Freedom of expression can never be an absolute.
How Screwtape – CS Lewis’s fictional henchman of the devil – would be rubbing his hands with glee. Let things escalate out of control, he would say. Let them get at each other’s throats.
Many in the West, including among the Muslim community, view the reaction to the insulting Danish cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed as out of all proportion to the offense. In their view, those who have taken to the streets reveal an unnecessary sensitivity and insecurity. Demonstrators have been shot dead in Afghanistan. Buildings have been burnt. All because of cartoons that were highly offensive, but were also immature and third rate.
The demonstrators have effectively sent the signal: don’t mess with us. They have also rebuked any notion that Mohammed – and by extension Islam itself – can be equated with terrorism. Yet placards which say 'Behead those who insult Islam' are an insult to Islam, which stands for peace amongst all peoples.
That said, the world's media too often treats Islam in a way that it would never treat Judaism. As Robert Fisk writes in The Independent, London: ‘Had the cartoon of the Prophet shown instead a chief rabbi with a bomb-shaped hat, we would have had “anti-Semitism” screaming in our ears.’
As a journalist, I have never felt comfortable with the notion of 'freedom of expression'. Too often the media hides behind this mantra, using it to justify 'publish and be damned'. Well, we have published and we are damned. Irresponsible publishing can only fuel the anger of those extremists who want to create terror in and against the West.
Absolute freedom of expression simply doesn't exist. It is an illusion. When freedom of expression becomes a license to publish our base thoughts the world can quickly descend into violence, as the Danish cartoons have shown. Our most uncharitable and impure thoughts need to be sifted through the filter of courtesy and consideration, responsibility and respect. Freedom of the press has to be balanced against responsibility for the impact that the media has on audiences’ sensibilities. The media too often makes a god out of freedom of expression – yet it is a false god which says that no other consideration matters. Freedom of expression can never be turned into an absolute.
Nor can media censorship be the way forward: it is a blunt instrument, too easily used by political forces as a tool of repression. The alternative is for journalists – and cartoonists – to impose self-restraint.
The media should, of course, be robust towards the evils that men do, including those in the name of religion. Whistleblowing, exposing fraudsters, charlatans and the corrupt, whether in politics, the business world, or the media itself, is a legitimate role for the media. But when the media becomes a vehicle for attacking the core of millions of people's faith, we must ask what is the most important consideration. Freedom to publish regardless of the consequences? Or respect for the values which underlie civilization, including faith and belief?
As Jonathan Sacks, Britain’s Chief Rabbi, said on national radio: 'Law alone won't solve the problem. The real question is: can we learn to respect what others hold holy? Can you respect my faith? Can I respect yours? These things can't be legislated, but they can be taught. Free speech is one thing: responsible speech another; and a free and gracious society needs both.'
Andreas Whittam Smith, The Independent’s former editor, writes that ‘it should be a principle of civilized society that the sacred in religion is respected.' Those who are militantly anti-faith will take scant regard. Those who believe that there is a God who loves the created world, and all who populate it, will see their belief as more important than the god of 'freedom of expression'.
The media has a grave responsibility. It can lead us either towards a clash of civilisations or a partnership of civilisations. Building bridges of understanding and respect is an honourable role for the media. At the core of civilisations is religious belief. The Screwtape in all of us should be consigned to where he belongs.
English