Saturday, September 27, 2008

Noted: An Islamic take on freedom of expression

Just came across this (International Quran News Agency - from May 2008):
Sheikh Ghasem Al-Mazrooee , Kenyan Mufti and chief justice, in an interview with IQNA conducted at the sidelines of the 21st international conference on Islamic Unity said that constant barrage of insults by western media and politicians against the sanctities of Islam indicate serious intentions of enemies of Islam to undermine pillars and principles of Islam, therefore Muslims' response should be serious and strong.
[...]
Asked on the limits of the freedom of expression and justification of affronts under the freedom of expression by western countries, Kenyan chief justice said, "freedom of expression is an invaluable and advanced principle which is even enshrined in the noble religion of Islam but the point is that freedom of expression like every other positive thing shouldn’t be misused or exploited to serve certain purposes."

He further brought about a question, saying, "would those politicians who justify constant barrages of affronts against sanctities of billions of people tolerate smear campaigns and affronts against their families under the pretext of freedom of expression or freedom of speech? I am sure they won't."
Well, maybe he's learned something from the latest fits of American presidential politics.

I came across this as I was trying to figure out whether the man in the white hair and beard in the thirteenth photo on this page (second from last photo) is Canada's own "not too much" free speech warrior, Mohammed Elmasry. I'm still not sure.

2 comments:

Eowyn said...

truepeers --

We who wage war against the irrationality of assaults on free speech grow weary, often, at constantly facing the same assaults, time after time. (Even though we will NEVER stop fighting. But still.)

I'm wondering something.

Here is where the bullet is meeting the bone, thinks me:

“Sheikh Ghasem Al-Mazrooee , Kenyan Mufti and chief justice, in an interview with IQNA conducted at the sidelines of the 21st international conference on Islamic Unity said that CONSTANT BARRAGE of insults by western media and politicians against the SANCTITIES OF ISLAM indicate serious intentions of enemies of Islam to UNDERMINE THE PILLARS AND PRINCIPLES OF ISLAM, therefore Muslims' response should be SERIOUS AND STRONG.

(emphasis mine.)

For our Sheikh’s benefit, let’s take this point by point.

“constant barrage” of insults

Read: “Constant barrage” of QUESTIONS. Namely, people only want to ask questions, and have them answered. You know … reality-wise. You DO live in the real world … right?

“Sanctities of Islam”

What’s a “sanctity?” Everything is open to question. Sorry, pal. This is 2008.

“Undermine the pillars and principles of Islam”

Your PROOF, that that is what is actually taking place? How? When? Why? And how does this impact humanity?

Muslims’ response should be “SERIOUS AND STRONG.”

Are you advocating suicide bombers as a response, then? Hmm?


Aristotle proves these idiots are, in fact, idiots.

Okay, so we’ve got to prove ourselves afresh, every day, with every assault. It does grow tiresome. And, as life devolves to the point that we are faced with making sure we EAT every day, there are certain things we must keep in mind.

WE ARE IN THE MIDST OF A MAJOR PARADIGM SHIFT. Make no mistake.

(you really should have a stockpile of food. Ditto access to water. Trust me. You’ll need it.)

truepeers said...

eowyn,

Yes, I think we are undergoing a paradigm shift. And yes many people just don't have a clue what the world is going to look like and will have to be dragged kicking and screaming.

How ugly will it get? That all depends on how much reality we can draw attention to and get people to love and defend and renew, before any more brutal realities of conflict are brought to bear.

I am actually optimistic; I have faith in our freedom and in what we cannot know until it happens. Will we in North America need huge stockpiles of food and water? I doubt it. We have the means to create so much that it will take more than a little insanity to erode our capacity to the point of starvation. We will learn lessons before it gets to that, at least for most of us. In other lands, they are far more dependent on others, i.e. on our economy. But if we do need stockpiles, you're going to have to have a way of defending them! So, let's start by talking to our neighbors.

Best,