Israeli Press Review
The dangers of crying out to God
Khatoun Haidar The Lebanese Constitution
guarantees the right of free opinion and belief. It is expected that this right would be
echoed in laws sanctioning the freedom of expression. The law guarantees freedom of
expression within boundaries set by an elected legislature embodying the consensus of the
popular majority. The basic principles of democracy are thus safe, and the proper
implementation of the rule of law would be a normal democratic exercise.
A person has the right to profess any faith he chooses to adopt. He further has the right
to proclaim that he is a non-believer, but it isn’t clear if he has the right to
profess deism or atheism as Lebanon lacks the required secular civil structures.
If one is to write about religion or religious subjects, he has to take into consideration
the Publications Law, which outlaws anything that could incite religious or sectarian
strife. When Aql Awit wrote A Letter to God, published in the An-Nahar daily on March 11,
he was suddenly thrown in the midst of a public outcry and faced public accusations. The
validity of the accusations will surely be discussed for a long time after his trial ends.
Having read the offending letter, I found myself incapable of discussing the issue within
the context of freedom of expression, freedom of the press, or personal freedoms. The
essence of the letter doesn’t give rise to a debate about the constitution, religious
rights or any of the above facts. The letter is simply the outcry of a deeply-religious
person doubting his faith and suffering from it. A sensitive soul revolting when faced
with injustice and suffering reveals a childish belief that good must win.
He starts his letter as a frightened person would, explaining that he isn’t
revolting, just pleading. It is beyond my comprehension how his letter could offend
anyone. Any person facing the unexpected loss of a dear one cries out: “God, why
me?”
Where is the offense? Is it because this cry isn’t related to a personal loss, but to
an injustice that fell upon a whole nation? I can’t believe that any person who read
the letter and understood it could be offended.
It is detrimental to a society to feel threatened by any publication that mentions God
outside the discourse of the recognized churches or established representatives of Islam,
especially when this society has opted to outlaw any discourse that may hurt religious
feelings. It is very easy to cross the line and enter into the realm of censorship,
bigotry and intolerance. In such an atmosphere, legitimate philosophical discussion
becomes taboo and religious thought become heresy. Free thinkers and innovators end up
staying away from public view; development and progress in such a depressing scenario
becomes a distant, unachievable goal.
The sad reality in this matter is that most of the “offended” I discussed the
matter with had not read the article. They had read the comments of others and heard the
inflammatory declarations of some. The public outcry didn’t arise from the readers of
the letter, but from the incitement of those who found it offensive. I don’t doubt
the sincerity of those who found the letter unacceptable, I am just pleading with our
religious intelligentsia to be more tolerant.
An article, debate or discussion are the proper response; violence and anger are
counter-productive, meaningless and an incitement toward civil strife and divisions at a
time the region and the whole world are facing tremendous challenges.
It is dangerous for a society to give the populace the right to determine the legality of
a law. In a democracy, the legislative body is elected and thus has popular support. Laws
are aimed at ordering society, preserving the interests of the majority and protecting the
rights of the minority. These are the essence of the customs and practices that bind us as
a community. A law that restricts the freedom of expression by as wide a definition as
“offending religious sensitivities” is a recipe for catastrophe. Who determines
the nature of the offense? How many people have to be offended? How to quantify and who is
to quantify?
From now on, whenever I shout in distress: “God why me?” I will feel compelled
to look around my shoulder to check out if some zealot is offended!
Khatoun Haidar is a freelance writer. She wrote this
commentary for The Daily Star
Copyright©Daily Star |
