Religious Freedom

Should there be any limits on Religious Freedom of Expression? (Kirpans based example)

Many people are of the opinion that Kirpans (a sword or dagger carried by many Sikhs) are weapon and; therefore, it should be prohibited for carrying in public places. In my point of view; however, Kirpans do not pose any safety risk and should be allowed. There are several points to support my opinion. First, people are not aware what the original purpose and meaning of a Kirpans are. Kirpan is not a weapon; it is a symbol, one out of five, which represents the ideas of Sikhism. Kirpan stands for spiritual power or justice and, originally, is non-violent instrument that, in fact, serves as a preventive violence tool, which can be only used to protect a defenseless person. Kirpans were not created as a weapon, yet a religious symbol, and usage of Kirpan for harming defenseless people cause a serious transgression for Sikh, and may cause penalties or sanctions. As a result, a perception about Kirpans, which many people have, maybe a result of misunderstanding of the religious practices and ideas of a particular culture.
Second, it is believed that Kirpans poses a safety issue to a general public.
In contrast, there are many and many other things around us, which might be dangerous. For instance, everybody has knives and scissors home, which could be easily carried out and become a cause of somebody’s death. Also, there are belts, straps, ropes that can be used to suffocate a person. Even a pen, may play a role of a weapon in curtain circumstances. Everybody has an assumption, that all people are originally good and would not carry out a kitchen knife in order to kill somebody, so why do we consider Sikh as people who want to come out to the public in order to murder??? Consequently, there are many different things, which, even thought; we do not consider as a weapon, it might be used this
way.
Third, there are many different religious that have its unique insignia. So, if we are going to prohibited Kirpans, we should imagine, what could of happen, if we disallow Christians to wear a cross around the neck because it offends others, or ban Hebrew’s Kippah, or stop Muslims from wearing a Thobe (long-sleeved dress for men). There are going to be strikes and demonstrations around the World with people saying, “It is our culture/religion and we have rights on freedom of expression!” So, why do not we respect the “human and religious rights” of a minor group??? Especially in Canada, which values based on multiculturalism and equality, the prohibition of Kirpans makes Sikhs be victims of discriminatory practices based on religion. To conclude, if we are respect major religious with its holy symbols and signs, than we should take into account minor religions with its believes.
In conclusion, even thought there are many people who are against of Kirpans, they do not have strong evidence to support their opinion, except a safety issue. Therefore, the perceptions of, Kirpans as a weapon, based on not knowing ideas and religious practices of Sikh, failure to consider other dangerous subjects around us, and rejection to look at the “big picture” of the issue in comparison with other religions.