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?
I see this mostly as a two way street in the sense that, on one level, some Muslims need to learn how to get along in a world with people who believe other things. On another level, for many westerners, secularism has become the new religion and some are intolerant of even the most benign expressions of faith. I’m not sure that western countries should require Muslims within their borders to assimilate completely. We should be able to live together without it. And attempts to force assimilation (e.g. French ban on headscarves) will likely create even more problems.
Josh,
I certainly don’t think that they should be forced to assimilate, and I don’t think complete assimilation is the goal either. But (as you said) they do need to learn to live with people who believe other things, and do need to understand that violence isn’t a solution to their issues. I do think to a large degree that they are discriminated against within western societies, but setting cars on fire and burning down an embassy and threatening further damage and bloodshed accomplishes nothing but more hatred and fear.
Meanwhile we hear over and over again that Islam is a religion of peace, and it is only extremists that are suicide bombers, etc. This is true to some extent, but how many Imams or rulers of Islamic countries are speaking out against the violent reaction to these cartoons? I haven’t heard anyone say that their reaction is in any way unjustified.
I think that this is wrong and he has no life to make this cartoon. what a waste of life. I think he should of never made this. I think that just because some Muslims are bad doesnt mean that all of them are bad. and some people have problems of understanding that. It is mostly the governments fault in blaming Muslims for everything.
I think matt is right.