By: Ahmad Syukri bin Khusaini
(Currently pursuing International Masters in ASEAN Studies at Asia-Europe Institute, Universiti Malaya)
On October 16, 2020, the world was shocked by the revelation of Samuel Paty, a teacher that was beheaded near a secondary school in a suburb of Paris. This horrific and unthinkable attack was an act of retaliation towards the teacher who recently showed his class caricatures mocking Prophet Muhammad in a lesson on freedom of expression. It is understood that the attack was carried out by an 18-year old male who was born in Russia and of Chechnyan origins. The assailant was later shot dead after he acted in a threatening manner and failed to respond to an order to put down his weapons by police officers in a nearby town. France President Emmanuel Macron have described this as an “Islamic terrorist attack” which spark an outraged by Muslims all over the world who prior to this incident were already fumed by Macron’s speech on October 2, 2020 where he unveiled a plan to defend France’s secular values against what he termed as “Islamist radicalism”, stressing that Islam is a religion that is “in crisis” all over the world. Nevertheless, this sad episode is a stark example of the dark side of secularism or in this case French secularism.
France is a secular country which is neutral in matters of religion. Based on its government’s website, “The French state does not favour any one religion and guarantees their peaceful co-existence in respect of the laws and principles of the Republic”. This form of secularism is called laïcité, which essentially excludes religious symbols from public institutions. However, despite the unwillingness of the French Government to accommodate the religiously based demands of Muslims, exceptions have been made for Catholics. Which is why even though the caricatures of Prophet Muhammad clearly offend the Muslims which demanded such acts not to be practice, the French government refuses to be the conduit of religious demands and chose to uphold the freedom of expression based on French secularism. This situation to me is a clash of cultures, between freedom of expression and Islamic blasphemy beliefs.
With that being said, regardless of any political system implemented, the safety of the citizen of any country should be of paramount importance. In this case, prior to the beheading incident in Paris, there have been an attack near the former offices of the satiral magazine Chalie Hebdo. This incident took place on September 25, 2020 where two people were stabbed by assailants that were from Pakistan and Algeria. Despite the French government’s commitment to combat terrorism by all possible means, the French government did not react promptly after Samuel Paty showed caricatures of Prophet Muhammad in class. Complaints were made to the school by the Muslim parents, but those complaints only fall on deaf ears. The beheading incident could have been avoided if proper steps had been taken.
And now the aftermath of the beheading incident has seen more attacks being carried out not just in France but all over the world. On October 29, 2020 three people were killed in a knife attack in Nice. France Consulate General in Jeddah and French Embassy in Cyprus were also attacked following the beheading incident due to the Islamophobic statements by Macron. Apart from that, numerous demonstration and statements were staged around the world condemning the statements by Macron. His statement of targeting Muslim instead of Muslim radicals are seen to be detrimental and would only worsen the situation. Thus, calls of boycotting French products have initiated among the Muslim countries. Instead of just facing the threat of terrorism, France is also facing a negative impact on its economy. All this while also battling with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Here in Malaysia, every citizen has the right to freedom of speech and expression which are subjected to any reasonable restriction imposed by federal law in the interest of national security. These restrictions have been in placed to maintain peace and unity in Malaysia which is a multicultural, multireligious and multi-ethnic country. Thus, Section 295-298A of the Malaysian Penal Code provide penalties for those who commit offenses against religion which carries penalties include up to three years in prison or fine. However, some segments of society have demanded for blasphemy laws to be repealed. If this demand is met, then Malaysia would face the risk of facing incidents similar to those in France. Therefore, the question would be, do we want the incident in France happening here in Malaysia? For the record, in 2019 there has been 34 blasphemy cases reported in Malaysia. Hence, it is vital for the government to handle blasphemy seriously and enforce the law to deter any further acts or even retaliation by the victimised group.
Looking back at what had happened in France, the crimes that were commit by the attackers were wrong. These acts have been condemned by Muslim intellectuals and activist around the world. However, the response from the French Government especially Prime Minister Macron although politically correct (in France) but the morality of those statements is seriously questionable. Instead of calming the situation, his statements are like adding fuel to fire. Thus, it is hoped that the situation in France will be handled more delicately to avoid further incidents in the future.
** The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of M-Update
