Should we have a right to offend? Sweden and Denmark face a diplomatic headache after sparking anger in the Muslim world by allowing protesters to burn the Quran.
Outrage in Muslim world over Quran burning
Should we have a right to offend? Sweden and Denmark face a diplomatic headache after sparking anger in the Muslim world by allowing protesters to burn the Quran.
As the story goes, the Prophet Muhammad was meditating in a cave on Mount Hira in 610 CE when the angel Jibril appeared to him. The angel revealed to him a message to spread far and wide.
This message was the first revelation of the QuranThe holy book of Islam, whose words are believed by Muslims to have been passed directly from God to the Prophet Muhammad in a series of visions spanning 23 years. from AllahA term used for the only God in Islam. . And messages continued to be revealed to Muhammad for a further 23 years before he passed away. After his death, they were compiled into Islam's holy text.
Because of this, for Muslims, respecting the Quran is respecting the word of Allah. Many Muslims perform a ritual washing before handling its pages, and it should never touch the ground.
So it is not hard to see how desecrationsDamaging or showing a lack of respect to something holy. of the Quran in Denmark and Sweden have sparked huge diplomaticNon-violent peacekeeping. Diplomatic means keeping good relations between the governments of different countries. and religious conflicts in recent weeks.
On Monday, two far-right protesters in Copenhagen set fire to a Quran in front of the Iraqi embassy as police stood by. The burning was allowed to go ahead as Denmark has no laws prohibiting blasphemySpeaking with contempt or disrespect about a religious deity or sacred person. Blasphemy laws were abolished in the UK in 2008. .1
It follows widespread fury last week after an Iraqi Christian refugee was granted permission on two separate occasions by the Swedish police to burn a Quran in Stockholm. Protests erupted across the Islamic world, with angered protesters setting fire to the Swedish embassy in BaghdadA city in Iraq built by the Abbasids. It remains the capital of Iraq today. and expelling the Swedish ambassador.
As the Quran is a sacredConnected to God or another religious deity and so deserving of respect. text which carries a lot of spiritual significance for Muslims, burning it is seen as a desecration of Islam itself. In Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Somalia intentionally desecrating the Quran can carry a death sentence.
So why did authorities allow the burnings to go ahead? Although the law in Sweden protects against incitement to ethnic or racial hatred, this does not include desecration of religious texts. Some believe that outlawing wrongful treatments of holy books would inhibit freedom of expression and prevent valid critiqueA detailed response, especially a critical one, to a person's work or ideas. of the role of religion in society.
Others point out that the freedom to express an opinion is not the same as the freedom to offend. The Quran is a holy text with a sacred meaning for a lot of people. Desecrating it does not make any intelligent point, but it does show intolerance of others' views.
The right to practise religion peacefully is ingrainedSomething that has existed for a long time and is very hard to change. in law. Some argue that burning a holy text should be treated as a form of hate speech. Others disagree, saying that there should be few, if any, limits to freedom of expression.
<h5 class="wp-block-heading eplus-wrapper" id="question"><strong>Should we have a right to offend?</strong></h5>
Yes: Every view that you have is going to offend someone somewhere in the world. Nonetheless, we should feel free to express ourselves without worrying about causing offence. We are only responsible for our own actions, not others' reactions.
No: In most cases, offending people is the worst way to make a criticism or start a dialogue. We should not focus on a "right to offend", but instead on our duties to each other as humans to be respectful and tolerant.
Or... On a human level, we should all try not to offend each other and to show respect for each other's views, but offending people should never be prohibited by law. This would set an extremely dangerous precedent.
Quran - The holy book of Islam, whose words are believed by Muslims to have been passed directly from God to the Prophet Muhammad in a series of visions spanning 23 years.
Allah - A term used for the only God in Islam.
Desecrations - Damaging or showing a lack of respect to something holy.
Diplomatic - Non-violent peacekeeping. Diplomatic means keeping good relations between the governments of different countries.
Blasphemy - Speaking with contempt or disrespect about a religious deity or sacred person. Blasphemy laws were abolished in the UK in 2008.
Baghdad - A city in Iraq built by the Abbasids. It remains the capital of Iraq today.
Sacred - Connected to God or another religious deity and so deserving of respect.
Critique - A detailed response, especially a critical one, to a person's work or ideas.
Ingrained - Something that has existed for a long time and is very hard to change.
Outrage in Muslim world over Quran burning

Glossary
Quran - The holy book of Islam, whose words are believed by Muslims to have been passed directly from God to the Prophet Muhammad in a series of visions spanning 23 years.
Allah - A term used for the only God in Islam.
Desecrations - Damaging or showing a lack of respect to something holy.
Diplomatic - Non-violent peacekeeping. Diplomatic means keeping good relations between the governments of different countries.
Blasphemy - Speaking with contempt or disrespect about a religious deity or sacred person. Blasphemy laws were abolished in the UK in 2008.
Baghdad - A city in Iraq built by the Abbasids. It remains the capital of Iraq today.
Sacred - Connected to God or another religious deity and so deserving of respect.
Critique - A detailed response, especially a critical one, to a person's work or ideas.
Ingrained - Something that has existed for a long time and is very hard to change.