Hello again!
This week, we look at two very different cases with a common theme: the cost of challenging religious and political orthodoxy. From a Pakistani television station suspended over a fleeting depiction of Muhammad to a Turkish comedian jailed for jokes about the Qur'an and President Erdoğan, the boundaries of permissible speech continue to shrink—though not without resistance.
Unbelief Brief
Pakistan’s largest TV news channel, Geo News, has been suspended for 15 days over a documentary it showed on Ashura (the 10th of Muharram, when Shia Muslims mourn the death of Muhammad’s grandson Hussain at Karbala). Geo’s own statements and the related news coverage have been exceedingly vague, with Geo opting to issue an apology “acknowledg[ing] an editorial error regarding content aired during its 10th Muharram transmission.” Western outlets like DW even pointed out that Geo’s statements “did not provide further details of the documentary's content,” beyond a focus on (also unspecified) “rituals practiced by a limited number of people in Iraq and some other Middle Eastern countries.” Pakistan Today referenced “13 seconds of sensitive visuals.” The only certainty from mainstream news coverage is that Pakistani authorities believed the program had the potential to “hurt religious sentiments.”
An angry article in Jasarat, unsympathetic to Geo and its “liberal past,” might illuminate things. The piece alleges that, for a brief moment, the documentary shows a sketch of Muhammad carrying Imam Hassan and Hussain on his shoulders. While any original videos from the documentary appear to have been deleted, this would explain the uproar and the necessity for an apology. Geo News received a 15-day suspension for the transgression, and Pakistani authorities are reportedly discussing whether additional punitive action should be taken. All this over little more than a cartoon that briefly appeared in an hour-long program.
Meanwhile, in Turkey, a Streisand effect may be underway. Following the release of a new stand-up special, Turkish comedian Deniz Göktaş has been arrested and jailed, accused of insulting Islam and the Turkish president. The first charge stems from a joke about the Qur’an: calling it a “bold statement in the 600s,” Göktaş quipped that “[i]t's also very difficult for the author; if a new idea comes to mind, too bad, we've said, 'This is the last book.” The second apparently stems from the comedian’s use of the word “dictator” to describe President Erdoğan.
This egregious breach of human rights is no surprise coming from Turkey’s current quasi-Islamist government. While Göktaş has denied any intention of insulting religious values or the president, his arrest may backfire. The stand-up special which landed him in hot water has now surpassed 12 million views on YouTube, and the most-liked comments beneath the video are virtually unanimously supportive of the comedian.
As the political opposition in Turkey continues to be under siege from the government and its aligned courts, it remains to be seen how Göktaş’s case finally resolves. But there is one glimmer of hope in the fact that a significant number of Turks are on his side.
Until next week,
The Team at Ex-Muslims of North America
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