Dispatches from the sunburned wastelands

By now, everybody has probably heard about the Danish cartoons that caricatured the Prophet Muhammad, and the astonishing Muslim response to it. In one of the cartoons, the Prophet was depicted with a bomb as headscarf, and in another, Muhammad was apparently complaining that he'd run out of virgins for suicide bombers. Not surpisingly, Muslims did not find it funny. Although these carttons were published last fall, there is now a wave of mass hysteria spreading all over the world (also in non-Muslim countries), and even prominent Arab leaders seem powerless to stop it. Danish embassies are being fire-bombed, and violent protests are being staged everywhere from Iran to New Zealand(!). The only thing that has prevented a similar response in Canada it seems, is the fact that the oh-so-politically correct Canmedia has (so far) refrained from publishing examples of the cartoons.

This uproar saddens me, and paints a chilly picture of the ever deepening divide between radical Muslims, and the rest of the world. If you're not for Allah, then you are our enemies, and must be destroyed, is the message they're sending out. A lot of commentators are probably saying that their reaction is to be expected, what with the "evil West" having repeatedly invaded Muslim countries over the past few centuries or so, and that this incident is just a symptom of the growing frustration felt by Muslim countries, who now has an excuse to lash out. To lash out...At what? A cartoon? In most news media, cartoons serve as ironic, often satirical political commentary, saying with pictures what sometimes cannot be said with words.
The newspaper in question, in its defense, pointed out that the cartoons illustrated an article on self-cencorship. That said, there is no question that it is irresponsible, and maybe even intolerant to make fun of something so deeply personal and emotional as a religion. In the Muslim religion, it is forbidden to depict either Allah or the Prophet. The original paper that published the cartoons has apologised, but subsequently, other western media are now re-publishing these cartoons to prove "freedom of speech". This of course only adds more fuel to the fire...Sometimes people make me wonder.

However, the hysterical response of many Muslims only seems to reinforce the message of the cartoons in question, now doesn't it? Do these radical Muslims realize how intolerant and hostile this makes them seem? Oh, wait a minute, they don't care much about other people's perceptions of them, do they...Being a fundamentalist means fervently believing that your interpretation of a specific religion is the only right one, and that everyone else is just plain wrong. Lightning bolts will come down from the skies and smite the unbelievers, or, failing that, we will torch their embassy! I don't want to get Terry Pratchett into trouble, but his excellent satirical work "Small Gods" should be mandatory reading for everyone leaning towards fundamentalism...Instead of firebombing Falluja, maybe American troops should hand out copies of this book...

Posted by HannesB at 4:21 AM Comments