When Fredrik Reinfeldt meets Muslim Ambassadors on Friday to discuss the controversy over the publication of the Mohammed cartoons, he is going to have to walk a delicate tightrope between the Swedish people who support freedom of speech as an absolute right and the sensitivities of the Muslim world.
One problem is that now it has been shown how easy it is to provoke the anger of the Muslim world it will be easy for anybody to publish their own pictures purely to get a reaction. What would happen if far right groups started doing this as a way of provoking Muslims? And every time this happens, the whole Swedish nation and Swedish government are held accountable.
I'm all for freedom of speech, but also I don't want every idiot who wants to piss of the Muslims to be able to do it in my name.
The Muslims on the other hand need to understand that people will always say and do things to provoke a reaction and the right thing to do is to register your distaste and ignore it. If they react so strongly to everyone who insults them, they risk opening up the floodgates to anyone who wants to upset them for their own personal ends.
A sign of life
1 year ago
8 comments:
Thank the complaining countries for their list and send one of our own back to them. In return we want you to: stop human rights violations, stone people..for being stoned, lighten up a little bit on their sharia laws.....
Anonymous said...: Exactly!
/FS
I feel utterly uncomfortable on the idea of adapting to muslim rules and laws in my own country. Freedom of speech is one of the most important pillars in the Swedish constitution and a change to it requires one general election in between before a new legislation could be incorporated.
The muslims request for Sweden to change and adapt the Swedish law and education should instead be returned back at themselves and to those who preaches sharia laws and a holy war on "the infidels in the west", i.e non-muslims.
When studying the chorane you will find writings that are utterly insulting for "the infidels in the west" and that the infidels shall be fought down by a holy sword etc etc. These writings were maybe effective in the dark and medeival ages, which could explain why the muslim calendar is still about 600 years behind the western time (the Gregorian calendar).
/Robert L
Anyone who's seen Freddy dance on a tightrope, like a male Elvira Madigan, wouldn't use the word "delicate".
I totally agree that the idea of the ambassadors coming here and demanding Sweden changes its law is ridiculous, and like I said their reaction will only encourage other people to wind them up some more.
In England there is a very large Muslim population who don't go around chanting, buring flags and threaghtening death to everyone who doesn't agree with them. Instead they work hard and become doctors and lawyers. Maybe I feel different to the average Swede because I come from England and lived alongside moderate Muslims.
Sweden by contrast does not really have any positive images of moderate Muslims as a reference, only the fanatics. This leads to the idea that all Muslims are the same and so insulting the Islamic religion is fair game.
I find it hard to separate politics and religion since they seem so very intertwined and many muslim countries also make an issue of using religion as politics.
The problems arise when people demand that the religion should not be insulted, which of course may be a fair demand in itself. But an insult is only considered to be an insult by the beholder, either by choice or accidently as I see it.
Jokes about other religions almost never results in a very strong reaction. But I guess its a difference living in a democratic country where we never had experienced political or religious oppression.
Considering the freedom of speech, which exists in all democratic countries, however not exactly in the same form everywhere, but still. This freedom states that a person may speak his mind on all topics without any repressive actions by any government or country. There are not so many words said about offending the receiving party.
In most countries this right is considered stronger.
An other question is how non-muslims react to an insulting comment or action from muslims. One recent example was when the Iranian president in a speech denied that the Holocaust ever took place. I don't remember any strong reactions that resembles the muslim reaction to similar statements or drawings. But I can understand those who felt insulted by this statement. But the president excercised his right to say so. An other matter is if his fellow countrymen has the same rights or freedom.
/Robert L
There are countries in Europe where denying the holocaust is a crime, so freedom of speach, as you say, is not the same in every democratic country.
Religion is all too often used as an excuse for people to be shitty to each other and I hate the way religious rhetoric is used by politicians to give their actions some kind of moral weight (Bush is also guilty of this)
This is a quote from a European Ambassador to Tehran
"You know the thing about Iran, It has such a rich culture, a grand history, wonderful people. The cuisine is sophisticated and the scenery is breathtaking. It’s got incredible poets, musicians and filmmakers. Beautiful art and architecture…But it’s cursed with such lousy politicians.”
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