Freedom of Expression, Multiculturalism and the ‘Danish Cartoons’

Abstract

Freedom of expression can be seen as both a potent ‘flashpoint’ in multicultural societies, as exemplified by the ‘cartoons affair’, and as a prerequisite of a successful model of multiculturalism. On the one hand, the cartoons affair has been characterised as a conflict between freedom of expression as a core liberal or ‘Western’ value and an intolerant and increasingly assertive version of Islam. This characterisation tends to emphasise the incompatibility of Islam and the West, and suggests (from the ‘Western’ perspective) that Muslims must accept freedom of expression as a cherished, and non-negotiable, aspect of the moral and political culture of the Western societies in which they have settled and been born. On the other hand, the cartoons have been criticised as racist or, at least, failing to respect religious beliefs and practices that matter a great deal to Muslims, and hence as an unreasonable use of freedom of expression. In both of these views, and in the way their opposition has been played out politically within European societies and on a global level, freedom of expression is a flashpoint in the interaction resulting from the presence of Islam in the West. Yet some advocates of multiculturalism characterise it as a process involving interaction and dialogue, so that freedom of expression is a crucial mechanism to achieve successful integration. In other words, freedom of expression is simultaneously one of the problems and part of the solution. How can freedom of expression be used to promote integration while being tempered so as to avoid explosive conflict?¹