ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE: Pope Francis said Thursday there are limits to freedom of expression, especially when it insults or ridicules someone's faith.
Francis spoke about the Paris terror attacks while en route to the Philippines, defending free speech as not only a fundamental human right but a duty to speak one's mind for the sake of the common good.
But he said there were limits.
By way of example, he referred to Alberto Gasparri, who organizes papal trips and was standing by his side aboard the papal plane.
"If my good friend Dr. Gasparri says a curse word against my mother, he can expect a punch," Francis said, throwing a pretend punch his way. "It's normal. You cannot provoke. You cannot insult the faith of others. You cannot make fun of the faith of others."
Many people around the world have defended the right of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo to publish inflammatory cartoons of the Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him) in the wake of the massacre by Al-Qaeda extremists at its Paris offices and subsequent attack on a kosher supermarket in which three gunmen killed 17 people.
But recently the Vatican and four prominent French imams issued a joint declaration that denounced the attacks but also urged the media to treat religions with respect.
Francis, who has urged Muslim leaders in particular to speak out against Islamic extremism, went a step further when asked by a French journalist about whether there were limits when freedom of expression meets freedom of religion.
"They are provocateurs"
Francis insisted that it was an "aberration" to kill in the name of God and said religion can never be used to justify violence.
But he said there was a limit to free speech when it concerned offending someone's religious beliefs.
"There are so many people who speak badly about religions or other religions, who make fun of them, who make a game out of the religions of others," he said. "They are provocateurs. And what happens to them is what would happen to Dr. Gasparri if he says a curse word against my mother. There is a limit."
In the wake of the Paris attacks, the Vatican has sought to downplay reports that it is a potential target for Islamic extremists, saying it is being vigilant but has received no specific threat.
Francis said he was concerned primarily for the faithful, and said he had spoken to Vatican security officials who are taking "prudent and secure measures."
"I am worried, but you know I have a defect: a good dose of carelessness. I'm careless about these things," he said. But he admitted that in his prayers, he had asked that if something were to happen to him that "it doesn't hurt, because I'm not very courageous when it comes to pain. I'm very timid."
He added, "I'm in God's hands."
Pope on Charlie Hebdo: You cannot insult the faith of others
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The slaughter of the Charlie Hebdo journalists in France is going to create the same conditions as those that prevailed after 9/11 in the United States. There will be a backlash against Muslims for the actions of people that have no basis in Islamic teachings, embolden racist rightwing parties, and raise questions about what exactly constitutes free speech.
France’s response to this undoubted outrage, which saw it galvanize world leaders into a show of solidarity against terrorism on Paris’ streets, has to be understood in terms of its culture. There is a much higher tolerance in France, in contrast to other Western nations, for the kind of extreme satire produced by the Charlie Hebdo publication.
As the American writer David Brooks points out in his New York Times article, “I am not Charlie Hebdo,” the United States is not exactly a haven for freedom of speech. Brooks argues that the very magazine everyone’s now supporting, would have been shut down for hate speech if it tried to publish in the US.
Holding a country’s passport and speaking its language does not make a person automatically part of its society. What qualifies one for citizenship of a nation such as France is the ability to understand the culture, respect differences of opinion and allow a measure of assimilation. In terms of this perspective, we cannot consider the Kouachi brothers, who have family origins in Algeria, as French, even if they were citizens and fluent in the language.
These two men follow in the footsteps of others who justify their acts of violence on the basis that they have exclusive access to the truth. In the name of Islam, just last week, these killers murdered hundreds of people in Nigeria, dozens of military school students in Yemen, and three Saudi soldiers on the border with Iraq.
Whether these groups call themselves Boko Haram, Al-Shabab, Islamic State or Al-Qaeda, they are all motivated by the same takfiri beliefs, which declare other people non-believers. Their actions allow Islamophobia to flourish even though right-thinking people know that shouting “Allah-o-Akbar” does not make them Muslims.
These extremists are intellectually and morally bankrupt, they are only able to counter arguments with terror and force. The war against terrorism is against this type of thinking, whatever the name of the organization that springs up today or tomorrow.
Like in the US after 9/11, Muslims will pay a high price for these attacks. Perhaps it was coincidental that the novel Soumission (Submission) was published on the same day of the attack on Charlie Hebdo. The novelist Michel Houellebecq, who envisions France being ruled by a Muslim president in 2022, is now under police protection at a secret location. The country is on high alert, with increased scrutiny of Muslims.
These attacks will embolden and empower the rightwing French parties whose members despise foreigners living among them. They will use Muslims as the bogeyman to gain more votes, marginalizing and drowning out rational and moderate voices. A sad reality is that these terrorists do not understand they are fostering more extremism against the very people they are claiming to defend.
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Email: malharthi@arabnews.com
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