For Pete’s Sake

Rob Lesslie wrote:

My rights are non-conditional.

My right to life is non-conditional, ergo my right to free speech is
non-conditional.

Therefore, I can say and draw whatever I want about who ever I want, even if it
offends Muslims!

Hmm this is quite a tough one to respond and is quite topical at the moment. So please, anyone who reads my response, don’t take offence to my response or the question asked. In short I agree that our freedom of speech is non-conditional I don’t think that’s the issue here. What I believe to be the issue is the fact that there was no thought to the feelings of the Muslim community; this is all about respect to the Muslim religion (Islam).

Say a Muslim paper produced a cartoon mocking the Holocaust or September 11th bombings, what would happen? I can guess; there’d be racial beatings, the Americans would probably start saying we should bomb them or something and we’d be generally offended by it. Producing a cartoon of their prophet Muhammed linking him with terrorism (the cartoon apparantly depicited him with a bomb in his turban) is pretty much the same and I do think it’s trying to say all Muslims are terrorists even if its very subtle.

The outcry and protests by the Muslim community is, I think, justified as we have insulted their religion. Their reaction may be over the top and I don’t agree with all this flag burning etc. However as someone on one of the forums I frequent said “It’s not about imposing views, it’s about respecting peoples belief system.”

Overall I’m sick of religion in the sense that it’s caused more wars/atrocities than anything else and to be honest its getting boring. I think we really have to start respecting other peoples beliefs, views and attitudes and perhaps following what my parents always used to say to me ‘Think before you act!’ and let us be honest, the Danish paper didn’t. Yes a lot of what these protesters are doing are hypocritical e.g. saying that the cartoon will make people fear Islam and then they go off and burn a flag or two and tell us all our 9/11 is on its way. I’m just getting sick and tired of all of this, how about we all forget about religion and have a nice cup ‘o tea?