pages, provided they adhere to the
rules of the University Technology Syndicate.
Amongst other things, these rules prohibit the
use of the university network for the transmission
of any illegal, indecent or defamatory information.
The College is not in a position to monitor all
student-owned pages on a day-to-day basis, but
we will take prompt action once a problem is known
to us". And that is what they seem to be
doing at present.
A spokesman for the university's student Islamic
Society told Varsity: "Cambridge has a well
founded reputation for diversity, tolerance and
inclusiveness and I was surprised to see such
crude and unabashed prejudice. Freedom of expression
does not constitute a freedom to offend and this
clearly crosses the boundary of Islamophobia".
Hicham Kwieder, the chairman of the local mosque
organization, the Cambridge Muslim Welfare Society,
said, "The university's record of freedom
of expression is a matter of record and pride.
However, it is clear that incitement to religious
and ethnic hatred is at all times immoral, and
that its consequences for harmony between communities
and nations can be grave". He said: "It
is particularly important that the boundary between
fair comment and hate speech be respected and
understood at the present time, when misunderstanding
and sometimes hatred directed against ethnic minorities
of Muslim faith is on the rise, a process often
exploited by far-right and racist groups".
A number of studies have reported the rise of
Islamophobia and violence against Muslims. A report
at the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and
Xenophobia website (http://eumc.europa.eu) states:
"Protecting people from racist and xenophobic
discourse is a basic principle of any democratic
society. Hate speech undermines free expression:
hate speech and incitement are deliberately intended
to cause harm to people or groups of people. Protection
from hate speech has to go hand in hand with the
enjoyment of the right to freedom of expression
-- only together do they make democracy meaningful".
Elaborating on this, one of the authors of this
report, Hans Winkler, the Austrian Secretary of
State, said, "The right to freedom of expression
must however be exercised with responsibility
especially when protection of the rights and feelings
of others are involved. Freedom of expression
and mutual understanding and respect for the cultures
and religions of others are not incompatible but
complementary". Succinctly put; couldn't
agree more.
Cambridge University has a worldwide reputation
as a highly ranked institution of academic excellence.
It is gearing up for its 800th anniversary celebrations
in 2009. It could certainly do without its reputation
being tarnished by the antics of some irresponsible
and insensitive students. Firm disciplinary action
should ensure that such incidences are avoided
in the future. Otherwise, I'm afraid, the slogan
of the university's 800th Anniversary Campaign
(http://www.foundation.cam.ac.uk/800-home.php)
"Transforming Tomorrow" will become
meaningless and the aim "to raise £1
billion to help secure Cambridge's edge in excellence
for the future" will be adversely affected.
I suggest "Transforming Today" to focus
our minds on the present need to overcome fear,
ignorance and prejudice, and to spread mutual
understanding and respect. Yes, freedom of expression
is vital, but it should not be abused.
Commenting on the Danish "Cartoon Issue"
last February, I wrote: "Freedom of expression
doesn't mean hurling gratuitous insults against
a whole people nor protesting insensitively or
violently. That is freedumb. At the end of the
day, it is bridge-building that we need rather
than burning bridges".
Living in a place with a name like Cambridge (emphasis
on "bridge"), we are acutely aware of
the role and beauty of bridges. Clare College
has surely the most majestic bridge in the city
(St John's College's "Bridge of Sighs"
is a close competitor, but it is rather claustrophobic).
Clare's bridge may have been vandalized by the
recent student incident, but the college authorities
have gone a long way to quickly repair the damage.
Let Cambridge get back to what it excels in: learning,
teaching, and research in an atmosphere of intellectual
freedom, tolerance and mutual respect. The days
of town and gown wars (conflict between the local
community and the students) are long gone. The
need of the day is understanding, dialogue and
bridge-building among the diverse communities.
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