#BTColumn – Freedom of speech and double standards

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by this author are their own and do not represent the official position of the Barbados Today.

by Suleiman Bulbulia

Last Thursday, Guyana observed its annual national public holiday of “Youmun-Nabi”. Also commonly known as “Milad un Nabi”, the day commemorates the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad (upon whom be peace). It is one of two public holidays observed in Guyana that are relevant to their sizeable Muslim population.

This day is generally commemorated by Muslims throughout the world during the month of Rabi-ul-Awal, the third month of the Muslim calendar. It is observed as a public holiday in some countries with a large Muslim population while others do not, as its celebration is not considered by them as part of the teachings of Islam.

Around the Islamic world and in Muslim communities, one will find the day observed with religious lectures and reflections on the life of the Prophet Muhammad and the message he delivered.

As the Islamic calendar is based on lunar cycles, the date in the Gregorian calendar will vary each year. The Islamic Calendar is about eleven days shorter than the Gregorian calendar, meaning that in some years this holiday will occur twice.

This year, “Milad un Nabi” was of special significance to Guyanese Muslims. Guyana has, for the first time, a President of the Islamic faith, having been elected to that office
earlier in 2020.

President Irfaan Ali, in his address to the Guyanese Nation for “Youmun Nabi”, spoke to the fact that “… Abundance must not be contained only in one corner of the globe, the abundance must be shared. All our people must have access.

“We have a great task of removing hunger, and the teachings, the work, the lifestyle of the Holy Prophet gives us examples as to how we can do this as humanity. So, as we reflect today, let us all re-commit ourselves to be a bit kinder, a bit gentler. We commit ourselves to peace, to working together ending discrimination and importantly being tolerant of each other.”

For Muslims in every part of the world, “Milad un Nabi” came at a time this year when much focus was on events in France and the heinous act of the decapitation of a school teacher there who, from media reports, sought to teach students in his class freedom of speech by using caricatures of the Prophet and the clampdown that followed by President Macron on Muslim communities across France.

I am always challenged from my vantage point to bring some sort of explanation to colleagues, friends and generally people who know me and know who I am and are seeking answers when such tragedies occur.

There are obviously no clear and definitive answers. What I know is that the vast majority of Muslims, while offended by the continuous abuse of the so-called “freedom of speech” excuse when it comes to insulting what Muslims hold dear and sacred, have not sanctioned or endorsed any attacks such as carried out on the school teacher in France. And that is why Muslims are challenged by the response of President Macron.

He has implicated all Muslims in this crime and has used his authority to condemn the Muslim community at large for the crimes of a few.

The reality is that such responses play directly into the hands of the extremists on both sides of the equation and further ostracizes the majority of Muslims who are peaceful, law-abiding citizens of the country in which they live in. Shutting down mosques and banning legitimate Muslim organizations and groups does not make the situation any better. It further alienates the Muslim community and emboldens those individuals bent on terror and destruction.

While mainstream media may not sensationalize the attacks on Muslims, these attacks have grown significantly. And these attacks when reported are dismissed simply as
the act of a deranged white supremacist or some other more palatable description.

I was brought up to know that I should not insult any person for their religious beliefs, faith, ethnicity, color or any other reason. This is the civilized world we live in. Freedom of speech is a right, but with every right comes responsibilities. That is what we teach our young people. And there can’t be double standards in how we apply freedom of speech.

“If we make fun of people because of the color of their skin, that is racism; if we mock people based on their gender, that is sexism; if we mock Jewish people, that is anti-Semitism and these are all against the law in these European countries. How come when Muslims are mocked and their faith insulted it is deemed as freedom of speech and should be acceptable?

I am in no way justifying what perhaps is also a deranged individual who allegedly chose to commit that barbaric act of murdering the teacher. What I am pointing out is that your double standards are fueling these misguided fanatics to come out of the woodwork.

What I am also saying, as many who know also, is that your history is not anywhere close to squeaky clean. The blood and lives of millions of Africans are on your colonial hands. You have still much to answer for in your crimes against humanity and for centuries of colonialist exploits, especially in North Africa.

Teach this history in your schools. Teach the truth that your nation was built by the blood, sweat, tears, lives and wealth of the people you colonized and left destitute, in mental anguish and psychological damage as a result. Teach that your history is replete with examples of the murder of thousands who dared speak out against your oppression in their lands, where they were supposed to have “freedom of speech”.

Ironically, it was a French author, poet, politician and writer, Alphonse de Lamartine (d. 1869), who was influential in the foundation of the Second Republic and a central figure who led the campaign to abolish slavery and the death penalty and was a strong advocate of democracy that described the Prophet Muhammad as follows:

“If greatness of purpose, smallness of means, and astonishing results are the three criteria of a human genius, who could dare compare any great man in history with Muhammad? The most famous men created arms, laws, and empires only. They founded, if anything at all, no more than material powers which often crumbled away before their eyes. This man moved not only armies, legislations, empires, peoples, dynasties, but millions of men in one-third of the then inhabited world; and more than that, he moved the altars, the gods, the religions, the ideas, the beliefs and the souls.”

The Prophet Muhammad, as all the Prophets and Messengers of the Creator who came before him (peace be upon them all) are dear and sacred to Muslims. You insult any one of them and you insult nations of people.  Freedom of speech should never be abused in such a way.

Suleiman Bulbulia is a Justice of the Peace; Secretary of the Barbados Muslim Association; Muslim Chaplain at the U.W.I, Cave Hill Campus and Chair, Barbados Childhood Obesity Prevention Coalition. Email: suleimanbulbulia@hotmail.com.