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Jordanian Article: "Racism", Not Freedom of Press, Behind Danish Cartoons

Posted on: Sunday, 5 February 2006, 06:00 CST

Text of article by Nahid Hattar headlined "Clear racism" published by Jordanian newspaper Al-Arab al-Yawm on 4 February

In Europe, as in our countries, there is a trend that attempts to justify the publication of press material that is hostile to Islam; and in fact, offensive to the noble Arab Prophet Muhammad, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him, from the viewpoint of elevating the value of press freedom - a value that is entrenched in modern Western democracies and which thousands of journalists and intellectuals in the Third World, especially the Arab and Islamic world, seek to entrench.

But press freedom, as a conceptual and behavioural value and framework, is not absolute, especially when it conflicts with democratic values. This is why the West incriminates calls for Fascism and Nazism and ideologies that are hostile to the democratic system.

Another example is that the secular system rejects the freedom of religious references in media and social life. This situation shows a clear conflict between the value of media freedom and "every reference to information" and the values of secularism - a conflict that roused a sharp argument in France last year.

It is understood that the democratic West incriminates the publication of any press material that casts doubt on the Jewish Holocaust or contains any kind of reference to anti-Semitism. Needless to say, Western media also exercise strict self-control on the publication of any material that calls for, or even justifies, the killing of civilians for political purposes or propaganda (terrorism).

All these are mere examples for a basic fact, which is the lack of any possibility to dismantle or separate the system of values from democratic concepts because it is a whole system of interlinked behavioural values and concepts with a flexible ladder of priorities and an internal logic that guarantees the operation of the system. Therefore, it repudiates the freedom of saying things contrary to freedom or hostile to other basic values, which form the basis of modern civilization.

With this understanding in mind, we cannot understand the European press's solidarity with the republication of material offensive to the noble Arab prophet Muhammad, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him, from the viewpoint of "press freedom". The publication of that material on a sensitive issue does not express a liberal stand that is opposed to religion within the context of the secular-religious conflict, but a racist and fascist tendency that is hostile to Arabs and Muslims. The proof is that the solidarity of the European press with the Danish and Norwegian press did not come as a reply to government persecution, but as a reply to the spontaneous public protest that swept the Arab and Islamic world, and felt and believed that the offence to the Prophet, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him, is aggression against its conscience, existence and ambitions for freedom, social progress and national liberation.

The link between the Prophet, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him, and terrorism in the Danish press cartoons, is not only an offence to Muslims' religious feelings, but also a collective incrimination of Muslims as terrorists.

This is clear racism that conflicts absolutely with the basic values of democracy. Therefore, it does not fall under the category of "press freedom".

Muhammad, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him, is a central symbol for Arab and Islamic conscience. He is a symbol that signifies nations and peoples that have all suffered, and are still suffering, from Western imperialism due to aggression, usurpation, suppression, economic exploitation, cultural superiority, coercion, blood and tears. Therefore, harming this sacred symbol falls within a trend and is almost a culmination of a trend represented by an escalated onslaught of physical killing to moral killing; from economic exploitation to disdain and spiritual cancellation. This is a signal that the Arab and Islamic masses understand and respond to with legitimate anger.

Source: BBC Monitoring Middle East

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