Louis Smith has certainly upset the peace-loving Muslim “community”. They’re so cross with him poking fun at their religion that he has received death threats. Well you would issue death threats wouldn’t you, to someone whose crime was to mock religion. Personally, when it comes to god, I find it hard not to.
Smith came from a council estate and was brought up by a lone parent. He suffered from ADHD, too, so he has not had the easiest time. But he did well. He has been a successful gymnast and later won Strictly Come Dancing. Then the Sun ran an expose of Smith. In a “shocking” video, Smith shouted “Allahu Akbar” and with his friend joked about “60 virgins”. That will be the virgins who are just waiting in paradise for a suicide murderer to turn up in millions of pieces, presumably. Fancy mocking that!
If you don’t find my comments amusing, then that’s fine and if you are offended that’s fine too. I am free to say things that are not amusing and I am free to offend you, as you are free to offend me. Nothing and no one should be exempt from discussion, debate and mockery.
The British Gymnastics organisation predictably took the side of the offended Muslims and now threatens to suspend Smith from their organisation or even expel him altogether. On what grounds, exactly? None that have a thing to do with sport. Smith broke no laws. Religious laws don’t count. Are they afraid of death threats too?
He says he did “a shameful thing” mocking Islam. Well, that’s is opinion, not mine. More than ever we need a secular society where religious privilege and special privilege for religion – all versions of religion – no longer exists. I am sick to the back teeth of being lectured to by the devout from all religions about how we should live our lives and what we should and shouldn’t say or do.
Have your religion, live by it if that’s how you feel, but you do do within a society that is not governed or ruled by religion, where the various Gods exist within a secular society. It’s that or Sharia. What’s it to be?
