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“Red Line”: the Intersection of Free Speech, Religious Freedom, and Social Change

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“Red Line”: the Intersection of Free Speech, Religious Freedom, and Social Change at Brookings Rethinking the “Red Line”: The Intersection of Free Speech, Religious Freedom, and Social Change By Asma T. Uddin and Haris Tarin The Brookings Project on U.S. Relations with the Islamic World U.S.-Islamic World Forum Papers 2013 November 2013 STEERING For the tenth annual U.S.-Islamic World interact with each other. This year’s work- COMMITTEE Forum, we returned once again to the city ing groups included: Rethinking the “Red MARTIN INDYK of Doha. The Forum, co-convened an- Line”: The Intersection of Free Speech, (on leave) nually by the Brookings Project on U.S. Religious Freedom, and Social Change; Vice President Relations with the Islamic World and the On the Brink: Avoiding Economic Col- and Director Foreign Policy State of Qatar, is the premier international lapse and Promoting Inclusive Growth in gathering of leaders in government, civil Egypt and Tunisia; Diplomacy and Reli- TAMARA COFMAN society, academia, business, religion, and gion: Seeking Common Interests and En- WITTES Senior Fellow the media to discuss the most pressing is- gagement in a Dynamic World; and Ad- and Director sues facing the United States and global vancing Women’s Rights in Post-Conflict Saban Center for Muslim communities. States: A Focus on Afghanistan, Egypt, Middle East Policy and Libya. WILLIAM Each year, the Forum features a variety of MCCANTS platforms for thoughtful discussion and The opinions reflected in the papers and Fellow and Director constructive engagement, including tele- any recommendations contained therein Project on U.S. Relations with the vised plenary sessions with prominent in- are solely the views of the authors and Islamic World ternational figures addressing broad issues do not necessarily represent the views of of global importance; sessions focused on the participants of the working groups BRUCE RIEDEL Senior Fellow a particular theme led by experts and poli- or the Brookings Institution. All of the Saban Center for cymakers; and working groups that bring working group papers will be available Middle East Policy together practitioners to develop partner- on our website. ships and policy recommendations. The SALMAN SHAIKH Fellow and Director 2013 Forum continued its strong record We would like to take this opportunity to Brookings of success. Over three days together, we thank the State of Qatar for its partner- Doha Center assessed the impact of the significant ship and vision in convening the Forum SHIBLEY TELHAMI transitions underway in Afghanistan and with us. In particular, we thank H.E. Nonresident Pakistan, examined the economic chal- Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Jabr Senior Fellow lenges still looming in the aftermath of the Al-Thani, the Minister’s Assistant for In- Saban Center for Middle East Policy Arab Spring in Egypt and throughout the ternational Cooperation Affairs and the region, and evaluated the regional effects Chairman of the Permanent Committee and impact of the crisis in Syria. We also for Organizing Conferences; and H.E. explored how art functions as a vehicle for Ambassador Mohammed Abdullah Mu- political expression and accountability, and tib Al-Rumaihi for their collective sup- we examined how the events of the past port and dedication to the U.S. Islamic decade in the Middle East have helped to World Forum and the Project on U.S. shape Arab identity. For detailed proceed- Relations with the Islamic World. ings of the Forum, including photographs, video coverage, and transcripts, please visit Sincerely, our website at http://www.brookings.edu/ about/projects/islamic-world. Each of the four working groups this year Dr. William F. McCants focused on a different theme, highlight- Fellow and Director ing the multiple ways in which the United Project on U.S. Relations with the States and global Muslim communities Islamic World Abstract Conveners: Asma Uddin and Haris Tarin he issue of free speech, particularly free- dom to speak about, criticize or even re- ject religion, continues to be a contentious Tissue among Muslims, and between Muslims and non-Muslim compatriots, in the United States and in Muslim-majority countries. This working group explored the reasons why free speech remains a controversial topic with changing contours and dis- puted boundaries, and how these disputes should be addressed and resolved. Using the Organiza- tion of Islamic Cooperation’s Defamation of Reli- gions Resolution as a case study, the working group looked at different definitions of free speech, alter- native standards governing limits on free speech, and how the gaps among competing standards should be bridged. The goal of the working group was to produce a policy memo and action initiative that would reflect culturally specific concerns and reconcile them. Authors Asma T. Uddin Haris Tarin United States United States Asma T. Uddin is Legal Counsel at The Becket Haris Tarin is the Washington, D.C. Director of Fund for Religious Liberty. Uddin joined The the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC), where Becket Fund in 2009 after practicing commer- he engages various agencies within government in- cial litigation at prestigious national law firms for cluding the White House, Department of Justice, several years. She is also the Founder and Editor- Department of State, Department of Homeland in-Chief of the acclaimed altmuslimah.com, a web Security, and offices on Capitol Hill. Recently, magazine dedicated to issues on gender and Islam. Tarin was chosen as one of three young Ameri- She has helped edit the book, A Muslim in Victorian cans to discuss policy issues with President Barack America, which was published in 2007 by Oxford Obama, where he conversed with the president University Press. Uddin was also an Associate Edi- on topics such as national security, the American tor and legal columnist for Islamica Magazine. She Muslim community, and civic engagement. Tarin is an expert panelist for the Washington Post reli- has spoken at various domestic and international gion blog, On Faith, and a contributor to Huffing- conferences and addressed media outlets on topics ton Post Religion, CNN’s Belief Blog, the Guardian’s such as Islam and governance, the American Mus- Comment is Free, and Common Ground News. Ud- lim identity, U.S.-Muslim world relations, the role din speaks and publishes widely on national and of American Muslim institutions in policy forma- international religious freedom. Some of her work tion, religion and public life, and civic engagement. has been published in the Rutgers Journal of Law Tarin is Co-Founder of the Ehsan Center, a multi- and Religion, The Review of Faith & International generational American Muslim community estab- Affairs, St. Thomas University Law Journal, and the lished in Southern California to develop an indig- First Amendment Law Review, and she has publi- enous American Muslim identity and experience. cations forthcoming from Ashgate Publishers, Uni- He is the author of MPAC’s special report, “Intro- versity of California Press, and Central European duction to Muslim America.” He received his un- University Press. Uddin received her J.D. from the dergraduate degree in Liberal Studies/Education at University of Chicago Law School. the California State University of Northridge. Table of Contents 1. Introduction 3. Case Study: The UN Defamation of Religions Resolution 7. Implementation of 16/18 10. The U.S. Legal and Social Model for Free Speech 18. Free Speech Limitations: Impact on Social Change and Emerging Democracies 22. Reflections of the Working Group 25. About the Brookings Project on U.S. Relations with the Islamic World 26. The Saban Center for Middle East Policy 1 Introduction n the years after the September 11, 2001 at- tacks on the World Trade Center, Muslim communities in America and Europe have Ifaced numerous incidents of speech critical of Is- lam and Muslims. Most recently, Pamela Geller, co-founder of Freedom Defense Initiative and prominent anti-Muslim activist, sponsored anti- Muslim ads in the New York City and Washington, D.C. subway terminals. The ads, which read, “In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man. Support Israel. Defeat Jihad,” compared Palestinians to savages, and Israe- lis to the “civilized man.” Meanwhile, in Europe, rightwing Dutch politician Geert Wilders, perhaps best known for his repeated, virulent criticism of Islam and Muslims, has stood trial for criminally insulting religious and ethnic groups and inciting hatred and discrimination; Theo Van Gogh was as- sassinated for his film, “Submission,” which pur- ports to explain the connection between Islam and the abuse of women; and the publication of con- troversial depictions of the Prophet Mohammed in the Dutch newspaper Jyllands-Posten ignited riots that threated embassies and consulates throughout the world. Incidents like these fueled initiatives such as the Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s (OIC) Defamation of Religions Resolution, which was first proposed in 1999 at the UN but gained steam in the years after the 9/11 attacks. By seek- ing to protect religion generally and Islam specifi- 2 cally from “hate speech,” the Resolution accorded Muslims,” thus sparking anew discussions on Mus- human rights to religion/ideology rather than to lims and their ability to protect free speech. While individuals, thus undermining the premise of hu- the attack was later found to be unrelated to the man rights. It also sought to limit the speaker film,1 demonstrators used the same video and re- rather than the violent actor. For this and other lated free speech controversy as a pretext to attack reasons—to be discussed in detail in the follow- the U.S. embassies in Cairo, Egypt and Sanaa, Ye- ing section—the Resolution represented all of the men. Violence and unrest continue to rage in these wrong ways to deal with critical speech. It has re- countries as their governments struggle to develop cently been replaced by another UN Resolution.
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