Offense is no offence! We need to keep things in proportion!

Posted on by Opher

Tom RobinsonSome Muslims may well be offended by cartoons, novels or articles about Mohammed, Islam or the Koran. I am sure that a number of politicians, political parties, celebrities and other religious leaders have been offended too. It is no excuse for violence and even less for murder.

Lampooning, satire and parody can cause offense. It is intended to cause offense.

The freedom of speech means that we can offend people with impunity. That is what makes Britain such a great country. We are free. We cut down all the pompous leaders to normal size. We caricature them and send them up; we ridicule them and stop them getting too big for their boots. We laugh at them.

One only has to look at the humour we deploy from the Goons, Monty Python to Spitting Images and modern stand-up. Politicians, Religious Leaders and celebrities of all types are fair game.

Personally I was hugely offended by the way Muslims went round India and desecrated Hindu temples by chopping off the heads of statues, or went round Jordan and Turkey destroying the beautiful Christian icons. I was horrified at the wanton destruction of the Buddha’s of Bamiyan. It was sacrilege. And I’m an antitheist! It did not make me go out shooting innocent people! That is barbaric.

By all means if your religion says you depict things in a certain way then do it that way, if you choose. But do not inflict your ways on others! You have no exclusive perspective on truth. You only have belief. Imposing on others is wrong!

There are obviously limits to the amount of offensive that is legal. This should be decided by the law of the land and not a religious group. This country became civilised when it became secular following the enlightenment. Before that it was a barbaric theocracy. I never want to see anything like that again.

We should be tolerant of each other; not respond disproportionately to offense and live together in harmony. There is never a justification for violence.

If I went to live in a Muslim country I would abide by the laws and strictures of the culture. If I visit mosques I cover up out of respect even though I do not agree with religion.

If people come to live in my country I expect them to observe the laws and strictures of the culture like I do. They are free to criticise and protest, as I do, but they should abide by the law and the mores. If they find elements of our culture too offensive to tolerate then I suggest they move to a culture that they would find more amenable.

American excessive responses to 9/11 do not justify atrocities!

Posted on by Opher

There is little doubt that the American responses to 9/11 have contributed to the radicalisation of Jihadists. They were probably excessive and too knee-jerk and have ended up squandering the good will that came their way following what was an horrific barbaric attack.

If the Americans had maintained the high ground the whole world would have been behind them. Unfortunately they had the wrong President for that. They were too intent on revenge. There can be no justification for deploying tactics that are outside the law such as torture, waterboarding, unlawful abduction, or imprisonment without trial. What happened in American run prisons and Guantanamo Bay is wrong. Too many innocent people have been killed through indiscriminate bombing and drone attacks. The legal case for invading Iraq and Afghanistan is dubious.

America should have remained civilised and above any suggestion of wrong-doing. Britain should have kept its distance without allowing ourselves to be sucked into supporting American aggression, no matter how much provocation.

However, these excesses pale into insignificance in comparison to the level of the atrocities carried out by the militant Jihadists. Their level of sectarian violence is beyond belief. They have systematically tortured and killed. Their callous brutality is inhuman. They have killed people with electric drills, beheadings, lashings, stonings and bombings. They seem to feel justified in this by religious text and actually believe that any god would not only approve but would reward such unimaginable cruelty.

No god would approve of such cruelty.

These Jihadists have been turned into psychopaths.

If the West had not muddied the waters it would have been much easier to assume the moral high ground. We have provided the insane fanatics with an opportunity to mask the level of their own atrocities. They have used propaganda and religious fervour to disguise their power seeking psychopathy.

The fear generated by American involvement has led many Muslims to defend the act of flying a plane full of innocent people into a building full of innocent people. Any right minded person would be able to see that this is indefensible.

A civilised person would know that any act of beheading a human being is barbaric. To do that to an aide-worker who only aim is to help those in terrible circumstances is callous beyond understanding.

To kill people for blasphemy id mediaeval.

To be condemned to death for writing a book or drawing an image is grotesque no matter how offensive it may be.

To kill people because they do not believe in the same version of superstition as you is fascist.

The list of reprehensible acts is huge. They range from bombs on planes, busses, trains and subways, aimed at ordinary people, to the attack and beheading of arbitrary individuals.

Sane people know that no god would justify such barbarity.

The rabid, intolerant psychopathic Jihadists are merely exploiting the American relatively minor transgressions of human rights to justify their own heartless cruelty.

Two wrongs can never make a right.

The people who support these monstrous actions are a small minority. The majority of Muslims are moderate and tolerant. They are not to blame for the militants becoming brain-washed.

The last thing anybody other than the militants want is for this to develop into a war and witch-hunt.

The law has to be respected. Everyone has rights and deserves respect.

Offense is not an offence.

Religion should not oppose or be opposed upon.

Everyone should be subjected to the law of the land. That is what Magna Carta bestowed upon us.

While the lights dim and the bells ring the light of truth, justice, freedom and tolerance should blaze.

We who believe in enlightenment condemn those who would enslave us in religious dogma.

We are Charlie.

I hope all moderate Muslims speak out against the madness being done in their name and make their voices heard.

The tragedy is that so many gullible young men and women have been brainwashed into believing in the superstition of mediaeval prophesies such as ‘The End of Days’.

They are in Syria today trying to fulfil an ancient prophesy which has no basis. That is sad. They are buying in to a piece of superstitious nonsense. How many times have people fallen for the same claptrap?

Moderate Muslims speak up – for evil to exist it is only necessary for good people to remain silent.

Build a better zeitgeist!