THBT Hate Speech Should Be Banned

Hate Speech: is oral or written statements, used as a mockery or satire against particular faith and
belief. (e.g. Visually depicting Muhammad pbuh as a rapist, Mocking Christian God Jesus for his
nudity).

In this debate we will further explain:

1. Why such hate speech could be offensive?

2. How the ban could be the best practice to keep diversed society (in term of religion, or maybe
indigenous belief) in peace.

The arguments will prove to you, those who create and distribute the hate speech should be
criminalized and punished.

Our main goal is to fully eradicate the hate speech and promote the harmony among society, to accept
and respect the different faiths or beliefs. Though in the end of the day, hate speech is not fully
eradicated, because it is impossible to make everyone (statiscally speaking, a country should be
populated around millions of people, France alone is reaching 65 M, meanwhile Indonesia (bigger than
France) is around 263 M) obey the law, but at least the government has set a legal protection against
such intolerant behaviour and warranty rights of religious freedom.

1. It is not hard to prove why hate speech could be offensive. In 2015, an unexpected gunfire
attack happened in France, killing 12 staffs of a satirical magazine publisher company, Charlie
Hebdo. The two attacking gunmen were motivated by their anger for the satire depiction of
Prophet Muhammad pbuh by the company. We are not trying to justify the murder, because
that is not the concern in this debate. However it is important to understand why such
depiction could trigger the killing.

And obey Allah and the (Prophetic) Messenger that you may obtain mercy. (Ali Imran:132)

Allahs command to obey Prophet Muhammad pbuh in Al-Quran, not only in one Surah, but
also in Surah An-Nisa 4 times (verse: 13, 59, 69, 80), At-Tawbah (verse: 71), An-Nur 3 times
(verse: 52, 54, 56), Al-Ahzab (verse: 71), Al-Hujurat (verse: 14), At-Taghabun (verse: 12).

And Allah commands us to love the Prophet in Surah At-Tawbah verse 24:

Say: If your fathers, and your sons, and your brothers, and your wives, and your kinsfolk, and
the wealth you have acquired, and merchandise for which you fear that there will be no sale,
and dwellings you desire are dearer to you than Allah and His (Prophetic) Messenger and
striving in His way: then wait till Allah brings His command to pass, and Allah does not guide
the wrongdoing folk. (At-Tawbah:24)
All muslims, unexceptionally have to respect, obey, and love Prophet Muhammad pbuh. And
as a fellow Muslim we should find Prophet Muhammad as an exemplary. In Quran surah Al-
Qalam, Allah said:

And indeed, you are of a great moral character (Al-Qalam:4)

Depicting Prophet Muhammad pbuh in images is debatable, and many preferred to disagree.
The reason is:
1. To avoid Prophet Muhammad pbuh (and the image) to be worshipped as an idol.
2. To avoid misleading interpretation of his existence as someone who surpassed human
being. The depiction could lead an excessive imagination, suggesting the Prophet to be
equal with God.

In Surah Fussilat, verse 6, Allah said:

Say, O [Muhammad], I am only a man like you to whom it has been revealed that your
god is but one God; so take a straight course to Him and seek His forgiveness. And woe
to those who asociate others with Allah

In France, it was not only a matter of Prophet Muhammad depiction, it was used as a satire and
mockery. He was portrayed with ugly facial look; the head resemble mans genital, with eyes
and nose sized inproportionally and in naked body. In other cases, Prophet Muhammad pbuh
was depicted with his falsely-accused-personalities for being drunk, a womanizer, and a
pedophile.

In Quran, Surah Al-Haqqah, verse 40, Allah swt mentions Prophet Muhammad as an honoured
and noble person:

Undoubtedly, it is indeed the Word (brought) by an honoured (Prophetic) Messenger. (69:40)

How can we as Muslim dont feel hurted when a person who we love so much, we follow his
every actions, we love what or whom he loved, being associated with such a low being
character? Mocking Prophet Muhammad pbuh does not hurt only one person, it hurts more
than 2 bn Muslims who live in this planet.

Western countries reaction towards this situation was not better. Little do they know, how
precious the Prophet is, to us Muslims. Several months after the gunfire attack in Charlie
Hebdos office, there was art exhibition in Texas where Prophet Muhammads pbuh caricatures
were displayed. It once again raised anger and concern of our fellow Muslims. As the result,
two gunmen were shot dead by the police after opening fire.
 So which other way would be the best to tell them, it hurts when they depict Prophet
Muhammad in a picture, it hurts when someone we dear the most depicted as a low being?
For now, it is almost impossible for Muslims to make them heard, and to make the world
accommodate their demand to stop the mockery against Prophet Muhammad pbuh. No
wonder terrorism is increasing, bombings keep happening everywhere, and more lives of
innocent people were taken. This hate speech triggers and amplifies hatred, causes collective
and massive destruction.

However Islam hates war, and promotes peace. In Surah Al-Baqarah Allah swt says:

O You who believe! Enter absolutely into peace (Islam). Do not follow in the footsteps of
satan. He is an outright enemy to you. (Holy Quran: 2, 208)

And in Surah Al-Isra Allah swt forbids the kiling of innocent people:

And do not kill the soul which Allah has forbidden, except by right. And whoever is killed
unjustly We have given his heir authority, but let him not exceed limits in [the matter of]
taking life. Indeed, he has been supported [by the law]. (17:33)

Hate speech undeniably offends people in any way possible. When people get offended,
especially when no one understands them, killing and bombing could the right way for them to
pursue justice. The social unrest happened clearly suggests how urgent to stop the hate speech
is. Stopping hate speech would stop the seed of hatred to grow, that in the end could reduce
extrimism and terrorism.

2. The ban doesnt only benefit for Muslim but also inclusively for all people, as how Islam
fosters the tolerance. As Allah says in Surah Al-Mumtahanah, verse 8:

Allah does not forbid you from those who do not fight you because of religion and do not
expel you from your homes from being righteous toward them and acting justly toward
them. Indeed, Allah loves those who act justly. (60:8)

Prophet Muhammad pbuh himself put a high concern on mockery. In a hadith on the
authority of Aisyah ra. she said, I said to the Prophet saw, it is enough for you that Safiyyah
is such-and-such [meaning that she was short]. The Prophet saw. replied: You have said a
word that could adulterate the water of the sea if it were mixed with it. She als said, I once
imitated a man before him [ridiculing him] and He said: I would never like to imitate anyone,
even if I were to get such-and-such [a reward for it]. [Abu Daud and At-Tarmidzhi]

We cannot deny that we live in the world of globalization, where distances is no longer a barrier
to keep the interraction. Like or not we should be adapted to live where people surrounding
us, could possibly embrace differrent values or beliefs. And Allah has said in Quran Surah Al-
Hujurat, verse 13:

O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and
tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the
most righteour of you. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted. (49:13)

Tolerance is indeed necessary. But the truest meaning of tolerance is to accept the differences.
Mocking and saying bad words to those who are different or less than us is not the relfection
of tolerant attitude. In Quran surah Al-Hujarat, verse 11, Allah says:

Oh you who believed, let not a people ridicule [another] people; perhaps they may be better
than them; nor let women ridicule [other] women; perhaps they may be better than them. And
do not insult one another and do not call each other by [offensive] nicknames. Wretched is the
name of disobedience after [ones] faith. And whoever does not repent then it is those who
are the wrongdoers. (49:11)

Hate speech causes unhealthy social interraction by introducing hatred into it. It could hurt
someones feeling to a degree we do not know for sure. Words can be very abusive because it
attacks people mentally, the scars is not visible, make it harder to be healed. Maintaining
relationship between human being is one of major concerns in Islamic teaching. In Surah
Muhammad, verse 22-23, Allah saw. says:

So would you perhaps, if you turned away, cause corruption on earth and sever your [ties of]
relationship?

Those [who do so] are the ones that Allah has cursed, so He deafened them and blinded their
vision. (47:22-23)
It is true, how hard we have tried, we always find a hole in the social interraction. There are
things we cannot share our agreement with. In that moment, arguing might be impossible to
avoid, but remember in Surah An-Nahl, verse 125, Allah says:

Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good instruction, and argue with them in a
way that is best. Indeed, your Lord is most knowing of who has strayed from His way, and He
is most knowing of who is [rightly] guided. (16:125)

Additionally, in a hadith...

On the authority of Abu Hurairah r.a., that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:

Let him who believes in Allah and the Last Day speak good, or keep silent; and let him who
believes in Allah and the Last Day be generous to his neighbour; and let him who believes in
Allah and the Last Day be generous to his guest. (Related by Bukhari & Muslim)

We are humans created differently, thus we can get along by knowing and respect the
differences. When we are different in idea, Allah swt has given us a way how to argue in a
proper manner. Islam does not keep people in silence, the best way to tell criticism is through
the constrcutive one. This of course, to maintain the harmony of our society. In the other hand,
hate speech leads society into chaos. Recalling all the tragedies happened due to the hate
speech, it is hard to ignore how bad it has corrupted our society.

Hate speech is an evil and therefore should be banned:

On the authority of Abu Saeed al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) who said: I heard the
Messenger of Allah say, Whoever of you sees an evil must then change it with his hand. If he
is not able to do so, then [he must change it ] with his tongue. And if he is not able to do so,
then [he must change it] with his heart. And that is the slightest [effect of] faith. (Recorded in
Muslim)
 As the opposition team, we oppose to ban the hate speech due to some flaws in the
Government teams argument.

1. It is true, words can be offensive. But should we make a restriction for people to speak their
own words just because we are not mentally durable enough and easily consumed by
anger? Anger is one of the evil whispers of Shaytaan and has to be avoided. Allah has
promised to the righteous (muttaqeen) who keep away from the cause of anger and
struggle within themselves to control it, one hadith describes the great reward for doing
this: Whoever controls his anger at the time when he hs the means to act upon it, Allah
will fill his heart with contentment on the Day of Resurraction. (Reported by al-Tabarani)
2. It is never stated what kind of punishment one who do the hate speech should receive in
this world. It is true he/she will find themselves accountable in the day after, but they are
not necessarily be punished. The Messenger pbuh himself choose to stay patient to the
insults towards him:
The Prophet pbuh said: Does not it astonish you how Allah protects me from the Qurayshs
insults and cursing? They insult Muthammam and curse Muthammam while I am
Muhammad. (Al-Bukhari)
3. For Muslims, however, Allah has clearly stated in Surah Al-Hujarah verse 11. The verse
specifically mention the believers, and therefore the prohibition do not apply to the non-
believers. Therefore the non-believers should not be imposed to not speak hate speech. In
Surah Al-Qasas Allah swt says:

Indeed, [O Muhammad], you do not guide whom you like, but Allah guides whom He wills.
And He is most knowing of the [rightly] guided.

We, the opposition, do not believe the criminalization of hate speech would the best method to carry
for ummah development:

1. We believe hate speech trains Muslim people to be more mature and patient.

2. We afraid the criminalization of hate speech would extrimism and reduce tolerance.

1. There is this story, about a blind jewish beggar who always accused, mocked and basically telling
people on the street to stay away and don't listen to Muhammad. This jew was fed by the prophet
himself. When the prophet died, Abu Bakar asked Aishah about what the prophet usually did, and
Aishah told him that the prophet feed a jewish beggar in the market who always telling fitnah (lie) about
the prophet himself who fed this jew. And Abu Bakar did just like the prophet Muhammad did to feed
the jew. And this jew got angry because Abu Bakar didn't make it easy for the jew to eat, like the
easiness of eating the food from the prophet when he was still alive. When Abu Bakar emotionally cried
to remember the deed of the prophet, the jew asked "who are you?". Abu Bakar answered that he's a
companion of Muhammad (pbuh) who fed the jew when the prophet was alive. The jew took shahadah
witnessed by Abu Bakar and became a muslim.

The story suggested how patience and kindness of Prophet has no boundaries, even to a non-Muslim
who mocked and spread fitnah about him, he showed his best attitude.

Ibn Ishaq [am: called the shaykh of all the scholars of the prophetic biography], al-Waqidi, al-Taymi,
Ibn Uqbah and others mention under this chapter many incidents
 from throwing sand on his [blessed] head and from amongst [the incidents] is that they would pile
up torn intestines, human feces and blood on his door, and through a dead sheeps uterus into his
cooking pot [al-Raud al-Anif, al-Suhayli]

Ibn Sad, the early biographer and historian, narrated in his work on history, al-Tabaqat, through
Aisha may Allah be pleased with her) that the Prophet (peace be upon him) was reported to have
said,

I was [living, in Mecca] between the two worst neighbors [one could have]: between Abu Lahab [his
uncle and sworn enemy] and Uqbah ibn Abi Muayt [who once threw a sheeps insides on his blessed
head, peace be upon him, while he was praying]. Indeed, they would come with bloodied intestines
and throw it on my doorstep [al-Tabaqa, Ibn Sad, as quoted in Suyutis Jami al Kabir]

Instead of criminalizing the hate speech and punish the doer, we prefer to see it as a chance to apply
Prophet Muhammads pbuh character, to show peace and kindness of Islam. In Quran, Surah Al-
Ahzab, verse 21, Allah swt. says:

There has certainly been for you in the Messenger of Allah an excellent pattern for anyone whose
hope is in Allah and the Last Day and [who] remembers Allah often. (33:21)

Therefore as believers we should seek Prophet Muhammads kindness and patience as an exemplary.

Showing patience and forgiveness alone has been ordered by Allah throuh Quran Surah As-Shuraa,
verse 43:

And verily, whosoever shows patience and forgives, that would truly be from the things recommended
by Allah. (42:43)

In Surah Al-Baqarah, verse 216, Allah says:

Fighting has been enjoined upon you while it is hateful to you. But perhaps you hate a thing and it is
good for you; and perhaps you love a thing and it is bad for you. And Allah Knows, while you know
not. (2:216)

The verse implies we may hate something, meanwhile it is good for us. We hate hate speech
because it hurts us. But due to the hatred we fail to see the beauty that comes from it, that we are
given a chance to show the truest meaning of Islam as a peaceful religion.

In a hadith Prophet Muhammad gave his forgiving after received a physical abuse until bleeding...

Ibn Masud r.a. reported: I can see the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) look like one of the Prophets of
Allah whose people beat and made him bleed while he was siping the blood from his face and
supplicating: O Allah, forgive my people because they know not. [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

The people who were mocking and insulting Prophet Muhammad pbuh did not understand anything
about Islam. The Messenger himself had shown us his attitude in that kind of situation he showed
forgiveness. This is what us as his followers should act, not by criminalizing them. We should be able to
see it as a chance to spread dakwah and the true meaning of Islam to make them understand what
they were concerning in their satire is wrong. In the other side, we can see how western media has play
a big role in constructing negative stereotype over Muslim generalize Muslims as people who are
living under oppresion of their own belief. Some of their initial intentions to critisize and to liberate
Muslim (although its completely wrong) are good. They want Muslims to be liberated, freely live the
life, yet they do not understand that there is actually no coercion in worshiping God. Gives example
how Islam is actually teaching the believers to the world that we should embrace peace and foster
tolerance, and we are not oppressed at all.

In Surah An-Nahl, verse 125, Allah says:

Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good instruction, and argue with them in a way that is
best. Indeed, your Lord is most knowing of who has strayed from His way, and He is most knowing of
who is [rightly] guided. (16:125)

Western countries have embrace the idea of freedom of speech, though hate speech is still prohibited.
However in Charlie Hebdo case, the satire against Islamic teaching through Prophet Muhammad pbuh
depiction has faced legal prosecution but failed the charges. We see there is a different standard of
hate speech between the west and Islam what we see as a hate speech, may be seen not for them.
And in this regard, Allah swt has said in Quran Surah Saba, verse 25:

Say, you will not be asked about what we committed, and we will not be asked about what you do.
(34:25)
The scar we have due to the mockery of Prophet Muhammad pbuh shows us how deep we love the
Prophet, and that is good. But it does not mean, we have to criminalize their wrongdoing, as Allah swt
has said the above verse, we do not have obligation to judge and punish theim.

2. Islam is a religion of peace. The root of Islam itself is salam, meaning, peace. When Moslems meet
each other, we are encouraged to wish peace upon each other, Assalammualaikum. Bismillahi
rrahmani rrahim is in the first word of Quran and repeated over 144 times, the meaning is In the name
of God, the Most Gracious, the most Merciful. In short, Islam is peace. Extrimism and intolerance are
not acceptable in Islam.

Banning the hate speech will only justify the intolerance of different cultures. In the west, they believe
freedom of speech should be carried out with criticism though they might would not have any idea how
that could hurt somebody or a whole Muslim majority. In this regard, Allah has said in Quran Surah Al-
Hujurat, verse 13:

O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that
you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteour of
you. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted. (49:13)

As Muslims, we need to understand the western people situation and should not impose our virtue to
them. Having the band in our legal system would only encourage the extrimist, believing that everything
should be in Islamic way and neglect the existence of others. Maybe today its the hate speech, but who
knows what else this people ask again. As in the first argument, our stance as Muslims should be
understanding the differences, show them kindness as our Prophet had shown to us, show them we
are not opressed by acting chilled.

There is are law and ethic decree from the Prophet:

Ubaida ibn As-Samit reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, issued a
decree:




Do not cause harm or return harm.
Source: Sunan Ibn Majah 2340, Grade: Hasan
The above hadith, suggests not to return the harm caused by the hate speech, and this case is through
criminalizing the doer.

The problem of hate speech actually lies on the way we receive it with anger. Anger does not cover the
wound we receive from hate speech, as criminalizing does not too. Because when we want to process
the hate speech we would re-open the scar, and in the end it makes us not able to forget it. It has been
told by our Prophet in a hadith:

Ibn 'Abbas reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Teach
and make things easy and not difficult. When one of you is angry, he should be silent."
Grade: Sahih (Al-Albani)