The Philippine Online Chronicles

When does freedom to express oneself stop and discrimination begin?

In the Vatican, during last year's Christmas Eve Mass, the choir’s steady hum in St. Peter’s Basilica was drowned by shrieks as a woman jumped the barricades, lunging for Pope Benedict XVI. The Vatican guards were able to tackle 25-year-old Susanna Maiolo, but not before she got a hold on the Pope’s raiment, bringing the 82-year-old clergyman down with her.

Immediately after the incident, Pope Benedict was still able to deliver his “To the City and the World” address with a steady demeanor. Retired Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, however, was not so fortunate, as he suffered a hip bone fracture and was confined to the hospital after also being knocked down by Maiolo.

A Swiss-Italian who allegedly has psychiatric problems, Maiolo was taken away discreetly by guards before she was able to cause any more commotion.

Turban bomb cartoon

Five years ago, in Denmark, another prominent religious figure – the Muslim prophet Muhammad – was attacked, and although only in print, the damage cost the world more than a trip to the chiropractor.

In September 2005, the newspaper Jyllands Posten published Kurt Westgaard’s caricatures, with one depicting Muhammad’s turban as a bomb with the fuse lit up. Yet another features Muhammad telling suicide bombers that he can no longer reward them with virgins, as they are in short supply.

Muslims in Nigeria reacted by burning Danish flags. Supermarket owners in Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, banned Danish products from their shelves. Even the public apology of Jyllands Posten's editors was not enough for people in Gaza, who spray painted the European Union's offices, “Closed until the government apologizes.”

Westgaard took his stand saying that the bomb turban is not about Islam and Muslims in general but about misinterpretations of it that “fuel” terrorist acts. He further stated that a religion that becomes dictatorial deserves protest.

Conspiracies?

Religious differences are difficult to resolve, especially as there are those who would resort to radical acts to forward their agenda – whether it be along the lines of Maiola’s five seconds of fame, or the more complicated framework of the alleged Western, Zionist or Middle Eastern agendas in the turban bomb cartoons.

Manfred Gerstenfield, for example, stated that the Muslims blame the Jews for all the evil in the world – the 9-11 attacks, the bird flu, and the publication of the turban bomb caricatures. He further implied that the meeting of Muslim leaders in Mecca aimed to “agitate” all Muslims against Denmark and this resulted in the boycott of Danish products in several Arab countries.

Iranian president Ahmadinejad, meanwhile, was quoted as saying that people who insult Islam, along with the Americans and Europeans are “hostages of the Zionists.”

These sorts of remarks aren't helped by the fact that there are many other such opinions circulating not only on the Internet but in mainstream publications as well. They imply that there is a thin string that holds people of different faiths together, and that despite progress in relations between nations, there is still a lot of work to do to smooth out differences.

Fine print in freedom of expression

Arnauld Levy, editor of France Soir, another newspaper that published the turban bomb cartoon, stated that there must exist a balance between freedom of expression in the contemporary world, and deep respect for all religious beliefs.

For Sean McCormack, tformer Washington State Department spokesman, anti-Muslim images are just as unacceptable as anti-Christian images. Jack Straw, British Foreign Secretary, affirmed that freedom of speech does not entail an obligation to insult.

True freedom requires people to be fair to everybody, and being fair requires serious consideration of what rights are held or otherwise violated in the expression of that freedom.

Photo: “thin red line” by boris drenec, c/o Flickr. Some Rights Reserved.

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