[nasional_list] [ppiindia] Cartoon conflicts
- From: "Ambon" <sea@xxxxxxxxxx>
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- Date: Sun, 12 Feb 2006 00:21:34 +0100
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**http://www.guardian.co.uk/cartoonprotests/story/0,,1703496,00.html
Cartoon conflicts
To describe the clash over the Danish depictions of the prophet as one between
freedom and dogma will only fan the flames, says Tariq Ramadan
Monday February 6, 2006
In Copenhagen last October, as demonstrations provoked by the Danish satirical
cartoons about Islam were starting, a reporter from the newspaper that
published them told me how intensely the editorial staff had debated whether to
go ahead, how uncomfortable many of them had been about the whole issue and, at
the same time, how surprised they had been by the strong reaction from Muslims
and the Arab embassies. At the time, however, the tension seemed likely to
remain within Danish borders.
To Danish Muslims denouncing this as an instance of racism - a provocation
capitalised upon by the ever expanding far right in the country - my advice was
to avoid reacting emotionally, to try to explain quietly why these cartoons
were offensive and neither to demonstrate nor to risk activating mass movements
that could prove impossible to master. At the time, a resolution seemed to be
at hand.
One might ask, then, why it is that three months later, some find it in their
interests to pour fuel on the fire of a controversy, with tragic and
potentially uncontrollable consequences? A few Danish Muslims visited Middle
Eastern countries and ramped up the resentment: governments in the region, only
too happy to prove their attachment to Islam - to bolster their Islamic
legitimacy in the eyes of the public - took advantage of this piece of good
fortune and presented themselves as champions of a great cause. On the other
side, the controversy was just what some politicians, intellectuals and
journalists needed to paint themselves as champions of the equally great
struggle for freedom of expression and as resistance fighters against religious
obscurantism in the name of western values.
We are facing an incredible simplification, a gross polarisation: apparently a
clash of civilisations, a confrontation between principles, with defenders, in
one corner, of inalienable freedom of speech and, in the other, of the
inviolable sacred sphere. Presented in such terms, the debate has unfortunately
become a battle of wills, and the question becomes: who will win? Muslims,
wanting apologies, threaten to attack European interests, even to attack
people; western governments, intellectuals and journalists refuse to bend under
threats, and certain media outlets have added to the controversy by
republishing the cartoons. Most people around the world, observing these
excesses, are perplexed: what sort of madness is this, they ask?
It is critical we find a way out of this infernal circle and demand from those
stoking this fire that they stop their polemics at once and create a space for
serious, open, indepth debate and peaceful dialogue. This is not the predicted
clash of civilisations. This affair does not symbolise the confrontation
between the principles of Enlightenment and those of religion. Absolutely not.
What is at stake at the heart of this sad story is whether or not the duelling
sides have the capacity to be free, rational (whether believers or atheists)
and, at the same time, reasonable.
The fracture is not between the west and Islam but between those who, in both
worlds, are able to assert who they are and what they stand for with calm - in
the name of faith or reason, or both - and those driven by exclusive
certainties, blind passions, reductive perceptions of the other and a liking
for hasty conclusions. The latter character traits are shared equally by some
intellectuals, religious scholars, journalists and ordinary people on both
sides. Facing the dangerous consequences these attitudes entail, it is urgent
we launch a general call for wisdom.
In Islam, representations of all prophets are strictly forbidden. It is both a
matter of the fundamental respect due to them and a principle of faith
requiring that, in order to avoid any idolatrous temptations, God and the
prophets never be represented. Hence, to represent a prophet is a grave
transgression. If, moreover, one adds the clumsy confusions, insults and
denigration that Muslims perceived in the Danish cartoons, one can understand
the nature of the shock expressed by large segments of Muslim communities
around the world (and not only by practising Muslims or the radicals). To these
people, the cartoons were too much: it was good and important for them to
express their indignation and to be heard.
At the same time, it was necessary for Muslims to bear in mind that, for the
past three centuries, western societies - unlike Muslim-majority countries -
have grown accustomed to critical, ironical - even derisive - treatment of
religious symbols, among them the pope, Jesus Christ and even God. Even though
Muslims do not share such an attitude, it is imperative they learn to keep an
intellectual distance when faced with such provocations and not to let
themselves be driven by zeal and fervour, which can only lead to undesirable
ends.
In the case of these cartoons - as clumsy as they are idiotic and malicious -
it would have been, and it would remain, preferable if Muslims expressed their
values and grievances to the public at large without clamour, better if they
paused until such a time as calm was possible. Instead, what is welling up
today within some Muslim communities is as unproductive as it is insane: the
obsessive demands for apologies, boycotting of European products and threats of
violent reprisals are excesses that must be rejected and condemned.
However, it is just as excessive and irresponsible to invoke the "right to
freedom of expression" - the right to say anything, in any way, against
anybody. Freedom of expression is not absolute. Countries have laws that define
the framework for exercising this right and which, for instance, condemn racist
language. There are also specific rules pertaining to the cultures, traditions
and collective psychologies in the respective societies that regulate the
relationship between individuals and the diversity of cultures and religions.
Racial or religious insults are not addressed in the same way in the various
western societies: within a generally similar legal framework, each nation has
its own history and sensitivities; wisdom requires acknowledging and respecting
this reality. The reality is also that the Muslim presence within western
societies has changed their collective sensitivity. Instead of being obsessed
with laws and rights - approaching a tyrannical right to say anything - would
it not be more prudent to call upon citizens to exercise their right to freedom
of expression responsibly and to take into account the diverse sensitivities
that compose our pluralistic contemporary societies?
This is not a matter of additional laws restraining the scope of free speech;
it is simply one of calling upon everybody's conscience to exercise that right
with an eye on the rights of others. It is more about nurturing a sense of
civic responsibility than about imposing legislation: Muslim citizens are not
asking for more censorship but for more respect. One cannot impose mutual
respect by means of legislation; rather one teaches it in the name of a free,
responsible and reasonable common citizenship.
We are at a crossroads. The time has come for women and men who reject this
dangerous division of people into two worlds to start building bridges based on
common values. They must assert the inalienable right to freedom of expression
and, at the same time, demand measured exercise of it. We need to promote an
open, self-critical approach, to repudiate exclusive truths and narrow-minded,
binary visions of the world.
We are in dire need of mutual trust. The crises provoked by these cartoons
shows us how, out of "seemingly nothing", two universes of reference can become
deaf to each other and be seduced by defining themselves against each other -
with the worst possible consequences. Disasters threaten that extremists on
both sides would not fail to use for their own agendas. If people who cherish
freedom, who know the importance of mutual respect and are aware of the
imperative necessity to establish a constructive and critical debate, if these
people are not ready to speak out, to be more committed and visible, then we
can expect sad, painful tomorrows. The choice is ours.
· Tariq Ramadan is visiting fellow at St Antony's College, Oxford University
and senior research fellow at the Lokahi Foundation, in London
See the cartoons
The cartoons can be seen at www.brusselsjournal.com/node/698
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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