Seinforma Canada

By Alvaro Gomez/Seinforma Canada Director

Windsor, Ontario.- There are two cases of Human Rights and Freedom of Speech violation that are troubling my mind in this moment. The first of them concerns the British primary school teacher who has been judged and convicted under the Islamic law in Sudan, for allegedly insulting Muhammad. The second one is related to the Catholic sects’ request in Ontario to remove from the market the book The golden compass* and to forbid the film based in that book in all Canada (www.seinforma.ca/leadingcompasseng.html)**.
   It is true that ethnocentrism must be avoided when trying to understand a society that is different from the one in which we grew and feed us with prejudice. Therefore, I think that the case of the teacher Gillian Gibbons is a matter of reciprocity, in which theocracies must apply the rule No to ethnocentrism, even when a foreigner has decided to live within their jurisdiction.
   It is absurd that religions created by men see everything as sinful and malicious and are always willing to find your fellow guilty. Prejudices by flesh and blood beings who pride themselves on being guardians of the divine laws on Earth. I am sure that, nowadays, Muhammad must be looking to those primitive judges of the contemporary Muslim era with pity.
   The Islamic law judges found an aberration that the teacher Gibbons allowed her students to name their pet -a teddy bear- after the Muslim prophet. Some people also claimed that she might have paid such offence with her own life. She was judged, found guilty and convicted to a 15-day imprisonment and deportation; she received the most lenient punishment. More severe punishment included months of imprisonment, a fine and whips. Finally, the teacher was forgiven thanks to the diplomatic intervention.
   If I were Muslim, I would have seen the positive side of the curricular activity fostered by the teacher: Isn’t it a good strategy to attract new devotees from early stages to learn through games and fantasy? Isn’t it a good advice for a child to name his imaginary plush friend, which he recalls constantly, after the prophet Muhammad?
   But the opposite has occurred and now their imprudent judging is seen as violent, unfair, inhuman and out of proportion. Is there any proportion to qualify as sin innumerable daily mistakes and actions inherent to human beings? That is to say, our biggest sin is precisely that, to be simple human beings in evolution. Apparently, that is the essential prejudgment in all current religions which are based on the idea that we are sinners and that we offend our gods, just because.
   I suppose that, after publishing this article, I will not be able to visit The Mecca. I hope Allah illuminates such drastic judges with wisdom, so that they do not represent such activities as evil and they do not continue feeding cultural hate.

*The Golden Compass, Pullman Philip. Publisher: Knopf Alfred A. En. Producers: Scholastic Productions <http://www.hollywood.com/MovieList/pc/Scholastic+Productions/SORT/B>, Depth of Field <http://www.hollywood.com/MovieList/pc/Depth+of+Field/SORT/B>, Ingenious Film Partners <http://www.hollywood.com/MovieList/pc/Ingenious+Film+Partners/SORT/B>. 118 minutes. December 2007.
***The Name of the Rose, Eco, Umberto. Publisher: Fabri. Milan. 1980.
****The Name of the Rose. Director: Annaud, Jean-Jacques <http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Jacques_Annaud>. Producers: Eberts, Jake; Eichinger, Bernd;y Schühly, Thomas. 128 minutes. 1986.gland, 1995.
** The Golden Compass. Director: Weitzs, Chris. New Line Records