How much freedom is in the 1st Amendment

Free speech means FREE speech. We have a universal liberty to express ourselves freely through the means of our communication. Laws governing communication should protect any individual the right to express this civil liberty.
This sounds almost trivial or right out of a textbook, but what I write in this blog is and will be completely due to my liberty to exercise free speech. I cannot say the same for others around the world that do not and cannot share this same liberty. Most likely because these people are restricted by their government or hold their own religious beliefs.
Religion has been the most testing group of the freedom of speech liberty. Dating back to 1529 and Henry VIII, England supported the Catholic Church in their views of what was considered blasphemous. The church put forth a proclamation that censored “heretical and blasphemous books,” which would go against Catholic beliefs. In 1517, Martin Luther was able to publish his The Ninety-Five Theses, which was a stepping-stone for the Protestant Reformation. Even though there was protection under habeas corpus, the thesis was banned for blasphemy.

Today, the Catholic Church still labels certain publications and persons as blasphemous. Novels like The Davinci Code have been banned from the Vatican and other areas of the world and referred to as harmful to the Church. The Church has also proclaimed that pop star Madonna, who hung herself on a cross in replication of Jesus, is a heretic. These are prime examples of free speech and how people, at least in the Western World, are able to express it without any harm.
Islamic countries are not as lucky in having the universal liberty of freedom of speech. The controversy of the anti-Islam cartoons in a Danish newspaper raises a major question on how far is too far? The cartoons mainly depict Muhammad as a terrorist and also many show Islamic women in a bad light. We must remember that these cartoon are drawn by the Western World, and how that collective culture views Islam at that certain time. The satirical fashion that the cartoons are in meant no harm toward Islam as a whole, but toward those who used their religion for harm against others.
Of course there would be a major backlash in the Islamic community based upon the fact that most Islamic countries do not share the same concept of freedom of speech. When I was in India, we were told that Pakistani journalists were strictly forbidden to raise any sort of bias of objectiveness in their articles. They had to stay true to Islamic views and morals. To be honest, I can easily see why the cartoons are offensive. However, I strongly believe it is free speech and in no way blasphemous to the religion as a whole, but depicts a certain aspect of the religion as the Western World may see it. I believe as long as we hold respect for the fact that there are diverse religions and groups, we may contradict and depict them, as we seem fit. This is our universal right.

In parallel to religion and freedom of speech, I now turn to Dubai and their ambition to build a major movie industry. Dubai craves to be the richest and most lavish city in the world and to do that they want to take a few things from the glamorous world of Hollywood. However, under their strict Islamic rules and morals, it seems to be quite a challenge. Dubai forbid the production of the “Sex and the City” sequel to be filmed there based on view that Dubai women do not spend lavish amounts of money on clothing and accessories. I find this claim completely false. Having been to Dubai, I can tell you personally that the women especially spend massive amounts of money on designer clothing that they can never wear in public. It’s just something for their husbands I suppose.


In respect of their culture I find it absurd that Hollywood be aloud allowed to film any scene or movie that go against Islamic values. It is their country and they have laws that we must all abide by. If you take the example of India and Bollywood, this massive industry has been very successful in creating movies that are appropriate to Hindu beliefs. Just recently, there was massive chaos and uproar of the very first kiss on screen in a Bollywood film.
Like previously states, religion is the most complex subject when it refers to freedom of speech. The courts of the United States have banned religion from being taught in science classrooms all across the nation, however, the topic of evolution has always been a sour subject when it comes to opposing views. The issue of “strengths and weaknesses” of teaching evolution is absurd. Evolution is still a theory and a theory is not proven. So, why not leave evolution to the science classrooms and leave religion to Sunday school? It is personal opinion to adopt wither viewpoint and negate the other. To draw out the strength and weaknesses of evolution in public schools would mean you must explain the strengths and weaknesses of religion.

Freedom of speech is a universal liberty to all. Whether or not we choose to express it is a complete personal option. We cannot blame or point fingers out those who use this liberty as an attack on personal freedom, religion, or politics. Freedom of speech is for all.