We in the West, love our freedoms. Especially our freedom of expression. It’s actually the most precious of our rights, and keeps despot-wannabees in check. And though the Creator placed a desire for freedom in every heart…not all cultures/ideologies have the same, or any, appreciation for this privilege…
As a matter of fact…Islam and free speech mix, like oil and water…
Why? Not because there is fault in free expression, but rather the flaw lies in the manipulative ideology of Islam.
This is where the ideology of Islam stands on free expression:
— The idea of free speech is foreign to Islam due to the possibility of violating its prohibition to Blasphemy. Ridiculing, criticizing, questioning, showing irreverence toward Muhammed, Allah, the Quran, Hadiths or any Islamic holy texts, artifacts, customs, or dictates…is forbidden.
— Apparently, Muhammed and Allah didn’t trust their followers to behave themselves, so punishment was commanded in the Hadiths, BACKED by the Quran‘s justification for the death penalty to blasphemers (Quran 5:33; 6:93; 33:57-61).
— And let’s not forget the respected Islamic Scholars that further support death for insulting Islam’s prophet.
We’ve seen this played out in current events:
— The Satanic Verses Controversy, novel by Salman Rushdie.
— The Muhammed Cartoons Controversies (the accused received death threats from the Islamic community) Jyllands-Posten (resulted in 200 deaths and hundreds of injuries), Lars Vilks (received death threats and assassination attempt), Muhammed Cartoon Hoax perpetrated by radical Muslim Imams to provoke attacks on infidels.
— The murder of Theo Van Gogh, outspoken film director & columnist, who created the film Submission (Directed by Theo Van Gogh and written by Ayaan Hirsi Ali), which portrayed a Muslim woman with Quranic verses written on her flesh.
— Dutch MP Geert Wilders film Fitna (watch it on my website). He received a plethora of death threats and was prosecuted by courts in the UK and The Netherlands…by non-Muslims, for blasphemy of Islam.
— The Muhammed Teddy Bear Blasphemy Case. A British school teacher, teaching in the Sudan, prosecuted for allowing her class of 7-yr olds to name a teddy bear Muhammed. Protests of 10,000+ called for her flogging & death. The outrage in the UK was the only thing that saved her life and she was deported back home.
— Charlie Hebdo Islamic Massacre – A satirical magazine insulted all religions, but Islam would have none of that. On Jan. 7, 2015, Islamic terrorists murdered 11 staff members and injured 12 at Charlie Hebdo, because they published pics of Muhammed in a satirical manner.
Tragically, for humanity, Islam’s dictates concerning free expression are not like an ornate necklace/necktie placed around a human’s neck, but rather a noose, chocking the very life out of freedom, to its last breath.
Shalom through strength…
Image: http://newssimple.blogspot.com/2011_01_01_archive.html
