Thinking Aloud

Rohit Dhankar

The UNHRC have delt a severe blow to one of the fundamental human-rights of free speech and expression by passing a resolution titled ‘Countering religious hatred constituting incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence’. The irony is that the resolution is occasioned by burning of Quran, the religious book that incites “to discrimination, hostility or violence” on almost every single page of it.

Curtailing free speech and expression will curtail autonomy of thinking and action, freedom of choice. Autonomy of choice is the most important mark of being human. The resolution goes against being human.

The UNHRC has proved that the world buckles under the threat of violence too easily. A group determined, violent and capable of starting large scale violence can easily control what is considered right or wrong by humans. Humans seem to be very weak-minded creatures who can think only in a confused manner when facing a threat to their existence.

The resolution urges to speak against “desecration of sacred books that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence”. But seem to be quite unaware that most of the “sacred books” themselves “constitutes incitement to discrimination, (and) hostility”.

One of the most important sources of power of Islam is its ability to create violence at large scale. The idea of Islam is not to have freedom to practice it for its adherents, it is that the non-believers should not be able to do anything that this religion does not like. It is not to practice one’s religion but to control others not to act in manners counter to Islamic preaching. Or alternatively the very practice of Islam constitutes forcing non-believers to act according to its tenets only, at the least in the public. This mentality has won in the UNHRC.

In will increase the belligerence of Islam and incite other religions to take to the same path of controlling others through threat of violence.

All religions have elements of discrimination and dislike for non-believers in them. But the people who believe in them can choose to weed them out. Islam till date is not able to do that weeding out. Also, all religions have their own bigots who want to make their religion supreme and force its values on others. But the larger population of believers in them can control and keep them under check. In Islam there are very few who would counter such a tendency boldly.

This resolution will encourage competitive bigotry. And it will become more and more difficult for the saner population in all religions to keep the bigots in control. It will do immense harm to human rights.

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