Charlie Hebdo and the freedom of speech

The fundamental value of freedom of speech has been enshrined in the United Nations Convention of Human Rights for more than 50 years, and clearly states that “[e]veryone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers” (Article XIX). One may ask: has it really become universal?

Universality of Freedom

Even though the adherence to Human Rights are considered as devotion to a modern democratic and liberal system in the political arena, in reality, most of the countries are far away from securing and providing all those rights. Moreover, there are examples of countries who simply reject the concept of universal rights considerint them as tools of Western influence. The point is, whatever freedom of speech and expression might mean in France, it can be completely differently understood in Russia or in Iraq for instance.

France indeed has a long history of satire and a tradition of mocking: from the clowns or so called buffoons, who accompanied the king whenever he needed entertainment during the Middle Ages, to the caricatures of significant French historical figures like Marie-Antoinette and King Louis-Philippe. It is possible to claim that the culture of satire is a part of French national identity. However, if we take a quick look at the other side of the world – satire has not been that prevalent in the Arabo-Muslim culture. Yet, there are individuals and figures who have been appreciated for their satire such as al-Jahiz in the 9th century and contemporary Egyptian political comedian Bassem Youssef. Yet, religion has been a much more sensitive topic to them than to the European countries, especially now. We all now remember that incident following the publication of caricatures of Mohamed in the Danish journal Jyllands-Posten received a lot of outrage from Muslims around the world. Even though I am not religious, I still believe that religion is a topic that should not be mocked because there are people to whom this issue is much more sensitive than to others and who can take satire very personally. And yet even though that there is a large group of Muslims which accept satirical mockery of religion, there are others who condemn and disapprove it – and they are not necessarily radical Islamists or fanatics.

Honesty & Hypocrisy

To be clear: I greatly value the freedom of speech and believe that it is one of the pillars of a democratic society, but it must not be absolute. Of course, it is subjective to evaluate whether the caricatures of Charlie Hebdo are offensive or not, but they should definitely not be championed as the embodiment of freedom of speech. In response to the unfortunate events, many Western publishers have reprinted the caricature of Mohamed in order to express their solidarity with that authors and assert that terrorism cannot diminish our freedom. But mockery and provocative expression are not the origins of the foundation of the freedom of speech. It is all about having access to the public sphere, being able to express your criticism. Charlie Hebdo has been considered hateful, tasteless and provocative on many occassions. The reaction of politicians was disappointing as well. Regardless of the fact that the grand march in Paris was truly spectacular, the presence of world leaders like the Turkish or Egyptian Prime Ministers made their honesty of solidarity questionable to say the least.
I denounce the act of radical Islamists, but I cannot accept the glorification of Charlie Hebdo. We must be aware that people do not hold universal values and certain individuals might be more sensible than others. We should not forget about people who had sacrificed their lives, but that did not change the fact that Charlie Hebdo is reprehensible and offensive – or is that really what freedom of speech means to us today?