Rik Torfs, a leading law professor in Europe, said Muslims will not win any case they may open against the publishing of insulting cartoons of Islam’s Prophet Mohammed.
Though European leaders, especially Danish PM Anders Fogh Rasmussen, have indicated Muslims may initiate legal proceedings on all occasions, Professor Torfs said, "Muslim groups cannot obtain any success in the field of law."
Though insult against religion is not openly mentioned in the law it is considered a moral crime in many European countries. However, Islam’s "not being regarded as a religion" paves the way for a double standard against Muslims. Professor Torfs of the respected Catholic University of Leuven (KUL) in Belgium also states Europeans should learn sensitivity for religious values, striving for a peaceful "common life" in Europe: "If you do not respect the most sensitive values of Muslims, or even worse if you ignore their feelings, how can you live together with them?"
Torfs offers his interpretation of European leaders' words "Let Muslims offended by the cartoons go to court" to Zaman, and maintains Muslims will obtain no success in the legal arena.
He recalled this petition had been made by Belgian PM Guy Verhofstadt, but underlines blasphemy against religion is not a crime in Belgium according to the law.
Torfs believes under Belgian law insult against God is permitted, but insult to human beings is prohibited.
"God is not expected to attend court, and insult against religion is regarded as a "crime" only if it violates people's individual rights," the professor says, and considers the prime minister in fact meant two things when he pointed toward a legal process for Muslims:
"First, it is not the government that must resolve problems related to freedoms of thought and expression. It is rather judges who are under an obligation to find an appropriate answer to the question whether the publication of cartoons can be deemed as tolerable, when it is approached from a viewpoint of freedom of expression.
Second, although insulting a religious concept or value is not regarded as a crime from a legal point of view, it is possible to commit crimes resulting from or affected by an insult to the notion of religion. You can bring a case to court as an intervening party; however, to be realistic, the chances of reaching the point you consider successful are almost next to zero."
Satirizing religious concepts is not covered under European law, said the professor, and only Britain considers an insult to religious values a crime when the insult is directed at Christianity.
European courts are unlikely to accept cases brought against the publishers of the cartoons satirizing the Prophet Mohammed, said Torfs, and the chances of achieving a desired outcome are quite low. Muslims in Denmark were quick to report the publication of the drawings as a crime to Danish courts, but the judges were of a different opinion when they dismissed those appeals. Appeals to courts in France and Britain were also turned down because Islam is not protected against insult in those countries.
Roberto Calderoli, the former Reform Minister who was forced to resign over wearing a t-shirt that had the satirizing cartoons printed on, was referred to court. The Italian minister will prove innocent, Torfs thinks, and if Calderoli is not acquitted in Italian courts, he is bound to clear himself of the crime at the European Court of Human Rights. As he based his argument on a decree released in the 1970s about the Sunday Times that helped to extend the limits of expression freedom exceptionably, Torfs believes Mr. Calderoli will be exonerated.
