I read a news article at CNN today that said there are angry Muslims all over the place because of some cartoons published in a Danish newspaper. They are more angry because the Danish government won't apologize. They are angry to the point that they smashed up the Danish embassy in Jarkata, threw a hand grenade in to a french culture center in the Gaza strip, and they've taken at least one German hostage (and released him).
Doesn't this smack of stupidity?
My basic reactions are this: People demean Jesus Christ every day but it doesn't cause an international uproar. Isn't this kind of reaction kind of immature?
It reminds me of the Rodney King verdict when everyone in South Central L.A. went outside and set their own neighborhood on fire and smashed their LOCAL super markets.
Isn't this kind of like shooting themselves in their own foot? The cartoon in question depicted Muhammad in some form as an angry bomb wearing a turban, so isn't the best way to discharge the imagry to prove it wrong? Or is the best way to throw grenades at government compounds?
It must be a really different culture if they think the Government can apologize for something the press did. Imagine if President Bush were asked for a formal apology for something published in the Willamette Weekly…
It all kind of reminds me of the flap created that time when Jerry Fallwell was parodied in Hustler Magazine. In one of Hustler's parody ads, they portrayed Fallwell as a hick who routinely had sex with his mother or something along those lines. Fallwell sued and eventually lost.
Freedom of Speech and Freedom of the Press goes a long way in this country. Funny how other people in other cultures don't really "get it" sometimes.
And the final point from the article that came up for me was that they've co-opted our word. They actually used the world Islamaphobia. I was hoping the "phobia" stuff would stop with Homophobia, but apparently they've decided it's worked well for us so they took it and made it their own. Next we'll see "Islam-Bashing" somewhere in the media.
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Well, apparently, from my understanding, it is a tenet of islam that you aren't supposed to have any depictions of mohammed, respectfully done or not.
Methinks that there are some fundamental between some western values (and I'm not talking about a coke in every pot) and islamic religious beliefs.
Still, the riots and violence, I never get.
Why did they assume that it WAS Mohammad and not just a portrayal of your everyday, run-of-the-mill Islamic and/or Muslim person? Where did it specifically say that it WAS indeed Mohammad? (Did I miss something in the cartoon? I just thought it was the Muslim citizen that was being satirized.) And since no one ACTUALLY KNOWS what Mohammad looks like, one wonders WHO is jumping to conclusions here! Yes, it seems SOMEONE is looking for a reason to start a fight! It also appears that we have a culture, society, country, et.al., that is wound up just a bit too tight! Pity!
I find it ironic that muslims worldwide are offended by these editorial cartoons, yet when videos of unarmed civilians being beheaded and shot are aired, no one from the leadership of muslim countries speaks out against them. I don't see many muslims saying things like, 'We should respect all religions.'
That doesn't mean that many muslims don't feel that way, but it isn't apparent to me. In order to be respected, you must first give respect — not by implying 'You must respect us– or else you should be executed!'
But after all, this whole uproar is based on caricatures. There are plenty of cartoons out there that offend people from with different religions from all walks of life, but we take them with a grain of salt and move on– which is the mature way to handle being offended. It takes a bigger man to walk away without getting in a fight than to jump in and start swinging.
There are more important things in life than letting rage consume you because someone has offended you. If I lashed out at everyone who offended me I'd be serving several thousand consecutive life sentences. So, my advice to those who are offended by these crudely drawn caricatures is to take them with a grain of salt and move on.
Life is too short to waste being pissed off about cartoons.
DE III