Freedom of Opinion
- In Islam - because of the "ban on images" - artistic calligraphy usually substitutes for pictorial religious art. Source: stock.xchng
Freedom against Religion?
In February 2006 a storm of outrage broke out in the world of Islam which expressed itself in protests and calls for boycotts, some of them violent. The bone of contention was a series of caricatures in the European media which had to do with the Prophet Mohammed some of which presented him pictorially. The reactions in the European public were split:
While some defended freedom of opinion against religious intolerance, others expressed understanding of the fact that one could not offend religious feelings with impunity. It is interesting in this connection to take a look at the genesis of the dispute which makes it clear that the basic value difference between the "Western" world and the world of "Islam" was overlaid with complex political interests. Information on the historical development of human rights and basic rights in the "West" and current debates on the topic will be set out in this theme station as well as essential lines of argumentation on the "caricature dispute" taken from the public debate in Austria.
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