The recent decision by the Canadian government to ban British MP George Galloway from entering Canada was a stark violation of human rights. Mr. Galloway was invited to speak about Israeli assault on occupied Gaza and the suffering of the Palestinian people living under Israeli occupation. Mr Galloway’s views were not in sync with the Canadian government, a reason good enough to label him as a persona non grata. In the words of an editorial published by the National Post on March 31st, 2009, Mr. Galloway was described as “a toxic clown who serves as a mouth piece for some of the most dangerous people on earth.”
Granted that Mr Galloway was known for his aggressive style, his views deserved to be heard as stipulated by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. This Charter, like many in Western democracies, was inspired by The Universal Declaration on Human Rights, proclaimed by the United Nations in December, 1948. Despite being accepted as the standard of human rights preservation, the countries that were signatories to that declaration continued to be violators of its very spirit.
Long before the Magna Carta which was the pride of the British Empire and the UN declaration on human rights, Islam brought forward a divinely revealed declaration on human rights protection. God declared in the Quran: “We have definitely dignified all children of Adam.” As far as freedom of thought and meditation, the Quran says: “Say (to them O Muhammad): I exhort you on one thing only that you stand up for God’s sake in pairs and individually, and reflect within yourselves” (Surat Saba’: verse 46). One also reads in Surat Al- Hajj, verse 46: “Have they not travelled through the land, and have they not hearts wherewith they could understand and ears wherewith they could here? Verily it is not the eyes that grow blind, but it is the hearts which are in the breasts that grown blind.”
Islam does not approve of those who follow suspicion and illusion. In Surat Al- Najm, verse 28, God says: “Guess is no substitute for the truth.” Islam also denounces those who pursue their own prejudices or blindly imitate fathers and superiors. It denounces those who would say on the day of judgement: “Verily, we obeyed our chiefs and our great ones, and they mislead us from the right way.” (Surat Al- Ahzab, verse 67). Islam also rejects old liners and diehards. It calls for free thinking, reasoning and contemplation at all times and under all circumstances. God commands Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) to question the non-believers by saying: “Produce your proof if you are truthful.” (Surat Al-Baqarah, verse 111).
Islam has heavily relied on intellectual evidence to demonstrate Islamic beliefs. One encounters such statements by Muslim scholars: “Direct intellectual reasoning is the grounds for authentic relations among religious tenets.” This addresses issues like God’s existence and the prophet-hood of Muhammad. It is through reason that believers are asked to discover the genuine mission of the Prophet, since all evidence corroborates his truthfulness. This clearly demonstrates Islam’s outmost recognition of human’s intellectual capabilities.
Concerning freedom of expression and the ability to criticize, Islam not only adopts such a freedom among its principles, but makes it an obligation to express and/or criticize whatever relates to the interest of the community, general morals and public ethics. According to Islam, It is a religious duty to speak the truth without fearing anyone except God. Enjoining good and forbidding evil is a duty incumbent on all Muslims. God says in Surat Luqman, verse 17: “Enjoin people to do good and forbid them from doing evil, and bear with patience whatever befalls you. Verily these are some of the important commandments made manifest by God.”
Islam refuses to muzzle people so that they may only speak when given permission and express their faith on command. Islam rejects Pharaoh’s approach when he asks his magicians indignantly: “You believed in him (Moses) before I gave you permission.” (Surat Taha, verse 71). Pharaoh’s behaviour, according to Islam is outrageous because he is preventing people from holding a particular belief unless he approves of it.
Islam wants people to think freely, and even commands them to do so. It permits people to believe in what they think is right. Thus, barring a public figure like Mr. Galloway from entering Canada is a grave assault on, not only the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, but also on all principles of freedom. The irony was that Mr. Galloway did not need to be physically present in Canada to allow Canadians to hear what he had to say. In this age of technical advancement in communication, everyone who was interested in Galloway’s message had a chance to hear it loud and clear.