The slanderous remarks by Jerry Falwell concerning Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, and Islam on a recent “60 Minutes” TV show caused an outrage among Muslims worldwide. One of the many Islamic organizations that condemned the ultra-conservative American evangelist for calling the Prophet “a terrorist” was the Canadian Islamic Congress. “Falwell’s statement constitutes hate-speech against an identifiable religious minority group,” stated CIC legal counsel, Faisal Joseph. “It is both slanderous and provocative and totally irresponsible for any religious leader, especially at this sensitive time. We are therefore filing a formal complaint with the CRTC against all Canadian TV channels which broadcast this interview, and are considering further legal action under Canada’s hate crime laws.”
The CRTC, which is the regulatory Canadian organization responsible for granting licenses to radio and TV stations, has not yet responded to this complaint, according to Professor Mohamed Elmasry, CIC national president. However, “many Canadian church groups and the public did send CIC supporting letters,” said Elmasry. The few Canadians who objected to CIC filing the complaint based their argument on the right to freedom of speech.
While freedom of speech is guaranteed to Canadians, Americans and many other nationals, there are always laws in these countries that limit how far people can go in exercising that freedom. In Canada, hate crime convictions have become more frequent as public and legal awareness has increased. In 1998, Mark Harding of Toronto was convicted for “promoting hatred against an identifiable group contrary to s.319(2) of the Criminal Code.” Professor Jane McAuliffe of the University of Toronto, an expert witness called by the crown, said “there is no legitimate support in the Islamic religious doctrines for the position that Islam advocates violence.”
Muslims are often accused by Westerners of being too sensitive about their religion and that because they are not guaranteed the freedom of speech in their own countries, they are too critical of Western countries which allow that right. Yes, we are too sensitive about our religion because our religion requires us to be so. Islam is important and valuable to us. The issue for us when it comes to people expressing their opinion about Islam is not to prevent the opinion but to make sure that it is expressed in a respectful and intelligent manner — particularly by individuals whose opinions have a public impact. Jerry Falwell is a religious leader and a public figure. When he expresses an insensitive, inaccurate racist opinion, it will naturally have a great impact on his followers and on public opinion. At a time when America is engaged in a “war on terrorism,” calling Prophet Muhammad, pbuh, “a terrorist” is provocative and incites racial hatred, at the very least.
There is a clear distinction between criticizing a group and inciting racial hatred. Our efforts are no different from black Americans’ condemnation of the use of the “N” word and the Jews’ condemnation of any doubts concerning the Holocaust. Yet our efforts to defend Islam against racial slurs, it seems, are usually met with rebuffs based on the idea of freedom of speech.
Recently, a French court acquitted author Michel Houellebecq of charges of racial insult and inciting racial hatred. In an interview, he called Islam “the dumbest religion” and “a dangerous religion.” The judges ruled that the author could not shelter from the law on the grounds of literary immunity or freedom of speech alone. They decided, however, that the novelist’s words — though neither “high minded” nor “subtly phrased” — were personal criticisms of Islam rather than an attack on Muslims themselves.
This runs counter to a recent landmark decision in Australia to remove remarks from an Internet site which incited racial hatred against Jews. Dr. Fredrick Toben was ordered by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission to remove racist material from his website on which he claims that the Jewish Holocaust is a lie. Dr. Toben says that he is the one being persecuted by being denied the right to free speech. On the other hand, defamation lawyer Andrew Giles said that what the tribunal says in its ruling is that harm has been done and that they cannot be dissuaded by technical barriers from granting relief.
Islam is being continuously attacked by the likes of Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson who abuse their position as religious leaders to spread lies and fears about another religion. They are no different from the KKK who also based their racist attitudes against colored people on false religious interpretations. Muslims accuse Falwell and Robertson of racism and of being anti-Islam because they deliberately manipulate, misrepresent and misinterpret verses from the Qur’an to back their claims that Islam advocates terrorism. Unfortunately, I feel sure that if Muslims sued the two men on grounds of inciting racial hatred, they would not succeed because of the right to free speech. There are extremists in every religion and it’s not fair to single out the Muslim extremists as the only ones advocating hatred and violence against other religions. A few days ago an Israeli rabbi was quoted as saying in a prayer meeting that most rabbinic authorities “of the past and the present accepted the opinion that the lives of non-Jews don’t enjoy the same sanctity as the lives of Jews.”
Where do we draw the line on freedom of speech? When is an opinion simply an opinion? How do we know that it does not conceal an ulterior motive or aim at provoking a certain reaction? How should we react to verbal attacks that are meant to stir negative feelings and maybe violent actions against an identifiable group? Jews around the world are very diligent and persistent in monitoring, criticizing and suing anyone who remotely hints at the possible inaccuracy of Holocaust figures and events. They have succeeded in making the charge of “anti-Semitism” a serious offense. Any criticism of Israel or reference to the Zionist movement is considered anti-Semitic. Muslims should be as efficient in protecting Islam from slander and inaccuracy. Freedom of speech is a right that has to be used responsibly. It should not be used as a shield by racists — of whatever religion — behind which they utter offensive, harmful and deceitful words.
Arab News Local Features 22 November 2002
