Freedom Of Speech, And The Hypocrisy That Entails It

On Wednesday, 7^th January, 2014, two armed terrorists entered the Charlie Hebdo offices and opened fire, killing 12 people including caretakers and journalists. Witnesses reported that the gunmen were shouting “Allah-u-Akbar” (God is Great) while shooting and claimed that they avenged the insults hurled at the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) that were prominent in the caricatures made by the cartoonist of the infamous magazine.

The West came out on the streets, claiming that freedom of speech is their right, and they can say whatever they want about whatever they want and no one should shoot them down for it because it is their right to speak freely. But why is their freedom of speech only applicable to Islam and Muslims? Why is their freedom of speech limited to making cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and laughing on them? The incident has greatly disheartened me because of the image these so-called Muslims (read: terrorists) are spreading regarding the religion of peace, that is Islam. But as they say, and rightly so, there are black sheep in every community, society and religion. While there are Muslims all over the world who are spreading the true message of Islam in the form of peace, there are extremists and terrorists as well, who are killing in the name of the very God who taught them to live in harmony.

As a Pakistani, I'm used to this – terrorists killing in the name of Allah, extremists claiming they are following the true Islam, assailants declaring that they are clearing the Earth of all the “dirt and mud”. I'm used to all of that. So, even though it came as a shock that something like this happened in the West, it did not come as much of a surprise that these so-called “Muslim” extremists were behind it. What shocked me more was the reaction from the West. They declared this as an attack on the freedom of speech and said that it was “just a cartoon” and “all in good humour” and “it was nothing to be insulted about”.

So I ask the people of the West this – would you tolerate it if anyone raised a finger on something you firmly believed it? Would you be able to endure the laughter and mockery on your religion that would, according to the people mocking it, be all in “good humour”? Putting religion aside, if someone abused you, or your wife, or your parents, or your children, claiming it was his right of freedom of speech, how would you feel? As a woman, if a completely random person came up to you and insisted that women are inferior to men, and they shouldn't be allowed to vote, work or go out in general, would you be completely okay with it or would you feel frustrated because of someone limiting your life and your beliefs?

I am not in any way advocating in favour of the attack, because it was not only uncalled for; it was completely inhumane and barbaric. However, being given the right to freedom of speech does not mean that a person gets the right to abuse, insult or humiliate another person’s faith and belief. The right to having an opinion comes with a huge responsibility; that of expressing an opinion without humiliating someone else. Express it in such a way so as to not offend anyone. Because if the situations were reversed, and an offensive opinion about their religion or beliefs was publicized, they wouldn't be able to tolerate it either.  

When Islam is ridiculed and mocked, people tend to give it the name of free speech. If Christianity or Judaism or Buddhism is mocked, the same people claim that it is hate speech. So why is Islam the only religion that should be mocked in the name of free speech? Why is that not considered hate speech? Why is Islam being judged on the action of a few extremist black sheep, who probably don't even know what Islam actually teaches? Is Islam so degraded that if I, a Muslim, travel to France or Germany or Denmark, I'd be ostracised completely just because of the religion I belong to? Would that be fair? Or would that be considered a hate crime?

I believe freedom of speech is a right that transforms almost everyone into a hypocrite; not because people start stating opinions that aren't exactly theirs, but because they state their own opinions too crudely and brutally, not keeping in mind the fact that other people might get insulted. And when the same situation is inflicted on them, that is, when others indirectly insult them and then declaring it was just their idea of “freedom of speech”, they get offended. Therefore, freedom of speech does have some limitations, and I believe we would all be in a much more harmonious position if we were to limit ourselves to them instead of overstepping them, leading to violent clashes and chaos.

Furthermore, hate speech in the name of freedom of speech is not only a crime, it is obvious racism. And the only way to remove this is to believe in equality, and to unite in the face of terrorists. Be in harmony. Stop hating. Stop blaming. Start loving. Start uniting. Terrorists exist in every religion and community, but that does not, in any way, make the respective religion or community responsible for it. As someone said rightly so - "Don't blame religion if your perspective is stained". Therefore, I believe hate speech should not be tolerated by giving it the title of freedom of speech, and anyone who does so, should suffer the consequences.