Sunday, November 24, 2013

Do atheists have the right to offend Muslims?

I don't remember how I landed on this article. It’s been an open tab on Chrome for a few days. It is something I do when I want to let a story percolate. It was written for The Muslim Times and titled, "Do Atheists have the right to offend Muslims?"

The article talks about atheists being asked to remove "Jesus and Mo" t-shirts depicting carton caricatures of Jesus and Muhammad sharing a beer together.

NewImage

The image is satirical and funny too some. I am not offended. I could understand how Muslims would be offended, but I do not care. It’s humor and a fitting part of western culture. On the other hand, I am offend by the question implied by The Muslim Times’ headline, “Do Atheist have the right to offend Muslims?”

The headline and the article implies that our right to free expression is something that can be removed simply because what we might say, write or do, offends people. It implies that we should be silenced. The best way to fight back is to keep doing what we do best. I want to see more of this, lots more.