Zaprio and Freedom of Expression...

We all feel entitled to our opinion and take great pleasure in poking fun at the opinion of others, but somehow can’t handle being the victim of a joke. We want the best; we want democracy and yet get our knickers in a knot when a person uses their right to freedom of speech. What most fail to realize is that freedom of speech allows you to say offensive things about others and gives them the right to say offensive things about you. The barriers of freedom of speech and expression lie at hate speech which is characterized by propaganda to war or physical harm, contextualized to the society in question.

Activists and public figures are too, entitled to the freedom of speech and expression. It is their duty to challenge and bring vices within society to the fore. It is their duty to enlighten and inform, acting in the interest of those who are oppressed.

Zapiro is one of South Africa’s most controversial cartoonists, well-renounced for his portrayal of Zuma and his shower head following the politician’s 2006 rape charges. The cartoon that really threw Zapiro into the furnace was the one in which Zuma prepares to rape the woman who represented the justice system, assisted by the ANC, ANCYL, SACP AND COSATU.

The next up roar was created by the cartoons of Muhammad, one which depicted the prophet on the couch of a psychologist, lamenting: ‘Other prophets have followers with a sense of humor…’

At the Jozi Book Fair, Zapiro and Na’eem Jeena, an influential Muslim and former lecturer in Political Studies at Wits, lead the round table discussion about religion, politics and freedom of speech, focusing particularly on this cartoon.

Here’s a picture of Zapiro and I – he is a very sweet man with a gentle nature.

Zapiro started out by saying that he is making use of the space that democracy brought to push controversial issues as far as possible. His cartoons, particularly the religious type, are met with great animosity, especially from religious heads. He emphasized how those whose beliefs are questioned have no right to lay transgression upon people who don’t share their beliefs and who also have the right to their own opinion, based on what they know.

To quote Na’eem: ‘Religious people should defend their beliefs – by teaching people and helping to create an environment of understanding, compassion and solidarity.’ I could not agree more. How can we expect people to understand what they don’t know?

Na’eem Jeena spoke after Zapiro, reflecting on the article in which he disagreed with Zapiro observation. ‘We know how to laugh as much as anyone else. The presence (and success) within our community of comedians such as Joey Rasdien and Riaah Moosa is testimony to this. That they often perform for Muslim audiences and constantly poke fun at Muslims as well as Islamic rituals and practice provides ample evidence.’

However Na’eem acknowledged that some Muslims overreacted. ‘Some South African Muslims went out of their way to validate his contention that we are a humorless bunch. It is a great pity.’ He pointed out that a cartoon of this sort is in no way Islamophobic and that ‘cartoonists have an important role to play in creating understanding and Zapiro’s cartoon has moved us to try and understand better who Muhammad was and why he would be unhappy at humorless, unsmiling and hateful followers.’

Reality is unfortunate. Religion and politics, virtuous in their own right, have always led to intolerance and segregation, a result of in-born human flaws. Each believes his own is right, and is entitled to. But there is no excuse for depriving a person of their right to their own views and the freedom to express them, not to mention pushing the boundaries and engaging in hate speech.

Indeed, the more criticism and opinion we can squeeze out of society, the stronger we are to deal with and eradicate hate speech, so as to uphold the standards of our constitution.