By Peggy Corlin and Gemma Lougheed - 1st February 2006
Free speech means the right to be offensive about religious beliefs, MEPs insist amid a growing Muslim censorship row.
Furious international and pan-European controversy has broken out over the publication of cartoons depicting Muslim prophet Muhammed in a Danish newspaper.
Some Islamic countries have demanded bans on the publication of the cartoons, arguing that the caricatures are offensive and breach a tradition forbidding depictions of Muhammad or Allah.
MEPs across Europe’s political divides argue that the EU must stand firm in defence of freedom of speech – even at the price of offending Islam.
“I believe in freedom of speech. Even though in this case the newspaper offended me and many other Muslims, the newspaper had every right to print what it did,” UK centre-right MEP Syed Kamall told EUpolitix.
“We in the west value freedom of speech and that should include the freedom to offend.”
But German green MEP Angelika Beer also argues Europeans must not forget that torture scandals in Iraq have increased the sensitivity of Muslims.
“We should not have to prove freedom of expression,” she said. “Muslims would have better understood before the Iraq war.”
Beer calls on the EU to build closer links with the Muslim world and to undo some of the damage done by western foreign policy.
Many Arab and Islamic countries have demanded apologies from Denmark and promises that Muslim sensitivities will be upheld by European governments.
Danish Liberal MEP Anders Samuelson has called on the EU to stand firm or risk signalling weakness.
“If we back down on freedom of speech, it would be a negative sign to ‘aggressive’ forces in the Middle East,” he said.
“It’s a situation that is out of control; it is impossible in a democracy, for a [Danish] government to apologise on behalf of a newspaper.”
“Those who thought they were fighting for freedom of speech have lost out, because actually, now people are scared.”
Amid calls for censorship and apologies, MEPs are lending support to Copenhagen and the Jyllands Posten newspaper that published caricatures of Muhammed.
Karin Riis-Jørgensen, head of the Danish Liberal delegation in the European parliament, condemned the hysteria.
“There has however been much manipulation and misinformation involved in the last four months which has caused this case to escalate,” she said.
“Violent threats and calls for retribution now will only further fan the flames. Freedom of expression is a basic principle of European society and considered a fundamental human right which should not be undermined.”
Sarah Ludford MEP insists “there should be no privileges for religion in terms of being specially protected”.
“It is not for the Danish government to apologise for the actions of an independent newspaper,” said the member of the parliament’s committee on civil liberties.
“I do support free speech up to the point where it could definitely incite hatred. It is therefore proper for the EU to rally around and support the Danish government.”
“We must absolutely not compromise our fundamental rights. I robustly support the right of the newspaper to publish those cartoons.”
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