Criminalization of sectarian speech
The emir of Kuwait has intervened to stop the ongoing hate speech between Sunni and Shiite extremists on social networking site Twitter. The emir issued an order to track down and punish those who engage in provocative sectarian tirade. The ruler condemned the maligning practice, describing it as a threat to national unity. He also feared that it would spread seditious ideas in the society.
Prior to that, our colleague Muhammad Al-Asheikh attacked attempts by Sunni and Shiite extremists to sow discord in Saudi Arabia. We need not elaborate on the issue of sectarian vitriol by some stupid or intelligent bigots. One wonders what made this old issue crop up as a problem today.
Religious and sectarian disputes have existed among us throughout history and are feared to continue for centuries, as it has been the nature of the culture in religions. These disputes have led to drawn-out war of words between Muslim sects as in other religions in the past, besides serving as a catalyst for the outbreak of political and military wars.
Then why should we be now sensitive to the current wrangling of various groups? The present situation has even prompted the Kuwaiti emir to step in following the tweet of an unknown person filled with hatred and using improper words against the grandsons of the Prophet (peace be upon him) Hasan and Husain (may Allah be pleased with them). The Kuwaiti government has enacted a law incriminating hate speech. The law aims to stop abusive exchange of words between Sunnis and Shiites and also exchange of accusations by tribal bigots. The reason is not the presence of hate speech, but that malicious speeches are growing in number, posing a threat to the society. If no one makes a fast move to put a lid on the sectarian cauldron it will certainly reach a point of explosion. It did not happen in the ancient past and even when the religious wars were raging. Now people are exchanging abuses and insults that stir bitter feelings. There is a view that the current phenomenon is a natural outcome and extension of the political dispute with Iran, for instance.
But what will happen tomorrow when the political causes of this hatred, which facilitated troublemakers to spread it and governments ignored them for political expediency, disappear?
It will never be an easy task to bring the bigots and the fanatics under control.
The historical and religious dispute between the Sunnis and Shiites are as old as Islam itself. It has not been settled over the past 14 centuries. So, the believers on both sides should realize this simple fact as they need to coexist peacefully. The escalation of the war of words has gone beyond control and makes it imperative to lay down rules to punish the media, including interactive social media, if they are a party to the hate activities. In the past, a hate speech never went beyond the four walls of a mosque or meeting hall, but now hate speeches are delivered and read widely and, perhaps, hundreds of thousands of people in a single society are exchanging them.
Since I am a media man, I definitely don’t support any legislation that limits debates. However, what we see now is a warning of an approaching war in our society. While the state guarantees a citizen’s religious rights, it prevents him from attacking the beliefs of others.
Sectarian and tribal disputes are simple ways to trigger wars if there is no rule to govern relations between different groups. There should be regulations to ensure that one group does not transgress on others and thus avoid creating chaos in the country. There are people who stoke wars with the aim of gaining popularity among the general public and whose dogmatic zeal takes them to any length.
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