Diary: Islam and Free Speech

The Danish Cartoons of 2005.

The right to free speech does not give the right to an individual, or group, to impose their beliefs and values on other people. The right to free speech just means that you have the right to express your opinion so long as you respect the rights of others. We have the right to our own life. Religious prohibitions should only apply to the believers of a particular religion. By imposing such prohibitions on non-believers, individual rights are violated because you're forcing people to believe in an article of faith. The article in question being the (interpreted) prohibition against depicting the Prophet in any form so as to prevent idolatry. From having read and studied the Quran I can testify to there being no separation of Church and State in Islam, both are one, under God's decree (Islamic Law), as revealed to the token of the prophets.

With all this said, there is a lot of strong language on both sides that can obscure the point in question, that being individual rights, and what's implied: the separation of Church and State. Sure, the Danish cartoons depicting the Prophet as a terrorist are offensive to muslims, just as depicting Jesus as a terrorist would be to christians. But where there's smoke, there's fire, and this depiction of the Prophet had a source in current events. After all, you don't see christians blowing themselves up with their eyes focused on some eternal reward. The real question in this debate is: are we, as a society, going to uphold the separation of Church and State?