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Cold-Blooded Murder in Paris

FATEHPAL SINGH TARNEY

 

 

 

Let me begin this column by condemning in no uncertain terms the cold-blooded murder of the editor, cartoonists and others in Paris at Charlie Hebdo, the satirical magazine’s headquarters.

In its aftermath, much has been made of 'freedom of expression.’ However, I would like to play devil’s advocate for a moment to stimulate some constructive, “out of the box” thought, so to speak. 

I admit that my position may be unpopular, but it is really designed to improve, not weaken, the commitment to conscientious freedom of expression.

I have said on numerous occasions that any citizen of Israel has more freedom to criticize the actions of his or her right-wing government than does any American politician. When the U.S. government pleads with Israel to cease construction of new settlements on Palestinian land so as to keep the peace process going, the Israeli government ignores us. No American official can criticize Israel or suggest a curtailment of economic or military aid. 

So, when we take pride in our freedom of expression, we really should be more honest and humble and qualify such statements.

Another point I would make is this. We Sikhs respect all faiths and I believe it would be inconsistent with our Sikh principles to poke fun at the prophet of Islam or Jesus or Moses or the Buddha. Moreover, because Jesus and Moses are respected prophets in Islam, no devout Muslim would poke fun at them regardless of how much disdain he or she has for the West. 

To be sure, people in Europe, North America, Australia, etc. are free to trash and bash the prophet Muhammad and get a few short-term laughs from some irreverent people, but at what ultimate cost? 

I am also aware that that there are people in the West who satirize Jesus. As a devout Sikh, I have trouble with this as well. Yes, there is freedom to do it, but is this kind of humor worth it? 

Additionally, burning Qur’ans or flushing them down toilets as a way of protesting the despicable 9-11 attacks, is that worth the subsequent loss of life, destruction of property and alienation of almost two billion people that results?


January 8, 2015

 

Conversation about this article

1: Baldev Singh (Bradford, United Kingdom), January 08, 2015, 2:42 PM.

As Sikhs we should be more vocal about Guru Nanak's universal message of Live and Let Live!

2: Ajit Singh Batra (Pennsville, New Jersey, USA), January 08, 2015, 4:06 PM.

Ref.#1: Even better, our motto is "Let Live and Live" ... it leads to love, peace and harmony.

3: Parmjit Singh (Canada), January 09, 2015, 4:08 AM.

Fatehpal ji, now this is what freedom of expression was meant for. Thank you for having the courage to step outside the box. I too agree that the act of the senseless killing must be condemned. However, that does not change the fact that xenophobic expression is not the same value as freedom of expression. It is hate.

4: Manbir Singh Banwait (Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada), January 09, 2015, 9:32 AM.

Surely the author is not suggesting that those murdered in Paris were in some way responsible for their own deaths, by having provoked the wrong people?

5: Sunny Grewal (Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada), January 09, 2015, 2:37 PM.

The majority community tries to hide behind satire, humor, freedom of expression, to discriminate against minorities in the mainstream media. This can be as simple as always portraying a man with a turban as a taxi driver on television or using the guise of humor to completely mock and dehumanize minorities. I would like to say this, however, that if Muslims think that it is blasphemous to draw their Prophet, then they are free not to draw him, but to think that their belief system applies to non-Muslims as well is wrong.

6: G Singh (San Francisco, California, USA), January 09, 2015, 8:08 PM.

I could understand the author's position if Muslims were not killing in the name of religion, everybody including their own, all over the world. But to imply that somehow the Chedbo cartoonists were responsible and brought this upon themselves is wrong.

7: Parmjit Singh (Canada), January 10, 2015, 6:12 AM.

Re Comment #4 #6. No, the author is not suggesting that those in Paris were responsible for their own deaths any more than comment #4 & #6 are suggesting mocking entire faith groups or communities is a value. Because there is some relation between the two actions does not mean they can't be analyzed separately. In fact they must be. While the world is reacting to the cycle of hate with hate, the author is amongst the few who sees two separate actions. The one very few are condemning is the continuing hate directed at a faith group. Je suis the other.

8: Oliver Smith (United Kingdom), January 10, 2015, 6:45 AM.

I don't think these sorts of cartoons are particularly funny or tasteful, though I don't believe they're hate-speech either, more of an exercise in extreme cynicism. But we cannot allow censorship based on our personal tastes and biases, especially in the press. Humility comes from accepting that others have different opinions to us, even if we believe they are stupid or offensive, and from accepting that other people may think the same of our own views. Of course, there is a line that shouldn't be crossed: we can't accept harassment, bullying or calls for persecution of others. But the contents of a newspaper don't fall past that line: if you don't like Charlie Hebdo's caustic, provocative and oft-offensive style of journalism, which attacks all sides and has not been limited to Muslims, simply don't buy the paper. Nobody's forcing anyone to read it.

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