Guest post by award-winning, bestselling author Samreen Ahsan
Our
world is trending on controversial hashtags these days: be it #JeSuisCharlie,
#PeshawarAttack or #IWillRideWithYou. We all have our own opinions and
thoughts—but what exactly does “freedom of speech” mean?
Is
it having the right to express an opinion on something that you observe or
read, or is it the power to criticize someone on the basis of their religion,
nationality or colour?
To
me, it is simply the power to generate your idea and raise your voice for
justice.
I’d
like to emphasize that I’m not here to criticize any theory or ideology.
Everyone in this world has the right to believe in their own ways and no one
has the right to mock them. God gave us the freedom of making our own decisions
and taking charge of situations. He never asked us to rely on Him for every
act. True, there are certain things that are in His hands (like our life and
death) but on the journey from life to death, He has given us the power.
And
what are all we doing here with that power? Just passing discriminatory remarks
about each other and bullying in an immature way. Sure, it boils your blood if
someone bullies your faith or ridicules your religion, but does that mean you
should take out the sword and cut his throat?
I
believe that everyone has the right to form his expression, yet I also believe
that if you know something will offend a certain group, why take that path?
There are other ways to make your magazine popular...is it necessary to choose
the sensitive path? Make it more controversial just to get fame or some buzz?
Religion has always been a sensitive topic. Be it
Jesus, Moses or Muhammad, I don’t think anyone should criticize someone’s
belief system or the way they respect someone. Freedom of speech does NOT mean
criticizing and mocking! It means you have the right to give your opinion on
any matter without ridiculing someone’s ideology. And how do you do that? Work
on the idea of think-before-you-speak.
On
the other hand, I also believe that one should not react to someone’s
criticism. I’m a practicing Muslim—why didn’t I react to Charlie Hebdo’s
cartoons? Does that mean I don’t love my Prophet or I’m not sincere about
Islam? NO! I believe no matter how much any other person criticize or mock,
they cannot ruin Muhammad’s honor and dignity. He was chosen to be the last
prophet and the religion and revelation of God is completed in him. So if
someone picks Muhammad as a topic of criticism, it’s his mindset and his
mindset own problem.
If I
respect Jesus and follow Muhammad, I don’t expect the entire world to think the
way I think and respect the way I respect. God is the one who gave us free
will, so He is the one to give us freedom of expression. Everyone has the right
to make an opinion. And this mocking won’t harm my faith and my honor toward
Muhammad. It’s how God picked him. No one can cause dishonor because God
honored him. We are not the ones to avenge Muhammad because his dignity is NOT
going anywhere. He was and is a most noble man ever created.
The Quran says:
“We prescribed for them a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a nose for a nose, an ear for an ear, a tooth for a tooth, an equal wound for a wound”
but it also says:
“if anyone forgoes this out of charity, it will serve as atonement for his bad deeds. Those who do not judge according to what God has revealed are doing grave wrong.”
When we are taking revenge—are we sure if it is
eye-for-an-eye, or are we taking the entire head with it? When you try to form
an opinion about Islam or Muslim practices, do you have an idea that incidents
can occur as a backlash? Mocking Muhammad, hurting people’s belief for NO
reason, in the name of “freedom of speech” or for the sake of fun, is not a
mature act.
Anyone
can stand up and take out a sword; anyone can raise the voice and bully the
other. We are not thinking about the collateral damage resulting from these
revenges. Our governments are spending millions of dollars on nuclear weapons, ready
to kill each other, while people around the globe are dying of exposure or the lack
of food and clean water. It’s a shame to all of us!
We all have to live in this world till the Day of
Judgement so why not make it a more tolerable and peaceful place to live in?
When our house is burned, we don’t curse the fire or reason behind it. We try to
either extinguish the fire or save what we can.
Being a Muslim, I condemn all these acts these
Jihadists or unknown people are doing in the name of Islam. This is NOT Islam.
Islam means peace and Jihad means fighting the demon in you first. Muhammad was
dishonored during his time in Mecca and Medina, but he never raised his voice
to kill anyone who disgraced him. There was NO blasphemy at that time.
Muhammad always stayed on this Quranic verse: “To you be your religion, and
to me my religion”. And I think we should all follow this verse, whether
Muslim, Christian, Jew or any other faith.
Remember,
there’s a very fine line between an opinion and bullying. What is your freedom
of speech?
- WINNER OF READERS’ FAVORITE 2014 INTERNATIONAL BOOK AWARDS
- WINNER OF 2014 LOS ANGELES BOOK FESTIVAL
- WINNER OF 2014 PARIS BOOK FESTIVAL
- WINNER OF 2014 HOLLYWOOD BOOK FESTIVAL
- HONORABLE MENTIONS OF 2014 NEW YORK BOOK FESTIVAL
History, art and literature are her passions. "I love digging out information about prophecies, divine miracles and paranormal events that are mentioned in history and holy books, that don’t sound possible in today’s modern world.
"Since childhood, I have been into reading and writing–and yes, it can’t happen without imagination, which luckily has no boundaries. Dance and music are also pastimes I enjoy, as well as reading romance fiction. I love to travel and explore historical cities."
Samreen Ahsan lives in Toronto, Canada.
- Visit her website
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