Picured is one of several cartoons published in a Danish paper. I’m not sure what the coverage has been like in the US, but at least a third of the news coverage on CNN International over here has been about the Danish cartoon and the Islamic reaction. Throughout the coverage CNN will show what we can only assume are the actual cartoons because they scramble the actual images. I haven’t figured out why they show a close-up of the cartoon if they are just going to make it uninteligible.
Muslims seem to be upset because the cartoons are offensive to them. And I don’t think many would argue that. Though I suppose “upset” is stating it a bit mildly. They are shutting down Danish embassies and threatening bloodshed if Denmark does not apologize.
I have been puzzling over the extreme Muslim response to these cartoons, and have a few thoughts.
1. Islam, being iconoclastic, is forbidden from making images of Mohammad or any other religious icons. So, making a satirical image of Mohammad is doubly offensive to them.
2. The whole debate seems to be about Free Speech, yet I think Muslims on the whole do not understand the concept. Most Islamic countries are repressive and their citizens do not enjoy the basic rights of Western countries. Making such a cartoon in Iran or Indonesia would get you arrested or worse.
3. Furthermore, though Muslims are growing population in Europe, they have not done a good job of assimilating into their respective countries. I wonder to what extent this has complicated their problems. They seek refuge in Europe, and then seem to set themselves against their new country of residence. I realize that is an oversimplification, and that there are many other factors at work, but their presense as a foreign community within a Western society appears to breed many problems.
All of this discussion doesn’t even touch upon the fact that this cartoon could be interpreted differently. Perhaps instead of meaning to say that Islam is a religion of violence, it could mean that extremists use Islam as an excuse for violence.
Is the cartoon is poor taste? Probably. But that’s not really the point.
Though I find it ironic that the Muslim response to these cartoons is a violent one. I just saw a Danish embassy on fire on CNN.
Why has Islam pitted itself against the West instead of trying to cooperate with them?
The idea of religious superstition playing a role in the current spiritual darkness that clothes most of western Europe had been rolling around in my head before an old friend of mine had a similar reflection after spending some time in Italy. To what extent are old religious traditions (specifically Catholic) a detrement to Christianity in western Europe? It seems that traditions such as the Christkind flying around and delivering gifts on Christmas Eve only reinforce the prevailing European conception that Christianity is nothing more than of collection of myths and superstitions. As a child you are taught to believe in Christkind much like American children are taught to believe in Santa Claus. The tragedy is that this silly story is linked to true faith and religion. Outgrowing belief in Santa Claus is something of a rite of passage for American children, but in Austria it is almost akin to renouncing your faith. Not believing in Christkind is not believing in Jesus. Children are strapped with guilt knowing that they should believe in Jesus, but faced with the absurdity of the Christkind story. I fear that often they throw the baby out with the bathwater. If the Christkind isn’t real, then Jesus isn’t either. And it follows that other traditions the church holds are likely fictional.
In Austria the Christmas season starts on December 5th when Krampus (think Santa’s alter ego) goes around and beats and whips all the naughty children. The good children leave a shoe outside their door that night and St. Nicholas (from whom we derive Santa Claus) puts fruit and nuts in them while they are sleeping. On Christmas Eve Austrians put up their Christmas trees often decorating them with candles (I’m still not sure how that works). During the afternoon on Christmas Eve the Christkind (or Christ Child) comes around and delivers gifts under the tree. If that wasn’t odd enough the ChristKind is almost always depicted as a female angel.