Charlie Hebdo: Testing the Limits of Freedom of Expression
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Niaz A. Shah
Abstract
The right to freedom of expression is a qualified right: it allows expression that might ‘offend, shock or disturb’ but prohibits ‘insults’, ‘abusive attacks’ and ‘hate speech’. Applying the Convention test I argue that all cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, which although might offend Muslims, are an acceptable form of expression in Western democracies except cartoon number two implying the Prophet Muhammad as a ‘terrorist’ which is ‘insulting’ and ‘an abusive attack’ on the Muslim community and Islam. In the post-9/11 circumstances, it may be viewed as a vehicle for instigating hatred against the Muslim community. By critiquing the inaction of Denmark and France, I argue that failure to prosecute Jyllands-Posten and Charlie Hebdo violates Articles 9(1) of the European Convention and the Danish Criminal Code and the French Freedom of Press Act 1881. Relying on ECtHR’s jurisprudence, I argue that the values of the Convention and democracy aim to nurture a society based on tolerance, social peace, non-discrimination and broad-mindedness. The public space is a shared space and no single group – religious and non-religious – can monopolise nor intimidate it.
Acknowledgements
I am enormously grateful to the anonymous reviewers for their invaluable comments but, as usual, all errors are mine.
References
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© 2017 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Law, Culture, and Mobilization: Legal Pluralism and Women’s Access to Divorce in Egypt
- Rights, Roles, and Rural Realities: A Case Study on the Effects of Fatwa Decrees Against Women in Rural Bangladesh
- State Policies toward Islam in Twenty Countries in Western Europe: The Accommodation of Islam Index
- Charlie Hebdo: Testing the Limits of Freedom of Expression
- Contextualizing Cynicism: Palestinian Public Opinion Towards Human Rights and Democracy
- Transitional Justice in the Middle East and North Africa – Taking Account of Islam
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Law, Culture, and Mobilization: Legal Pluralism and Women’s Access to Divorce in Egypt
- Rights, Roles, and Rural Realities: A Case Study on the Effects of Fatwa Decrees Against Women in Rural Bangladesh
- State Policies toward Islam in Twenty Countries in Western Europe: The Accommodation of Islam Index
- Charlie Hebdo: Testing the Limits of Freedom of Expression
- Contextualizing Cynicism: Palestinian Public Opinion Towards Human Rights and Democracy
- Transitional Justice in the Middle East and North Africa – Taking Account of Islam
