Legal Protection of Religion In The News
Censorship, Current Affairs, Law, Religion November 28th, 2007Dawkins publisher may be tried for attack on ‘sacred values’
A Turkish prosecutor is considering whether to prosecute the Turkish publisher of Richard Dawkins’ bestselling atheist polemic, The God Delusion, on the grounds that it incites religious hatred. The Guardian
Pupil defends teacher in Muhammad teddy furore
A seven-year-old Sudanese boy has defended his British teacher, who stands accused of insulting Islam’s prophet, saying that he had suggested calling the class teddy bear Muhammad because it was his own name. The Guardian
Might as well put this one in from last week for completeness:
Springer show judgement reserved
The BBC will have to wait to see if it will be prosecuted for screening Jerry Springer – The Opera in 2005. The High Court reserved judgement on whether Christian activist Stephen Green should be allowed to bring a private prosecution for blasphemy. BBC
I have already expressed my views. AC1
November 29th, 2007 at 1:09 pm
I Noticew that Dawkins publisher is being prosecuted in Turkey (I assume by a Moslem). He has not been prosectuted in the UK or in America. I think this demonstrates two key things, firstly the principle of free speech that the west has nurtured and developed over the years. Secondly that different cultures respond to different stimuli, thus what is seen as an irritant or a valid expression of opposition in one country is viewed as an offence in another.
I think the key here in order to avoid imperialist paternalism and western rationalist chauvenism is to accept that different cultures have different value systems. And instead of critisizing these as ‘backwards’ or ‘superstitious’ or ‘fundamentalist’ cultures thereby implying a smug self-satisfactory slap on the back for good ol’ western civilization, perhaps we would be better served by seeking greater knowledge of these cultures and attempting reasonable dialogue with them from an equal starting point.
(Note here that such a conciliatory position should be adopted without compromising on key tenets such as the principle of free speech.)
A question to consider is not the right of opposition a freedom to be extolled too? And at what stage do these freedoms (free speech to criticise and oppose) tranform into persecution?
The British teacher in the Sudan is by all accounts innocent of the charges put to her. Her innocence is being protested by the very people to whom the offence is supposed to have taken place.
Two things about this case strike me as very clear:
1) The outrage that is being stoked by Islamic Fundamentalists on the streets and the press is exerted a worrying degree of influence on the government. And yet the Sudanese government we know is a bastion of Islamic Fundamentalism as well. Is it possibly not the case that this issue has less to do with religion and more to do with political brinkmanship than at first it appears?
Is it not possible that this furore is about anti-western sentimentality, for which any percieved offence against Islam (which many consider to be under attack in a 21st century crusade) is the ideal excuse to take such disproportionate action.
2) More controversially (although not a justification for punishment) is this not a tragic example of pitiful naivety on behalf of the British teacher? With the riots about the depiction of Mohammed in a cartoon recent memory is there not a valid body of opinion to say “didn’t you realise this could cause offence?”
As for the Jerry Springer prosecution it must be put into context that this is a private prosecution under blasphemy laws. In other words it is the personal offence taken by this individual. It is likely on those grounds alone to fail. I think an argument could be found to suggest that this programme would have been better served by being aired on an independent channel such as ITV or C4 rather than on a state run and public funded channel such as the BBC. (I’m not justifying the prosecution here, but I am suggesting that by removing the licence-fee payer from the equation and as long as the broadcasting regulator is in agrrement that its rules have not been breached, there could be little justification for a court case to be pursued if the broadcast had been made by an independent channel.)
November 29th, 2007 at 1:30 pm
And of course regarding the BBC and the Jerry Springer Opera, the most valid point of view is: if you take offence switch off the TV or change channels!
November 30th, 2007 at 9:29 am
The plot thickens:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7120263.stm
UK seeks teacher release in Sudan
Gillian Gibbons
Britain said the incident was an ‘innocent misunderstanding’
Reaction to sentence
The Foreign Office is attempting to secure the release of a British teacher jailed in Sudan for insulting religion after naming a teddy bear Muhammad.