CAIRO: Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit has called for international criminalization of “contempt for religion at an Islamic Nations conference in Pakistan Tuesday, provoking both support and criticism from Egypt’s religious community.
Sheikh Fawzy El Zefzaf, head of the Religions Dialogue Committee at Al Azhar told The Daily Star Egypt that Al Azhar as an institution has been asking for such an international law through newspapers and sermons for nearly three years, particularly after the Danish cartoon incident.
He says any contempt shown for any religion and its prophets should be punishable by whatever code the United Nations decides on. He likened the matter to attempts by the Jewish community to punish anti-Semitism. Although anti-Semitism is not illegal by international codes, the UN officially condemns Holocaust denial and it is illegal in a number of countries.
“It is not about scaring people, he says, “it is about respect . we must respect all religions.
Islamic thinker Gamal El Banna agrees with the announcement, but under certain conditions.
“There is a difference between showing contempt and criticizing, says El Banna, adding that the issue is “very complicated. He thinks insulting a prophet (of any religion), or saying that a religious book is nonsense should be punishable, though only by fine rather than imprisonment. “We must make the standard of religious thought broader.
But Coptic intellectual and writer Milad Hanna disagrees with the whole concept.
“In the 21st century freedom of expression is greater, there are no taboos, religious or otherwise . we should not put restrictions on ideas exposed by any thinkers.
He told The Daily Star Egypt that he believed criticism opened the door for dialogue.
“There is no insulting, it is a point of view.
While he says people should utilize respectful ways and words in their critiques, he does not believe a punishable limit should be set on freedom of expression, and instead encourages what he calls “critical thinking, and a “dialogue of ideas. Democracy is “acceptance of the other, he says, referring to his book by the same title.
