a reply to supporters of fazil say
Last Updated : GMT 09:07:40
Egypt Today, egypt today
Egypt Today, egypt today
Last Updated : GMT 09:07:40
Egypt Today, egypt today

A reply to supporters of Fazil Say

Egypt Today, egypt today

a reply to supporters of fazil say

Sinem Tezyapar

I know that I am walking a very fine line here but I will and I have to. Recently Fazil Say, the Turkish pianist, faced a sentence of up to one and a half years in prison for the crime of 'openly insulting the sacred values of a certain fraction of the general public'. This lawsuit created a stir in the international media and caused some circles to attack Turkey and Islam in an unjust way either because of not being fully informed about the insults of Fazil Say or overlooking the facts. Although I can understand that there are important concerns that need to be taken into consideration in regards to the betterment of freedoms in Turkey, some circles are misusing this case by making demagoguery and twisting the truth of the matter. Presenting this case as a restriction of freedom of speech by Muslims and/or the government of Turkey is quite far from the truth. First of all I would like to remind everyone that it is not Islam that is punishing Fazil Say. The laws in question were passed a very long time ago, long before Prime Minister Erdogan, long before the AK Party came into power and long before the AK Party even existed. Similar laws exist throughout the very democratic and largely post-Christian and secular EU, including France, the most staunchly secular of all EU nations. Besides there is a separation of powers in Turkey; meaning that the AK Party as a legislative body has nothing to do with the ongoing of the case as an issue of the judiciary. Fazil Say did violate Turkish law. Therefore, the court duly found him guilty of violating the law as it is. Insulting people and their beliefs is considered as a crime not only according to the Turkish law, but in the laws of many democratic, secular countries; such as France, Sweden, Germany, Switzerland, Finland, Italy, Austria, Denmark and so on. Laws banning defamation against religion and faith are being presented as if it is an act against the freedom of thought and peculiar to Turkey or as if it is a sign of under-development causing embarrassment to Turkey. However the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) says otherwise and it has extended the powers of the countries within its entity to ensure the protection of cultural and religious values in order to bring social harmony. What is more, democracy is not the freedom to insult. Democracy teaches us not to display patience in the face of insults but rather to avoid insulting others. One may not have faith in God and can hold a statement or an intellectual argument regarding this or criticise as he likes; this is freely possible but opinion or intellectual criticism is not a matter of hurling insults, curses, libels or slanders; that is why they have completely different meanings in any dictionary you should care to consult. So let us not make demagogic arguments: Fazil Say's case has nothing to do with his being an atheist or expressing his disbelief; his crime is about insulting people, cursing a specific group -in this case all believers- and inciting hatred against them. Fazil Say insulted all believers in God, and that includes Christians, Jews and also theists, in short, whoever believes in a Creator, meaning tens of millions of people; and he confirmed his lengthy insult in front of the court and consciously repeated his indecent remarks several times via social media during the court case. Yes, there must be limitless freedom of thought, but there can be no freedom to slander or insult people or their beliefs publicly. If you have read his insults and still say that it is fine with you, very well; but it is not fine with me. I am an honorable person and I don't accept insults and I seek my right by legal means to protect my honor and dignity. And as a Muslim, I would never get used to being insulted and cursed. Do those who advocate freedom for insults, cursing, libels and slanders imagine what kind of a world would come to pass in that which they advocate? It would be a nightmare. I don't consider any human worthy of that. Sinem Tezyapar is a political analyst. Twitter@SinemTezyapar The views expressed by the author do not necessarily represent or reflect the editorial policy of Arabstoday.  

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

a reply to supporters of fazil say a reply to supporters of fazil say



GMT 18:35 2018 Friday ,14 December

Can Armenia break the ice with Turkey?

GMT 21:25 2018 Thursday ,13 December

PM limps on with UK still in Brexit gridlock

GMT 21:21 2018 Thursday ,13 December

US begins crackdown on Iran sanctions violations

GMT 14:33 2018 Wednesday ,12 December

Political turbulence likely to continue unabated in 2019

GMT 14:26 2018 Wednesday ,12 December

Canada standing on the wrong side of history

GMT 13:27 2018 Tuesday ,11 December

France and the crisis of democracy

GMT 00:19 2012 Sunday ,19 February

Sky extends rugby league contract

GMT 12:34 2012 Tuesday ,07 February

New Kurdish satellite TV station goes on air

GMT 06:29 2014 Sunday ,31 August

Finally, Apple’s iWatch coming in September

GMT 04:51 2017 Thursday ,13 April

Huda Kattan among top 10 beauty influencers

GMT 08:47 2011 Monday ,25 July

Uncle Sam wants psychiatrists

GMT 09:51 2019 Monday ,19 August

Live a frustrating atmosphere in your career

GMT 19:15 2012 Monday ,20 February

Sound of music for Sky News Arabia

GMT 23:28 2012 Saturday ,25 February

Al Jazeera crowned RTS news channel of the year

GMT 09:09 2012 Friday ,13 July

Supreme Court warns Pak prime minister

GMT 19:14 2017 Monday ,06 February

Earthquake Hits Areas in Iran's Khuzestan

GMT 04:45 2017 Monday ,06 February

Chazelle wins top DGA prize for ‘La La Land’

GMT 08:18 2016 Wednesday ,03 February

Syria's war-pummelled textile industry

GMT 21:09 2016 Wednesday ,01 June

Suspected US troops attack Al Shabaab in Somalia
Egypt Today, egypt today
 
 Egypt Today Facebook,egypt today facebook  Egypt Today Twitter,egypt today twitter Egypt Today Rss,egypt today rss  Egypt Today Youtube,egypt today youtube  Egypt Today Youtube,egypt today youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

egypttoday egypttoday egypttoday egypttoday
egypttoday egypttoday egypttoday
egypttoday
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
egypttoday, Egypttoday, Egypttoday