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Muslimer for ytringsfrihed, i protest mod fængsling af islamkritisk blogger
Den fængslede ægyptiske blogger Abdel Kareem Nabil Soliman, som vi omtalte forleden, blev fængslet som følge af islamkritiske udtalelser på sin blog http://karam903.blogspot.com.
I protest mod dette overgreb får han nu støtte fra en lang række arabiske menneskeretsorganisationer - herunder 13 ægyptiske, der i en fælles erklæring bl.a. udtaler:
Kareem Amer deserves encouragement and support for risking his freedom for the sake of upholding his right to believe in secularism. His insistence on his right to freedom of expression had previously resulted in his expulsion from Al-Azhar University. The right to freedom of thought and expression is a basic human right that should not be undermined. Article 18 and 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 10, 1948, states:I et interview forklarer menneskeretsaktivisten Dalia Ziada, hvorfor hun som stærkt troende muslim finder det nødvendigt at kæmpe for, at også en kritiker af religionen som Kareem kan få lov til at komme frem med sine synspunkter uden frygt for repressalier:
Article 18: "Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change religion or belief, the freedom to manifest religion or belief in worship, observance, practice, and teaching either alone or in community with others and in public or private."
Article 19: "Everyone 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."
Q. Kareem made it clear that he is not a fan of Islam and is in fact highly critical of the religion. Why do you, a devout Muslim, feel the need to support him?Det handler altså i dette tilfælde om at kæmpe for andres ret til at sige, hvad de vil som bl.a. udtrykt i FNs Menneskeretserklæring - uanset, om man så er enig med det eller ej.
A. Above all, it is Kareem’s absolute choice to be a Muslim, a Christian, a Jewish or even an atheist. Freedom of belief is one of the basic rights given to all humans. Prophet Mohammed himself never treated some one upon his/her religion. As an anti-extremism moderate Muslim I believe in human rights. Thereupon, I support Kareem’s right to express his own views the way he likes and to believe in whatever he wants.
Q. Why should other Muslims support him if he openly criticizes their religion?
A. I think we talk here about moderate Muslims who believe in the freedom of belief. If Kareem criticized Islam that does not mean that he hates us personally. He only expresses his own point of view. As Muslim civilized humans all what we should do is to respond to his criticism by clarifying the falseness of his criticism from our point of view. It does not mean that we –the holders of power – should silence the minority who contradicts our beliefs. That is the Islam I always knew before some political movements such as Muslim Brotherhood Group appears to allow the shedding of the blood of Bahaists only because they have another religion and to silence some atheists like Kareem just because he has a different view. Listen up Muslim brothers and sisters, we came to life only to worship Allah and to fill universe with life, love, and prosperity. We should not waste our time in fighting with non-Muslims only because they are non-Muslims. Only Allah has the right to do this, not us.
En forståelse, som vi af og til ser glippe i danske nationalistiske kredse, hvor en kamp for retten til selv at håne en trængt minoritet ofte følges op af en kamp mod selvsamme minoritets ret til at komme til orde eller praktisere sin religion, som de ønsker.
Men sådan er der jo så meget. Herfra kan vi kun ønske Dalia Ziada og HRInfo held og lykke i kampen for ytringsfrihed og mod statslig vilkårlighed i Ægypten, et land hvor en sådan kampagne tilsyneladende stadig er mere end påkrævet.