On Free Speech, “Lady of Heaven,” and Sectarianism

Mustafa AkyolIn the past few weeks, some Britons had a  sense of déjà vu, reminding them the censorship campaign against Salman Rushdie’s blasphemous novel “The Satanic Verses” some thirty‐​five years ago. This time, the center of angst was a movie titled, “Lady of Heaven, ” which glorified the story of Lady Fatima, the daughter of the Prophet Muhammad. Yet, in an unmistakably sectarian tone, the movie also demonized some of the most revered figures of Sunni Islam.Hence came protests organized by some Sunni groups, fromBradford to London, in front of movie theaters. There was no violence, but the heated rhetoric seems to have caused worries. Hence,Cineworld, the UK ’s greatest movie chain,pulled the film back“to ensure the safety of our staff and customers.” Another chain, Showcase, soonfollowed.The result, as British writer Kenan Maliknoted, was “a win for self‐​appointed gatekeepers of Islam.” UK’s Health Minister Sajid Javid also saw it as a bad sign of growing “cancel culture in the UK. ”Meanwhile, the film has already been banned by various Muslim ‐​majority nations: Egypt, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, and Morocco.All these bans are indeed examples of “cancel culture,” which does not even have a name for it in many parts of the world, for the alternative, freedom of speech, is not appreciated in the first place. In much of Muslim world, in particular, any verdict that a book, a film, or an idea is “against Islam,” or even ju...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs