Offensive caricatures: Losing a sense of the sacred

We share the sentiments and concerns shown by some Muslims in Malaysia, particularly the PAS protesters who demonstrated in front of the Danish Embassy last Friday over the caricature of Prophet Muhammad in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten.

To blaspheme the sacred is stretching the notion of press freedom a bit too far. To poke fun at the very heart of any religious faith is dishonourable conduct. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that such conduct would touch a raw nerve among the faithful and antagonise them. What could possibly be honourably achieved by this - other than causing unnecessary hurt to believers?

It is one thing to celebrate the cultural and political diversity of life, but it is quite another to transgress and violate the sense of the sacred in the name of freedom of expression. Have we become so worldly that we have lost all sense of the sacred?

Besides, demonising the Prophet as a terrorist isn't going to help promote better understanding between diverse cultures and faiths in the world, particularly between Islam and the West. Similarly, insulting or poking fun at Jesus Christ or Buddha or other revered figures or their central teachings is not something that decent people do.

Of course, this does not mean we are calling for further curbs on the already extremely limited press freedom in Malaysia. Neither are we condoning the unwarranted censorship of legitimate debate and discussion about religions and the antics of certain religious leaders. What we are saying is that press freedom must be upheld but editors and journalists must use their courtesy and be responsible and sensitive towards the cherished beliefs of the people. It's plain common sense - that is maybe not so common after all.

Here is an article from The Times of London that might be worth reading:

To imply that some great issue of censorship is raised by the Danish cartoons is nonsense. They were offensive and inflammatory. The best policy would have been to apologise and shut up. For Danish journalists to demand “Europe-wide solidarity” in the cause of free speech and to deride those who are offended as “fundamentalists . . . who have a problem with the entire western world” comes close to racial provocation. We do not go about punching people in the face to test their commitment to non-violence. To be a European should not involve initiation by religious insult.

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