The Freedom to Mock Religious Beliefs

My latest Calgary Herald column looks at the furor surrounding "Innocence of Muslims", and specifically how the controversy has played out here at home:

On the surface, it’s peculiar that a story about a film made in America that  has sparked protests, riots and other acts of violence overseas should have much  of a Canadian or Albertan context.
Nonetheless, that’s indeed the case with regard to Innocence of Muslims, a  film that virtually no one has seen, yet has sparked worldwide outrage,  including here in Canada.
There’s been mystery and confusion as to the exact origins of this film,  specifically, who was responsible for making the film and what exactly the point  of it was. Actors who appeared in the film are claiming they were misled about  the content and nature of the film, and that references to “Islam” and “Muhammad” were added post-production.
It’s even unclear as to whether a full-length version of the film exists.  What does exist is a 14-minute trailer for the film that has been posted on  YouTube. What is clear about the video is that the production values are  atrocious. It is unclear, though, whether the content is intended to be serious  or satirical.
Either way, it depicts a character who is apparently supposed to be the Islamic Prophet Muhammad. It is, however, a quite unflattering portrayal.  Muhammad is implied to be a liar, a fraud, a womanizer and a pedophile, among  other things. Clearly then, those who hold up the historical figure Muhammad as  something much more are going to take deep exception to this video.
That’s nothing new. Christians took great exception, for example, to the film  The Last Temptation of Christ, which many felt portrayed Jesus in an inaccurate  and insulting manner.
However, in this case, it’s odd that a film so ridiculous would be taken  seriously at all. It would not take one long to find all sorts of bizarre and  laughable videos on YouTube making all manner of unfounded or biased assertions  about religious figures, religions, historical events, and more.
More broadly, however — much like the Danish cartoon controversy from seven  years ago — the film has led to a debate about freedom of expression. That is,  many seem to believe that the film (and even the trailer for the film) should be  censored and that those responsible for it should face criminal charges.
Of course, as is always the case, the push to censor something ensures only  that more people will be exposed to the words or ideas contained therein.
For example, a posting about the film on the Muslim Council of Calgary’s  website demands we “punish the criminals for their crime” and asserts that “freedom of opinion should stop before violating the sanctity of others and  transgressing against them.”
A rather large demonstration over the weekend near the U.S. Consulate in Toronto featured notorious Khomeinist Zafar Bangash, who called for the movie to be censored and for the filmmakers to be prosecuted for hate speech.
In fact, one Toronto protester was caught on video arguing that the  filmmakers should be hanged to death.
The latter may be (hopefully) a view of a tiny minority, but the idea that a  crime has been committed here in the content of Innocence of Muslims seems to be  rather widespread, even in Canada.
It is indeed an absurd notion, and is compounded by the fact that for many,  the film’s criminality exists only due to the violent reaction to it. In other  words, if no one reacts violently to your claims or portrayal of a historical  (or mythical) religious figure, then you remain entitled to your freedoms.
To succumb to this notion that we must prohibit “offensive” portrayals of  religious figures is to then mandate by law that such figures are only portrayed  in a manner decided upon by their followers.
In this country, you are free to believe what you want to believe, and  certainly free to try and convince others of what you perceive to be the truths  of your beliefs. It is that freedom that is entitled to respect and protection — not the beliefs themselves.
Quite the opposite: religious beliefs — all beliefs, in fact — should be open  to criticism and even ridicule. Anything less is an affront to the idea of a  free society.

Here's the "trailer" for the film - judge for yourself: