The Concept of Freedom of Speech: West, Islam, Debate, Dialogue and Human Interaction Saturday, January 24, 2015 1:34pm Origins: The origins of freedom of speech in the West were for the purpose of search for truth and accountability. Main objectives were to establish justice, accountability and human progression. Absolute free speech does not exist. Speech in itself is restricted by specific laws influenced by dominant moral ethics of a society. How does Islam promote dialogue and debate? Islam allows good. Allah (swt) does not like utterance of evil speech. Prophet Mohammad (saaw) said that we must have good manners, speak good or remain silent. Islamic intellectual, spiritual tradition almost forces from this perspective to engage in dialogue and debate and intellectual activity, even if we know we are discussing with those whose views are abhorrent to us. Free speech cannot be used as a freedom to insult. How did the freedom of speech become the right to offend or the freedom to insult, and what does that mean for the basic interaction between humans? People cursing and swearing at each other does not facilitate meaningful dialogue and justice. Freedom of speech to degrade, dishonor, insult goes against the very objectives of freedom of speech. Be Human: A civilized society does not degrade, dishonor, defame, insult and use vile speech. Just be human. This is how Islam has historically approached rational debate and open dialogue. Excerpts from short video, “Don’t Hate, Debate” found at iera.org/campaigns/dont-hate-debate
Posted on: Sat, 24 Jan 2015 08:50:39 +0000
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