Bollywood’s Oh My God! shows that satire on religions can be constructive, educative and can help balance freedom of speech with religious sentiments.
It is true that all major religions of the world have been around for centuries and millennia. They have certain values, ethos and have contributed to the global culture and development of societies around the world. Any mockery of these epic establishments cannot really undermine them.
It is also true that religion is for people; it plays a dominant role in our societies and it is governed by the people. In many ways it is for the people, by the people (though the leaders are not always democratically elected) and is for the people. And given these virtues, religions in democratic societies should be subjected to scrutiny, criticism and satire.
However, the recent global events that saw a large scale violence across Middle East and south-Asia including a heinous murder of an American ambassador in Libya, following the release of an amateur provocative film Innocence of Muslims, has once again brought into question the legal and ethical standing of the freedom of expression particularly in relation to respect of religious beliefs.
Freedom of speech is supremely important. It is an empowerment right that allows people to demand other rights – the right to health, to food, to a clean environment to religion etc. It is a vital right and any means to curtail it is not acceptable.
Also, in a democracy (as observed by the Venice committee, instituted in 2007 by Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe) religious groups must tolerate criticisms in public statements and debates related to their activities and beliefs as long as the criticism do not constitute deliberate and gratuitous insults or hate speech, an incitement to disturb public order, violence or discrimination towards people who adhere to specific religion.
Innocence of Muslims might have been extremely distasteful and provocative but it was made by some unknown person who probably has little comprehension about the greatness of any religion for that matter. The reaction that followed in the Middle- East and in Pakistan was therefore completely uncalled for.
But other actions like the repetitive publication of the images of the Prophet Mohammed by mainstream French and other European newspapers are equally needless and nasty in taste.
In this regard, the latest Bollywood film can be seen as an example to the world where a mainstream medium was used to ridicule the absurd beliefs and practices of major religions – mainly Hinduism in this context.
The film is a comedy but it critically lampoons gurus, clerics and priests for their manipulative ways to mislead and exploit people in the society. It questions the logic of religious rituals (some of which are extremist in nature) and the existence of God itself. In the film, God is taken to the court after the protagonist is denied claims by his insurance company when an earthquake damaged his property. The reason being: it was an act of God!
What was impressive about the film is that though it was very critical of the absurd religious practices, it also highlights the greatness of each religion, and quotes text from the holy books to substantiate its arguments.
Making a film on religious theme, or expressing controversial religious views in a religiously charged society like India is never easy. Right wing groups of major religions are very active and easily resort to violence including acts of vandalism and burning of cinema halls. Oh My God! had to tread a very thin rope to drive its point and has been hugely appreciated by the Indian audience.
Most democratic societies particularly in the West have enormous cultural resources and massive pool of highly talented creative pool who are freely allowed to express their views through theatres, plays, movies, music, drama, art, sports and beyond. Their work have greatly inspired people all over the world; it is about time that the Western intellectuals take up projects that talks about religion tolerance and liberal ideals that characterize their societies like the freedom of speech and multiculturalism. If a cartoon can sully the image of the West amongst an identifiable group of people, greater work of art can do the job of crisis management and strengthen the liberal values.
By doing so, we will be safeguarding the majority of moderate voices who were not party to the violence in the Middle-East or the American citizens who didn't approve the provocative movie on Islam.
Oh My God! does show a middle path- the international community must learn and emulate.
It is also true that religion is for people; it plays a dominant role in our societies and it is governed by the people. In many ways it is for the people, by the people (though the leaders are not always democratically elected) and is for the people. And given these virtues, religions in democratic societies should be subjected to scrutiny, criticism and satire.
However, the recent global events that saw a large scale violence across Middle East and south-Asia including a heinous murder of an American ambassador in Libya, following the release of an amateur provocative film Innocence of Muslims, has once again brought into question the legal and ethical standing of the freedom of expression particularly in relation to respect of religious beliefs.
Freedom of speech is supremely important. It is an empowerment right that allows people to demand other rights – the right to health, to food, to a clean environment to religion etc. It is a vital right and any means to curtail it is not acceptable.
Also, in a democracy (as observed by the Venice committee, instituted in 2007 by Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe) religious groups must tolerate criticisms in public statements and debates related to their activities and beliefs as long as the criticism do not constitute deliberate and gratuitous insults or hate speech, an incitement to disturb public order, violence or discrimination towards people who adhere to specific religion.
Innocence of Muslims might have been extremely distasteful and provocative but it was made by some unknown person who probably has little comprehension about the greatness of any religion for that matter. The reaction that followed in the Middle- East and in Pakistan was therefore completely uncalled for.
But other actions like the repetitive publication of the images of the Prophet Mohammed by mainstream French and other European newspapers are equally needless and nasty in taste.
In this regard, the latest Bollywood film can be seen as an example to the world where a mainstream medium was used to ridicule the absurd beliefs and practices of major religions – mainly Hinduism in this context.
The film is a comedy but it critically lampoons gurus, clerics and priests for their manipulative ways to mislead and exploit people in the society. It questions the logic of religious rituals (some of which are extremist in nature) and the existence of God itself. In the film, God is taken to the court after the protagonist is denied claims by his insurance company when an earthquake damaged his property. The reason being: it was an act of God!
What was impressive about the film is that though it was very critical of the absurd religious practices, it also highlights the greatness of each religion, and quotes text from the holy books to substantiate its arguments.
Making a film on religious theme, or expressing controversial religious views in a religiously charged society like India is never easy. Right wing groups of major religions are very active and easily resort to violence including acts of vandalism and burning of cinema halls. Oh My God! had to tread a very thin rope to drive its point and has been hugely appreciated by the Indian audience.Most democratic societies particularly in the West have enormous cultural resources and massive pool of highly talented creative pool who are freely allowed to express their views through theatres, plays, movies, music, drama, art, sports and beyond. Their work have greatly inspired people all over the world; it is about time that the Western intellectuals take up projects that talks about religion tolerance and liberal ideals that characterize their societies like the freedom of speech and multiculturalism. If a cartoon can sully the image of the West amongst an identifiable group of people, greater work of art can do the job of crisis management and strengthen the liberal values.
By doing so, we will be safeguarding the majority of moderate voices who were not party to the violence in the Middle-East or the American citizens who didn't approve the provocative movie on Islam.
Oh My God! does show a middle path- the international community must learn and emulate.
Nicely written Suti
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