 Last
week, I wrote an article defending free speech for everyone – and in response
there have been riots, death threats, and the arrest of an editor who published
the article.
Here's how it happened. My column reported on a startling development at the
United Nations. The UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights has always had the job
of investigating governments who forcibly take the fundamental human right to
free speech from their citizens with violence. But in the past year, a coalition
of religious fundamentalist states has successfully fought to change her job
description. Now, she has to report on abuses of free expression
including defamation of religions and prophets. Instead of defending free
speech, she must now oppose it.
I argued this was a symbol of how religious fundamentalists – of all stripes –
have been progressively stripping away the right to freely discuss their faiths.
They claim religious ideas are unique and cannot be discussed freely; instead,
they must be respected – by which they mean unchallenged. So now,
whenever anyone on the UN Human Rights Council tries to discuss the stoning of
adulterous women, the hanging of gay people, or the marrying off of ten
year old girls to grandfathers, they are silenced by the chair on the grounds
these are religious issues, and it is offensive to talk about
them.
This trend is not confined to the UN. It has spread deep into democratic
countries. Whenever I have reported on immoral acts by religious fanatics –
Catholic, Jewish, Hindu or Muslim – I am accused of prejudice, and I am
not alone. But my only prejudice is in favour of individuals being able
to choose to live their lives, their way, without intimidation. That means
choosing religion, or rejecting it, as they wish, after hearing an honest, open
argument.
That's why I wrote: All people deserve respect, but not all ideas do. I don't
respect the idea that a man was born of a virgin, walked on water and rose from
the dead. I don't respect the idea that we should follow a "Prophet" who at the
age of 53 had sex with a nine-year old girl, and ordered the murder of whole
villages of Jews because they wouldn't follow him. I don't respect the idea that
the West Bank was handed to Jews by God and the Palestinians should be bombed or
bullied into surrendering it. I don't respect the idea that we may have lived
before as goats, and could live again as woodlice. When you demand "respect",
you are demanding we lie to you. I have too much real respect for you as a human
being to engage in that charade.
An Indian newspaper called The Statesman – one of the oldest and most venerable
dailies in the country – thought this accorded with the rich Indian tradition of
secularism, and reprinted the article. That night, four thousand Islamic
fundamentalists began to riot outside their offices, calling for me, the editor,
and the publisher to be arrested – or worse. They brought Central Calcutta to a
standstill. A typical supporter of the riots, Abdus Subhan, said he was
prepared to lay down his life, if necessary, to protect the honour of the
Prophet and I should be sent to hell if he chooses not to respect any
religion or religious symbol? He has no liberty to vilify or blaspheme any
religion or its icons on grounds of freedom of speech.
Then, two days ago, the editor and publisher were indeed arrested. They have
been charged – in the world's largest democracy, with a constitution supposedly
guaranteeing a right to free speech – with deliberately acting with malicious
intent to outrage religious feelings. I am told I too will be arrested if I
go to Calcutta.
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