Freedom of speech ?

Have you ever wondered how families of criminals, murderers, rapists feel when one of their own gets arrested for their crimes, or it comes out that one has done any crimes ?

When terror attacks happen (which, apparently only Muslims commit), we get the exact same feeling. The feeling that someone from our extended Islamic community did the horrifying act. We feel hurt, just like anyone else. To tell you the truth, we feel more hurt than anyone else. Its understood that some of you, who would be reading this will have their own notions about Islam and Muslims, notions which are largely part of how you see us painted by Media.

Picture this, “a shooter opens fire in a school in London”

and this, “A jihadi-militant opens fire in a school in london”

I don’t even have to tell you, to create opinions on your own about Muslims and Islam, as you already might have.

I don’t want to make this another “justification”, which we have to do after every attack and that is partly why I didn’t even made a statement condemning it. Why, you ask ?

Well, because that is what we do. It is as if to tell the world that we didn’t do that, there were some nut-heads at work, so please don’t brand us along with them.

Being branded is not new to us, we have grown accustomed to it. We have to carry an additional baggage of feeling hurt and guilty that there are people who wouldn’t blink an eye before blaming Islam for everything that happens by the acts of a few. I’m tired. Actually, we are tired. But then, there is always this hope that people will understand this, someday.

We are questioned for everything.

There’s Bakried (Eid-ul-Azha), and a whole lot of organisations up in arms telling the world about so many animals being sacrificed in the name of religion. Yes, we do sacrifice animals in the name of our religion, we eat the meat, distribute it among the poor and even revere that meat for days and not waste it.

Media brings out topics on terrorism and asking us views of Muslims on that. Please keep a note, we condemn every one of those attacks. We also condemn all attacks on our religion. We also condemn derogatory speeches or cartoons which violate our religious practices. We, also condemn the attacks on people in the name of our religion or Prophet. We don’t want to kill people who don’t agree with us, but then what you can do about some crazy ones ?

We are responsible for so many things. All the problems in the world is just because of us. Right ?

Someone even filed a petition to stop the morning azaan (early morning call to prayer) as it disturbs sleep. Talk about freedom of speech. Irony, anyone ?

I’m all okay, and so would other Muslims be, with the idea of freedom of speech. But don’t be selective in that. The daily, which was hell-bent on publishing offensive Islamic cartoons, rejected a few cartoons publications as they were antisemitism. Yeah, right freedom of speech!!

I’m okay, sad but okay, to see people use their freedom of speech. But it is very difficult to digest the hypocrisy. Just don’t support Freedom of speech for your convenience.

For the record, I don’t like Tasleema Nasreen or Salman Rushdie, because their idea of Islam is wrong. I won’t go and kill them or issue fatwas against them. I didn’t liked MF hussain too, I wouldn’t have let him leave India too.

This quote, sums up my Idea of Free speech perfectly

Don’t blow the horn of Freedom of speech when you are the one speaking.