Hate speech is ungodly

Today, Saturday June 18, 2022 is International Day for Countering Hate Speech. Given the exponential spread of hate speech around the world, the UN General Assembly in 2021 adopted a resolution for “promoting inter-religious and intercultural dialogue and tolerance in countering hate speech”. The resolution, which recognizes the need to counter discrimination, xenophobia and hate speech calls on all relevant actors to increase their efforts in addressing this phenomenon in line with international human rights law. This resolution was proclaimed on June 18, 2021 (last year) as the International Day for Countering Hate Speech, and is being marked today for the first time.

While the President of the UN General Assembly planned to convene an informal High-level Meeting on Monday, 20 June 2022, to commemorate the first International Day for Countering Hate Speech, Nigerians are not aware of any events organized by either the federal ministry of information or the federal ministry of communications and digital economy to mark the Day. Maybe, they were ‘too busy’ to remember anything on countering hate speech. 

Since the UN Secretary-General António Guterres affirms that “Hatred is a danger to everyone, and so fighting it must be a job for everyone”, this column considered it a moral duty to dedicate today’s piece to speaking against hate speech. We expect others as educators, religious leaders, actors of civil society organizations to also play their respective relevant roles in countering hate speech. After all, hate speech has no language, religion, vocation, age or gender.

Given its strong potentials to disrupt peace, incite violence and undermine social cohesion, we support the current move by the federal government to regulate the social media which remain the most widely used platforms for hate speech. Empowered by Section 6 of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) Act 2007, the Agency last Monday issued a new internet code titled a “Code of Practice for Interactive Computer Service Platforms/Internet Intermediaries and Conditions for Operating in Nigeria”, which aims to standardize, coordinate and develop regulatory frameworks for all Information Technology (IT) practices in Nigeria. 

This is a welcome development because even developed democracies including Australia, Denmark, France, Germany, India, South Africa, Sweden, New Zealand, and the UK also have laws that restrict hate speech. In the UK, Article 10 of the Human Rights Act 1998 states that “restrictions on freedom of expression would be permitted when it threatens national security; incites racial or religious hatred; causes individual harm on health or morals; or threatens the rights and reputations on individuals.” 

The Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, WhatsApp, and YouTube as global platforms for conversations and other forms of social interaction have, since their debut, revolutionized the world of information technology; positively changing the entire pattern of communication among individuals and groups. They have become compelling sources of news, entertainment, knowledge, ideas and interests as they also allow users to electronically create and share contents. The social media, which connect people that share common interests, also facilitate the building and expansion of business, political, intellectual and professional networks.

Proponents of these social media platforms founded them on well-intentioned premises. But in spite of their positive impacts on national economies, politics, public peace, and national security; some of its users in Nigeria have sadly converted the platforms into spots for spreading mischief and evils. For instance, one Christopher Uche-Ayodeji (Dr. Chris) recently “confessed” in the screenshot of a viral Facebook post that he allowed many Muslims to die while working as a medical doctor in northern Nigeria; adding that he wished he killed more. What a hate speech! Hate speech is never a solution to any problem. It rather seeks to worsen it.

It is hate speech when you defame another person’s character through insults or embarrassing comments. Backbiting, a common evil among men and women of all ages, is tantamount to hate speech. As an act of the devil, hate speech is ungodly because the same God being worshipped in our various religions dislikes it. Allah in Qur’an 49:12 mentions “… Nor speak ill of each other behind their backs; would any of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? Nay, you would abhor it…” This verse of the Holy Qur’an equates backbiting with eating the flesh of the person you speak ill of. In a hadith related by Imam Buhari and Muslim, the Prophet (SAW) said, “A (true) Muslim is one from whose tongue and hand other Muslims are safe”. 

Hate speech seeks to undermine a Muslim’s faith because the Prophet (SAW), as reported the 15th hadith of Imam An-Nawawi’s forty traditions, said “Whosoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should speak good or remain silent”. Hate speech is prohibited in Islam because it is not a good speech. Allah states in Qur’an 50:18 that for every word we voice out, good or bad, there are Angels by our side always ready to record it; for or against us. The more hate speeches we make, the heavier our baggage of sins! This admonition, alone, is enough to make us shun hate speech.

It’s probably because people do not know where the right to freedom of speech begins or ends that they erroneously mistake hate speech for free speech. Granted that freedom of expression is a fundamental human right, this freedom does not extend to provocative language or speech that threatens public peace and order. Any speech or writing that expresses hatred or incites violence on the basis of religion or ethnicity against a person or group cannot be a demonstration of the right to free speech. The right to exercise free speech goes with a responsibility, which involves respecting the right of others to the same freedom. 

With political campaigns for the 2023 general elections by the corner, we urge politicians and their supporters especially musicians to eschew insulting the sensibilities of others through hate speech. May Allah guide us to shun hate speech in our public and private life, amin.