After more than six weeks of violent riots, which resulted in loss of lives, the protests in the Islamic world against the now infamous Danish cartoons seem to have abated. But is this over or is it just a lull?
What is certain is that the situation created by the publication (and reproduction) of the cartoons has again brought to the surface the rift that still exists between the Western mentality and that of the Islamic world. Culture, religion, politics all came into play as people protested against the cartoons and others defended what they called freedom of expression while others used the issue for their own ends.
It is now also certain that the initiative taken by the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten to publish the cartoons was ill-judged, to say the least, as was that of other editors who decided to reproduce them. Even if the magazine did not expect such a backlash, it showed a lack of knowledge and experience of the Islamic mind.
When other editors decided to reproduce the cartoons on the pretext of upholding freedom of expression, they did more harm than good. The situation was already white-hot and further reproduction of the cartoons, far from asserting freedom of expression, was understandably taken as a taunt by devout followers of Islam. Most commentators reasoned that freedom of expression does not mean insulting others' beliefs but others defended the editors' right to publish and be damned.
The media in Malta, too, dealt with the controversy and various views were expressed - a very healthy and democratic exercise. Most radio and TV programmes rose or fell on the merits of the presenter and on that of their participants... and we heard a lot of sense and also some nonsense, such as: "Freedom of expression gives you the right to ridicule and insult others... you are free to say what you want... the other is free to reply... freedom of expression is above that of belief..."
The more mature and cautious opted for a line, even if it is a thin one, that has to be drawn. Because there are limits, otherwise we would be living in a graver bedlam than we are already experiencing in this age of ours where nobody seems to know where they are going...
And during a seminar held earlier this month by the Islamic Call Society at its quarters in Corradino and chaired by Ranier Fsadni, all the speakers stressed that freedom of expression has limits.
Wagdi Nashoush, general secretary of the Malta branch of the World Islamic Call Society, opening the seminar, said that cultural diversity does not hinder integration and harmony as long as there is respect for the faiths and cultures and true desire for tolerance and peace. Malcolm Naudi, chairman of the Institute of Maltese Journalists, stated that freedom of speech is not absolute and freedom should not infringe on the rights and feelings of others.
Dr Harry Vassallo, chairman of Alternattiva Demokratika, spoke on the need to respect the individual's right to believe or not to believe, and pointed out that in politics, controversies on religion should be avoided.
Fr Edmund Theuma, OFM Conv., who has translated the Koran into Maltese, spoke on relations between Islam and Christianity. Another speaker was Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Leo Brincat, who said that freedom of speech should be accompanied by tolerance and that making fun of religion is not tolerance and this is why the cartoons were offensive.
Mohammed El Saadi, Imam at the Malta Mosque, said that followers of Islam believe in freedom of expression but at the same time they also believe that such freedom should be exercised in a respectful, responsible and constructive way which safeguards the fundamental human rights of others and maintain the harmony and stability of the societies and serve the common good.
Winding up the seminar, Foreign Minister Dr Michael Frendo stressed that rights have limits; they are limited when the rights of others start, and freedoms have limitations which must be respected.
Here it is apt to quote UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, when he said that "freedom of speech is never absolute as it entails responsibility and judgment". To this we may add that although freedom of expression is one of the most valuable characteristics of democracy, it is surely not absolute because limits to freedom of expression already exist, and rightly so.
When something like the furore over the cartoons takes place, many elements gets into play and one has to be careful on how to look at positions and situations. Proper analysis of this current topic would surely lead to the actual background. And a deep look at the background will surely unravel the age-old clash of diversity in mentality.
The cartoons issue is not a question of religion because the Christian and Islamic religions enjoy good relations. Christian missionaries have been working in several Arab and Islamic countries for ages. And Christian churches exist in these countries while mosques have been opened in most Christian countries.
The Catholic Church's Ecumenical Movement holds regular meetings with Islamic religious leaders.
Even during the riots following the publication of the cartoons there were only two cases of acts against the Catholic religion and these were isolated and carried out by fundamentalists. In general, Islamic followers are not antagonistic towards the Catholic religion and the Vatican itself condemned acts that insult religion, while Church leaders sympathised with Muslims for feeling insulted by the cartoons.
It has now also become known that some of the more violent riots had been instigated by those who wanted to fuel actions against the Western world. Where such instigators were not in evidence, the demonstrations were quiet and were carried out in a calm and orderly manner.
A closer look at the divergences of mentalities involved one notices that for example most Arab countries are ruled as Islamic states where the dictates of the Islamic religion are the laws of the country.
European states, on the other hand, while elected by people of Christian belief and though some have the norms of the Christian religion enshrined in their Constitutions, are completely lay. Indeed some formerly well-known Christian states have enacted laws which are at variance with the teachings of the Catholic Church.
Mentality comes into play even in religion itself. All religions suffer through wrong mentalities within their own ranks, the clash between the normal, progressives and fundamentalists is a case in point.
Fundamentalists are blinded by the way they see their religion taking everything literally and their fanaticism leaves no opening for anything else. And these are the core of all the strife and turmoil because when they act they do so in the name of their religion and wittingly or unwittingly cause it more harm than good.
The case of the Danish cartoons, if anything, has given us the opportunity to open our eyes to the various factors at play, among them the fact that it has become almost impossible to control the mass media. The media naturally uphold the sacredness of 'freedom of expression' and when commenting on this they have a field-day.
Satellite television knows no boundaries, and the same applies to the Internet and the proliferation of Websites and e-mail messages. The accent has to be on self-regulation and this opts for the education and relative formation of our minds. Crimes are known when they are committed, only self-regulation and a thoughtful mind can actually prevent them from happening.
But the cartoons outrage has shown us also that while we are taking for granted our mutual agreements with the now oil-rich Arab states with regard to commercial functions, we are missing out on the fact that ours and theirs mentality are wide apart. And the cartoons, ironically enough, normally a means of entertainment, have rocked us into a serious reality that we surely must face in the very near future, if not now.
Mentalities cannot be changed overnight. One has to exercise tolerance and great understanding. We are facing a situation where there is a great need for Europeans and Arabs to know more about each other. Heads of states have to meet, discuss, launch joint-ventures on education and culture and organize exchanges especially between youths. Europe has become inundated with emigrants coming from different nationalities and coming with their own customs and mentalities.
The problem will continue to grow. We have to learn to live with each other, globalisation is seeing to that. We can't go back. We cannot base our understanding and relationships with each other only because of commercial transactions. Living together means much more than that.
joecord@onvol.net