Freedom of speech V fair censorship…?
We kind of expected someone to write about it… remembering that we are a site where people can express themselves FREELY…
AQUOIBON gives us his thoughts on the censoring of the Prophet Mohammed pictures… PLEASE NOTE – the views expressed on this blog are not those of the editor – being a citizen journalism blogazine, we publish the thoughts of our readers…WHAT DO YOU THINK?NG>
Freedom of speech is a basic human right, included under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. While it is true that with every right come responsibilities and that freedom of speech should be used wisely, towards achieving legitimate goals, restrictions upon one’s freedom of speech should be handled with equal caution.
Following intense international debate over the publication of satirical cartoons of prophet Mohammed in several European countries and the ensuing pressure from the Muslim community, the South African High Court recently issued an order prohibiting newspapers to publish cartoons or drawings depicting Prophet Mohammed.
This decision sets a dangerous precedent of press censorship, opening the door to major abuse.
Religious icons are not inoffensive; they are political and have influence over one’s behavior and should therefore be open to healthy criticism. Would the next step be to prohibit critical depiction of political leaders because it harms sensibilities of some community?
While we do not necessarily agree with the content of these cartoons, we think it is healthy for them to be freely available. Thanks to the Internet, they are: here and here
