by Matthew Ryan

Created on: May 07, 2008

When I was younger, and a more devout Catholic than I am now, the movie "The Last Temptation of Christ" came out. At the time, it caused quite a controversy, with religious people denouncing it and proponents of free speech singing its praises. I was one of those opposed to the movie, at the time. Now, many years later, I have reversed my position. One's right to express one's views takes precedence over another's right to not be offended by said views. If the reverse were true, we might as well do away with this thing called "language" and ban speech entirely, as, ultimately, no matter what you say, someone, somewhere, will likely be offended.

Religious beliefs are not immune from criticism or ridicule. If I were to place a crucifix in a jar of urine, or mold a sculpture of Jesus and his apostles with disproportionately large erections, and call either one of these art (both of which have been done), I would be within my rights. If Jesus were alive today, he might be offended and voice his displeasure, but I don't think he'd order anyone's execution over the matter. Similarly, if I were to mold a sculpture of Mohammed's head and immerse it in a bowl of urine, again I would be within my rights even though it would surely offend most, if not all, of the Islamic world, and might even get me killed in retribution. I have the right to be offensive. If I choose to insult another person, I am within my rights. I can stand on the street and shout profanities at Mohommed or God. Will I offend people? Of course I will, but that is not the point.

The liberal left and those in the mainstream media who fear to offend muslims are either being intimidated or intellectually blurring the notion between legal rights and etiquette. I have the legal right to shout profanities at Mohammed but I would never imagine that I was being polite when I was doing so. And, if, as the left is so fond of saying, we can't legislate morality, the notion that we could somehow legislate etiquette is even more absurd. I have no particular desire to go around and hurl aspersions at Mohammed or his followers without cause; yet with every suicide bomber, every decapitation, and every case of female genital mutilation, I am finding cause. The list of atrocities perpetrated by Islamic extremists is quite long, ranging from flogging homosexuals to issuing death threats over a Teddy Bear. And the disturbing fact is that the Islamic extremists, although perhaps not in the majority of their religion, constitute a significant and very influential minority.

Islam, as a whole, must, as Christianity did, get used to the notion that it can be legitimately criticized from the outside. I have the right to be offensive, if I so choose; and if you are offended, it then becomes your duty to inform me that you are offended. At that point, it is up to me how to respond. Regardless, it should be blatantly obvious that no one has the right to injure or kill someone, because he was offended by what she said, be it verbally or through some other medium.

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