Tanzia Islam for BeyondHeadlines
How do you define yourself today? ‘Je suis Charlie’ or ‘Je suis Musulman’? Is the current debate about choosing between the freedom of speech and religious beliefs?The conflicting question is certainly not about right or wrong. It is rather a search for a synchronization of the ideology between East and West.
The name ‘Charlie Hebdo’ is a highly discussed topic, since fourteen people died after a terrorist attack in Paris. This name represents a journalistic style of today. Journalism, according to the ‘Oxford dictionary’, is “the work of collecting and writing news stories for newspapers, magazines, radio or television.” However, the meaning of journalism has been expanded on many aspects. At times, journalism often interprets news in various ways. Since the last couple of years the extreme method of provocation has become a way of protest. But should journalism not be presenting the information people need to know for the welfare of their lives, society and governance?
The European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms says that, “Freedom of opinion and expression are essential for the fulfilment and enjoyment (…)including artistic expression.” This clarifies the European perception of the freedom of speech on the debate about Charlie Hebdo. The reaction of the Eastern world on the recently published cartoons is to some extent completely opposite to the Western ideas.Rudi Paret, an Islam expert from Tübingen University and translator of the authoritative German version of the Quran, explained to the German network ‘Deutsche Welle’ that in the Islamic world a picture is not used to visualize the God or the prophet. According to him, “the fear is that images may become the subject of worship, rather than God himself.” However, the publication of the cartoons in CharlieHebdo is following the Western concept, not the Eastern one.But blaming the religion itself for encouraging individuals to commit terroristic acts is a misunderstanding. The Islamic religion neither encourages nor justifies crimes. Showing disrespect does not mean someoneis permitted to commit aterrorist attack. Although many individuals ignore this fact, for humanitarian reasons the religion doesnot allowany assassination. If the Muslim political leaders or Imams teach ‘violence and terrorism’, they do not belong to the traditional Muslim culture.Imam Ibrahim Mogra stated to CNNthat “Muhammad himself was ridiculed and mocked at in his life, and never once did he resort to a violence response”, as“violence is not the answer.”
Considering journalism a powerful profession that directly influences the community worldwide, is the slogan ‘Je suis Charlie’ a sign of protest? It issurely a legitimate expression of the Western freedom of speech. But does that mean the respect of other cultures can totally be ignored? The cartoonsmay be a powerful expression of the Western ideology, but they disrespect the Eastern values in a harsh way. Very few in the Western world likeTomášHalík, writer and professor at Charles University Prague, speak out that the traditional Western culture knows that, “respect is not a less important value than the freedom of speech.”As some newspapers already have quoted, not only the freedom of speech, but also the freedom of not publishing certain things may be the most sensible statement of cultural respect. The question remains: up to what extent should we widen or limit our respect for each other?
(Author is Doctoral researcher at Technical University of Berlin, Germany.)
