#JeSuisConfused
Faisal Kutty
Lawyer | TEDx Speaker | Writer | Affiliate Faculty, Rutgers CSRR | Associate Professor of Law Emeritus, Valparaiso University | Former Adjunct Professor, Osgoode Hall Law School | follow @faisalkutty | Views my own.
It is the epitome of arrogance to think that secular values and symbols are worthy while others are not.
"I am only trying to make people laugh," says Dieudonne M'bala M'bala. He was referring to his Facebook update: "Tonight, as far as I am concerned, I feel like Charlie Coulibaly."
The comedian was mixing up "Je Suis Charlie" with Amedy Coulibaly, an alleged terrorist. Clearly not amused, the French arrested him and 53 others last week for being an "apologist for terrorism" or hate.
Such restrictions are more common than most of us think. In fact in 2012, a British teen was sent to jail for his Facebook update celebrating the deaths of British soldiers.
As distasteful as these may be, neither constituted a "threat" or a violent act. As blogger Robert Sharpe rhetorically asked; is the sacredness attached to soldiers in the West any more worthy of protection than those attached to Islamic icons?
The Paris tragedy has reignited global interest in an old debate.
Ph.D. Candidate / International Law
10 年Well...I guess as French I might add some precisions to this interesting debate...Freedom of speech is not absolute in France, and whithin its laws, blasphemy of any religion is not prohibited. Dieudonné has been charged for "apology of terrorism". I guess that being nuanced is not being confused.
Lawyer, Mediator, Senior Partner at Watson Jacobs Bosnick LLP
10 年Important article
Dabbling as Free Lance writer after retirement as senior executive.
10 年Most Western Countries have doubled standards. Nowhere freedom of speech is absolute. In most countries obscenity, incitement to illegal action, defamation, racism and fighting words are not protected. In some European countries even denial of Holocaust is punishable crime. - See more at: https://www.paklink.biz/articles/freeExpression.html#sthash.Lj7JPQCl.dpuf