There seems to be a big hubbub about a cartoon of Mohammed that was printed in a Danish paper. Whilst I respect people's desire to experience the religion of their choice in the privacy of their own home or religious community (without negative consequences for those that do not by choice partake in that particular religious experience), I must say that the reaction of certain people has been a bit... over the top, perhaps.
Burning down embassies, rioting, violence and murder? Come on. I cannot help but wonder if all Islamic publications, utterances and so on treat Christians, Jews, Atheists and other groups that deserve to be mentioned here with the same respect these somewhat more extreme Muslims seem to want.
And in those cases where we don't get the respect we deserve, what do we do? Somehow I have a hard time picturing Danes storming and pillaging the Malaysian Embassy because Imams in Malaysia tell their flock that the Danes are heathens and infidels that should be put down with the sword.
Or maybe Dutch homosexuals desecrating and burning mosques in Rotterdam because the Imam told local Moroccan boys that it's OK to beat up any suspected homosexuals? Or perhaps lawyers taking pot-shots at random Islamic leaders because Moroccan Islamic organizations had the audacity to demand the Netherlands change their legislation allowing 15 year old girls to be married away?
Furthermore, if the BBC says something to piss off Christians, old ladies start writing letters to them about this disgrace. They don't storm the BBC's headquarter to burn the program-director at the stake after beating him/her to a pulp with their hand-bags, do they?
In this case of the violent reaction to a piece of obvious satire, I'm rather afraid that the reaction of some parts of the Islamic world hasn't done much to increase its popularity or improve its image across the board. And I'm sorry for that. Because I know a number of Muslims (Sufis and others) that are truly good people. They live in Western countries, and guess what? These people's lives are not going to be made much easier by this sort of thing.
As much as I hate to admit it, I'm starting to appreciate the gist of the American Constitution. There's something very sympathetic about the thought that as an American, you should be willing to die for your neighbor's right and freedom to criticize your beliefs. Whatever flaws the US might have aside, that thought is sympathetic indeed. Some citizens of this globe of ours (including some Westerners and Americans, notably Mr Bush) should read up on this philosophy sometime.
Posted by Chris at February 9, 2006 03:28 PMon topic, for a change..
I quite like Ataturk, in this respect. Even though he was a devout muslim, he fought hard to seperate church and state. His take (and mine) was that religion was a personal thing that should not be forced on others.
In fact, even though there are forces in Turkey that are trying to move religion back in, it is not allowed to have religious schools in Turkey. Of course, this is used by christians to say they are being repressed, having the western mindset that having religious schools is normal and the norm.
Of course, the reaction to these comics not being funny is completely out of line...
Posted by: Arno at February 10, 2006 10:35 AM