IF YOUR TALK DOESN'T SERVE GOOD – EXERCISE YOUR RIGHT TO REMAIN SILENT

THIS past week we have seen a tragic turn of events in South Africa and the world.  One would have never thought that a video would cause so much harm. A Los Angeles producer who reportedly goes by the names Sam Bacile or Nakoula Basseley came into the lime light rather reluctantly this past week after a video that he made spark outrage from Muslim communities around the world.

An American diplomat in Libya was killed as a show of disdain from parts of the Muslim community, as the video portrayed Islam’s Prophet Mohamed as a “thug”, a “rogue” and “a womaniser”.

But the violent response did not stop there. People from many of the world’s Arab regions demonstrated their anger at the video by targeting American embassies and a female suicide bomber crashed a bomb-laced care into a vehicle in Afghanistan, an incident that claimed the lives of eight South Africans.

Before continuing it is important that I stress that any form of violent action that results in the death of innocent people is quite tragic and perpetrators must be brought to justice. It’s also important to note that generalising the actions of a small portion of a whole group is unfair and dangerous.

I am confident that the number of Muslims who resort to this kind of violence to express their anger is in the minority. The Muslims I know in my personal life are kind, amiable and peace-loving people.

But there is an underlying issue that is in this tragedy that has been beneath the surface for the Arab world that has been a bone of contention for a decade.

In 2001 the United States were the victims of perhaps the most horrendous crime ever committed when terrorists crashed planes into the New York’s twin towers. What followed was an invasion into a number of Arab nations in a search for weapons of mass destruction.

This “war on terror” devastated the nations affected and more than a decade later no weapons of mass destruction were found.

This stays fresh in the minds of angry people who have protested against the video and shows that parts of the Arab world were fed up with the West perpetuating Islamophobia after the difficult decade many people suffered at the hands of Americans.

So with all these sensitive elements, why would this person be foolish enough to further antagonise matters by mocking a figure that Islam regards so highly?

America as a nation endorses the right to freedom of expression, no matter how absurd the expression may be to others. I am a respecter of people’s rights and don’t believe this right should change.

However there is no denying that the importance of not causing harm through exercising rights is ignored when something is expressed.

Earlier this year South Africa had a similar debate around Brett Murray’s painting The Spear, which depicted the South Africa’s president Jacob Zuma with his genitals exposed in a pose modelled after an iconic painting of Vladimir Lenin.

Political parties and members of SA society were quite put off by the explicit nudity in the picture and were concerned about the President’s dignity which they felt was being undermined by the “artwork”.

My personal feelings about the painting set aside, there is a strong argument that while Brett Murray had the right to express himself in the way he did, he had a responsibility not to cause harm in the way he did it.

Responsibility has gone out of the window in this day and age when it comes to these matters. People seem to want all of the rights and none of the responsibility. When the damage is done they want to be protected from the public as a result of the harm their actions have caused.

The video in question resulted in many tragic, needless and violent deaths. The Spear caused a young man who was also expressing himself (by defacing a painting he didn’t like) to be assaulted by security. These things constitute harm done.

There is a lesson to be learnt in terms of tolerance in this matter. We need to be careful of how we express our views around things that people regard as sacred. We have seen the damage that people speaking their minds can do on the continent (The Hutu Ten Commandments in Rwanda’s 90’s tribal conflicts come to mind).

The world is becoming more integrated than ever and going forward we need constructive discussion and discourse around issues. If that is too much to ask of the freedom of expression rally club then we are headed for tough times. If your expression will cause damage keep it to yourself.

President Nzumbi