Francine Prose is a well thought of American writer.She was against Charlie Hebdo being given the PEN awar but she says she believes in total freedom of speech.
I used to take that position.When we had no internet and other mass communication it was usually freedom of speech within your own country or ones nearby.But even here freedom of speech has not always been allowed,.I mean by that there was a struggle to attain it just as Catholics struggled to get the vote and only got it in the UK in about 1817.Similarly racial discrimination was completely legal until the race relations act in 1964 when Harold Wilson was PM.
The problem with world-wide free speech is that when newspapers or magazines publish very nasty cartoons about another country’s religion,if that country is what we meanly call ” behind” us politically then they are going to be very wounded and hurt like Catholics might be if one made cruel jokes about Holy Communion or Jesus.But Catholics here are used to a certain amount of that and are unlikely to react violently..They know that certain magazines would be only to happy to know that Christians were very hurt.Similarly Jews have been subjected to derogatory cartoons and stories but if they live here they understand the notion of free speech.And with the internet nasty stories or cartoons are seen across the world very rapidity
Yet someone I know who was born here nearly 100 years ago to a Russian Jewish family still recalls with pain how he and his wife who just escaped from Germany before WW 2 were refused admission to a superior local golf club which all his colleagues and their wives/husbands went to.Hard to imagine but it is only 60 years ago.
People living in countries which were catapulted into the modern era from being mainly peasants and farmers probably because oil was found in their country will not yet have become inured to the notion that people csn insult their religion as a mere joke or a teasing of them.If we want peace we must have some empathy for the Other even if we disagree with their attitudes.
And as a woman I would not like it if Private Eye constantly had jokes about the stupidity of women.
Obviously it will be hard to say where the line should be drawn but I emphasis the need for respect of others’ treasured beliefs and the need to treat them with understanding. and dignity.Yet we do not wish to return to censorship either
As bloggers I am sure that many of us have moderated or deleted comments.In other words, we don’t allow totally free speech in our comments section.We can even block certain people of we choose presumably thinking they will criticise us in a nasty way.Yet we expect Muslims and Jews and Christians to take insults to their values and beliefs without protest.
If we eat a meal with others we do not say whatever we think of however rude.We are concerned to be courteous and kind to guests even if they disagree politically or religiously.If we discuss those ihings we show guests respect if we can.
I know we would not wish to shoot people who said rude things about Jesus [ blasphemy] and any violent attack ih those who hurt is evil and illegal.But as I read yesterday,people become terrorists when they have nothing to lose.Unfortunately there are quite a lot of people in the Middle East where they may feel they have little to lose and so are willing to die for their beliefs.If they had more to lose that would restrain them.
How my heart sings 
I agree with Bushka that we should always aim to act responsibly and consider the impact of our thoughts on other people. Unfortunately, it is difficult to maintain dialogue with those who believe that blasphemy against their own religion is a capital offence and who encourage others to take that law into their own hands.
Yes,Mike,that is a major problem similar to what happened here in past times when blasphemy was a very serious offence or when you could be burned at the stake as a heretic both Catholic and Protestants suffered.I have always found Muslims very courteous in person when teaching or at home and would not wish to blaspheme in front of them,as it happebns I never do blaspheme except when writing humorous verse and suggested wafers at Mass ought to be croissants for example, On the other hand we believe that writers ought to be able to write whatever they want.However it was only in about 1967 that a court allowed the word “fuck” to appear in a book legally in the UK and my first hearing of it was in Marks and Spencer’s in Cornmarket,Oxford.Hard to believe.=but I reached that age and had never seen or heard it.Bloody and damn were swear words for men but women never swore [in theory]You and /i had a similar education that way I imagine.I prefer a slightly less crude way of talking and although I sometimes make jokes about Jesus I don’t feel they are offensive.Mostly people curse when angry and it’s gone but printing blasphemy knowing it is seen worldwide is risky now and is it useful at all?I think it’s childish.Most Muslims are just like us… or better.
There is NO such thing as TOTAL FREEDOM! Freedom without Mutual responsibility is Anarchy. 👹👹👹👹
A very good point.We need to empathise with others even if we disagree with their position.There is a saying,our enemies are our co-creators”.:)xx
Indeed……;)