“When it comes to criticizing ideas, nothing should be out of bounds. Nothing should be unsayable simply because someone finds it offensive. Particularly in a plural society, offending the sensibilities of others is both inevitable and important. Inevitable, because where different beliefs are deeply held, clashes are unavoidable. Important because any kind of social change or social progress means offending some deeply held sensibilities.”
When does criticism become bigotry? The line is crossed when criticism of Islam, of ideas or beliefs, become transposed into prejudice about people; or when critics demand that Muslims are denied rights, or be discriminated against, simply because they happen to be Muslims.
We should oppose all discrimination against Muslims in the public sphere, from discriminatory policing and immigration laws that might specifically target Muslims, to planning regulations that make it more difficult to build mosques than other similar buildings or restrictions on the ability of Muslims to assemble or worship that apply merely because they happen to be Muslims. Whatever one’s beliefs, there should be complete freedom to express them, short of inciting violence. Whatever one’s beliefs, there should be freedom to assemble to promote them. And whatever one’s beliefs, there should be freedom to act upon those beliefs, so long as in so doing one neither physically harms another individual nor transgresses that individual’s rights in the public sphere. A Muslim should have the same rights and obligations as any other citizen.
We should also oppose all attempts to use criticisms of Islam to demonise Muslims. But criticism of Islam, of whatever kind, even if it is offensive or bigoted, should not be a matter for the criminal law. Bigoted speech should not be a legal but a moral issue. Just as Muslims have the right to express their beliefs, short of inciting violence, so should everyone else, including the right to express the most pungent beliefs about Islam. A society that outlawed anti-Muslim arguments would, in my mind, be as reactionary as one that banned Muslim immigration or pursued discriminatory forms of policing. Click Link for full article;
http://kenanmalik.wordpress.com/2013/11/14/when-does-criticism-of-islam-become-islamophobia/
The author is quite right in asserting that Islamophobia is a double edged sword. Both opponents and proponents use distortions to frame their arguments and pollute the social environment. This poses a particular dilemma for the Muslim citizens in the west. They are tarred by the actions–violence or particular religious practices– of fellow Muslims around the world. The situation is reminiscent of the association of the mafia with Italian Americans or the child molesting priests with the Catholics. The dilemma for the Muslims in the west is that conflicts in the Muslim world will continue to impact upon their citizenship more than any other group. Civil rights are enshrined in law but gaining the inalieable rights is an ongoing struggle that Muslims in the west have to actively strive to attain.