I have thought very carefully about what to say in this post regarding the cartoon controversy. This is due to the fact that it will upset most of my regular readers as well as many on the right who have, in my opinion, been pouring gasoline on a fire where water was called for. Despite the best of intentions – the desire to stand up for our precious liberties – we have deliberately and unnecessarily made a bad situation worse by not only reprinting cartoons that 1.3 billion people on the planet find agonizingly offensive but that we have criticized people and institutions for exhibiting a kind of decency and empathy toward others that in almost any other case, any other circumstance, we would be offering praise instead.
The ability to satirize or mock religion – any religion – is well within our rights as American citizens and indeed, is a right in many (not all) countries that we generally consider part of what we used to define in the days before political correctness and cultural relativism as “Western Civilization.” The set of values and precepts that have emerged from 500 years of western thought have been based on the central idea that a human being, made in the image of the Creator, set upon this earth with a free will and free mind, is endowed at birth with certain “natural rights” that no government, no other man can take away. These natural rights to life, to an ever evolving and changing idea of liberty, and to what Jefferson called “the pursuit of happiness” but is actually a Lockean notion of being free to use reason in the search for truth have given us freedoms that few humans have enjoyed in all of recorded history.
How have we used these freedoms? Here in America, we invented an entirely new way for human beings to live together. We willed into existence a government. We forged a new kind of relationship between the people and that government. And we did all of this to protect what our ancestors saw as something so basic it was “self-evident” – by the simple virtue of being born human, people have the right to live and breathe free.
These are things we rightly take for granted. But by not giving our freedoms a second thought, it becomes difficult to imagine what other people in other cultures with entirely different ideas of what freedom is and what it means, think about this riot of confusing and oftentimes contradictory precepts. The kinds of freedoms that we see as absolutely essential are, in some parts of the world, viewed with suspicion and fear. Our idea of freedom of the press is an anathema to people who would see a publication like The National Enquirer as a threat to the stability of their culture. The fact that we consider this wrong headed and dangerous to our idea of liberty doesn’t mitigate the fact that others can no more imagine living with that kind of press freedom than we can imagine living without it.
Which brings us to the current controversy and how we are responding to it. In all of our calls for solidarity with the Danes and criticism of the ignorant hordes who have taken to the streets calling for the death of their fellow man over a series of cartoons, we may have lost sight of something so basic, so self-evident if you will that all of our posturing and chest thumping in support of free speech and freedom of the press has overridden our ability to see it.
Muslims don’t just find these cartoons offensive. They consider them so far beyond the pale that the fact they exist in the first place is an affront to Allah and by not doing everything in their power to wipe the blaspheming cartoons out of existence, they would be complicit in the sin.
Yes there are many in the Muslim world who are using the controversy to stir up hatred at the west. President Assad of Syria, who didn’t try very hard yesterday to prevent the torching of the Danish and Norwegian embassies, is even using the depth of feeling generated against the cartoons to unite his people and consolidate his hold on power. Other religious/political leaders in the Muslim world are also shamelessly using the issue to raise their own profiles or advance their political careers. But for hundreds of millions of ordinary Muslims, the cartoons and, just as importantly, the reaction in the west to their protests (republishing the caricatures far and wide), have caused pain – real physical discomfort – to people (not a religion or the bastardization of it advanced by the jihadists) who have done nothing to us.
I have tried to imagine anything similar in my own experience that would cause me the kind of pain being experienced by Muslims who feel so violated by the publication of these cartoons. The closest I can come would be watching as the flag is abused and burned by my fellow Americans. I get physically ill when watching people desecrate the flag. It isn’t just feelings of impotent rage and the desire to lash out at the perpetrators. There is also a feeling of nausea, a physical manifestation of contempt and disgust. It’s like peeling something a dog left on the street off the bottom of your shoe or cleaning up a drunk’s vomit off the floor of your house.
It doesn’t help me to be reminded that the protesters who desecrate the flag are exercising their right of freedom of speech. In fact, it makes me feel worse as I recall that millions have served under that flag, have protected it, and that such scum as these are spitting in their faces by carrying out their desecration.
Similarly, we are not reminding Muslims of the profound differences between our two cultures when we throw the caricatures in their faces and challenge them to be tolerant. We are, at bottom, causing them enormous pain. And for that, we should be ashamed of ourselves.
Yes we have the freedom to mock religion and satirize other people’s belief systems. And I would fight and die to maintain that right as I’m sure most of you would. But must we lose our empathy in the process? Must we be deliberately hurtful in order to get our point across?
By condemning the publication of the cartoons anywhere and everywhere, it is not a question caving in to those who seek to destroy us by using our freedoms against us. Pat Curley has said it most succinctly: “We can defend their right to publish the cartoons without saying, ‘They are right to publish the cartoons.” This simple idea is the essence of freedom of speech in that it illustrates the fact that there are two sides to almost every issue and that by acknowledging one’s right to speak their mind, we also acknowledge a responsibility to take into account the feelings of others.
I reject the notion that there is no responsibility attached to freedom of speech. For the rational among us, it is simple, common decency to think of how one’s words will impact others before uttering them. This doesn’t mean we have to necessarily moderate what we say. But it does mean that idiots like Julian Bond and others who refer to their fellow citizens as “Nazis” or “Hitler” are being irresponsible and should be taken to task not only for the meaning behind their words but also for deliberately causing another human being unnecessary and unconscionable discomfort. There is no difference between calling a Republican “Hitler” and pulling the wings off of a fly – both are done to deliberately inflict pain. And if this were pointed out each and every time it was done, I daresay such comparisons would dramatically diminish.
The forbearance of the major networks and newspapers in not publishing the cartoons is, I’m convinced, an act not of “dhimmitude” but of simple. common decency. It is also an editorial decision made in the interest of both the news entity as a business and a responsible member of the community. Can the decision be questioned? Of course it can. But to criticize based on the unwarranted speculation that they are somehow fearful that publishing the caricatures will cause them physical harm is beyond the pale. Calling into question the editorial judgment of a news organ is perfectly legitimate. Questioning their physical courage is simple, playground name calling, not worthy of being part of a debate over the sacred rights that we seek to protect and promote.
There is a clash of civilizations going on as I write this. I happen to believe the civilization I live in represents a way of life and thinking that offers the best hope for all of humanity to live as they were intended while extending material benefits that prolong life, hold out the promise of good health, and enjoin its members to achieve a state of being that allows for common people to realize their hopes and dreams both for themselves and for their children. If we are to win this fight, it will not come by force of arms but rather by the strength of our commitment to the battle itself. We don’t give anything up by empathizing with others when pain is inflicted. We do however, lose ground when – whether intentionally or not – we force feed our views of freedom on people who have no cultural touchstone that would enable them to understand what we are trying to accomplish.
I appreciate the fact that I’m swimming against the stream on this issue. But the behavior of many of my friends on the right – people I respect and admire – has been disappointing to me. I don’t expect to change many minds. But if I cause you to think before you next call someone a “dhimmi” for not agreeing with your take on this issue, I will be content.
9:31 am
Wow…At first I was all upset about this issue too- swimming with the tide of reaction that we are seeing. But as I have thought about it, and remembering the American flag burning images and all that, I decided that the Muslims are right to be upset. Some of them are over-reacting,for sure. I overreacted the other day when I joined the DANES ROCK mindset…Now I regret that. It pays to sit back and watch how things pan out, hold back judgement until things either simmer down or boil over.
Great thoughts Rick.
9:40 am
[...] 8217;m not adding to the fray with it. Blog friend Rick Moran has taken the same stance: There is a clash of civilizations going on as I write this. I happ [...]
10:27 am
[...] ree Speech, and the Future of worldwide Liberalism, 2: a follow-up. Right Wing Nuthouse: In the end, it’s about empathy. A fatwa-provoking post: Vi [...]
10:43 am
Hear, hear! Enough with this…there are real problems in the world that demand are attention…this is far, far out of hand…on both sides…
10:44 am
Hear, hear! Enough with this…there are real problems in the world that demand our attention…this is far, far out of hand…on both sides…
10:51 am
[...] Sanity From The Nut House
The Right Wing Nut House, that is…Rick Moran writes a truly excellent essay on the Muslim cartoon co [...]
11:06 am
Rick—
Your point is taken, and I think what you have written is immensely thoughtful. Two things: (1) Are we to believe this is really such a deep hurt, when these cartoons were in fact first published last fall with nary a peep? I find it dubious, to say the least. Moreover the frequency with which the large contingent of unemployed males in certain Middle Eastern countries take to the street to demonstrate against the West is quite extraordinary in light of their seeming inability to muster any outrage at their own leaders.
(2) If you get outraged by Burger King swirly cones, plays, movies and two drops of urine accidentally splashing a Koran, how is it you can’t work up a little irritation over Islamic radicals who blow up fellow Muslims in the name of Allah?
I’m sorry Rick, but while I would agree some sensitive people may have been genuinely hurt, offended, etc., this whole episiode looks like another made-for-television production featuring the only free speech allowed in the Islamic world: criticism of the infidel West.
Moreover, while I am less concerned about Middle Easterners demonstrating in their respective countries, I am deeply disturbed by those immigrants in Europe for whom free speech works in one direction only. They clearly do not understand what it means to live in a pluralistic society. Perhaps they should be asked to leave?
11:11 am
Daffydd on biglizards.net seems to be in agreement with you.
http://biglizards.net/blog/archives/2006/02/abbott_and_cost.html#trackbacks
http://biglizards.net/blog/archives/2006/02/when_radical_pr.html#trackbacks
I am not so sanguine about casting the situation into the mold of “freedom of speech” versus “responsible adult respect for the religous beliefs of others”, if I may characterize it as such, for several reasons.
1. This is a manufactured event. Immans from Denmark with who knows whose help made the pictures available in the middle east, along with more insulting pictures never published in Denmark, along with plenty of Danish flags to burn for photo ops. If it wasn’t these cartoons, it would be something else – Britney Spears videos, KFC franchises, Oscar Meyer bacon – they would be rioting in the streets about as an affront to their religion, all as part of the Islamofascist war on civilization. (As has been pointed out elsewhere, to characterize this as a “clash of two civilizations” would require two civilizations.)
2. My very existence is an affront to Islam. According to the Koran, I must convert or die. Since 1979 the Iranian Parliment kicks off their day chanting “Death to America, Death to the Infidels”. Respect for differences in religion requires participation on both sides. That hasn’t happened for the the last 1400 years, why is it going to happen now?
11:12 am
Let me clarify: I mean those immigrants who threaten to behead people, etc.—not those protesting peacefully.
One other observation: Since when is it logical to burn down a country’s embassy because a few newspaper editors from that country, though in no way representing it officially or unofficially, chose to publish some offensive cartoons?
I think these people have some pretty basic misunderstandings of how the world works.
11:14 am
Time to send in the italics assassin.
11:24 am
From Dissent to Destruction
One of the defining characteristics of a free and democratic society is an individual’s freedom to personally dissent from established societal expectations, and to also organize with like-minded individuals in political protest against perceived inju…
11:27 am
...the words of the multilateral secularist crowd are easily disposed of with the sword – to those whose pillars include jihad, the feel good western lullabies must evoke abject scorn. Your middling is appreciated but the sobriety in this instance is misplaced. I might be inclined to agree if the cartoons were an isolated incident; far from it. It is yet another hammer blow to the bedrock of western civilization. The blurred mosaic is finally coming into focus and it is to my amazement. Do they willingly ignore it or is the haze still too thick?
There are so many contradictions and double standards that I’ll leave it to others to with greater historical acumen to illuminate. Kicking the can down the road and/or “loving them” are not strategies. Respect is a two way street – isn’t it? I’m sorry, your blog is great, but I totally disagree with you and think this is a pretty shallow analysis.
11:31 am
If you stand for everything, you stand for nothing…..
11:32 am
S—
I don’t think it’s shallow at all. It just gives the radicals too much credit for sensitivity and not enough for calculated, manipulation in furtherance of their long-term goals.
11:41 am
Danish Embassy Set Ablaze: Can We Co-Exist?
CNN
The demonstrators were protesting offensive caricatures of Islam’s Prophet Mohammed that were first published in a Danish newspaper several months ago.
Witnesses said the demonstrators set fire to the entire building, which also houses …
11:49 am
Rick, you’re absolutely correct. The fact remains that these cartoons were highly offensive to the vast majority of Muslims, regardless of whether or not the current fury in the Middle East broke from the bottom up or the top down.
There’s another issue here – one that’s gone undiscussed – the laziness press. With all due respect to Cox & Forkum, editorial cartoons are one of the easiest ways to present an issue – and also one of the easiest to be misunderstood and to inflame emotions. I do believe that these cartoons were meant to test freedom of speech with respect to Islam, but they were done in the lowest sort of way. Had the Danish paper decided to publish the work of Daniel Pipes, Robert Spencer, Asia Times’ Spengler, biographies of Muhammed, or even the most lethal verses of the Koran, then the Danish embassy would still be standing. This approach would of course require a little brain power on the part of the press, something of late which has been their distinction to universally lack.
A dialogue in the West about Islam is long overdue, but I don’t see these cartoons promoting anything but animosity. I say this, by the by, not as any sort of Islamophile, but as someone who has been described as an Islamophobe. Yet, despite all my cynicism towards the “Religion of Peace”, I cannot but think that by publishing these cartoons, the press has committed a wrong against Islam. It is right and good to mock various philosophies; any philosophy which cannot stand up to riddicule will fall before much less. Ridicule must, however, be conducted with a high sort of respect towards its object, and the press, as it has shown here, respects nothing but itself.
12:20 pm
I think the differing opinions by conservative commentators is correlated with which group of muslims are being considered. Hugh Hewitt seems to focus on muslims outside of Europe with a “c’mon guys, be nice to them so we can win the ‘undecided muslims’ over to our side”. His point is perfectly valid.
However, other commentators (myself included) are more focused on muslims residing in Europe. I think the cartoons are doing a service in forcing us to face some important cultural differences. If individual muslims, because of their religious beliefs, are unable to accept and respect Western rules about “freedom of speech” then I would suggest that those individuals should not reside in Europe. They are likely to be much happier in a country that does not provide for such freedoms. We might as well work these issues out now rather than later.
1:05 pm
Shallow was not the right word. Rick’s analysis is always thoughtful. I just disagree.
2:04 pm
Hitchens does a good job of painting the narrative
http://www.slate.com/id/2135499/
2:23 pm
We Christians have allowed crucifixes bottled in urine, Christ depicked Osma Bin Laudin, and stupid shows like the Book of Daniel. Our Jewish friends have tolerated their race as being cheap and labor exploters. Now this faith is angary about this cartoon. It all come down to non-believers in ANY FAITH…not respected any of us in any faith. Here in the US we have the ACLU de-faithing our society in the name of freedom. The real freedom will be when all can worship how they wish without being sued by the ACLU and without being called “Religious Nuts” by secular non-believing evil people.
4:06 pm
Needless to say, I disagree.
Politely, however, since it is clear that your views are based on honest kindness, a kindness that I remain convinced that the ululating hordes have not earned. That doesn’t make it any less kind, however.
I am not questioning the muslims’ “right to upset”, I have myself been quite upset over things much less offensive in the past, such as the burning of American flags.
However, my discomfort and anger in those cases do not take me on a murderous rampage, nor would I use it as an excuse for burning down the property of the flag-burning moron or chopping his head off.
Therein lies the difference.
Furthermore, if we allow ourselves, through threats and intimidation, to have our discourse and views censored by others, then we have already lost.
Yes, I do deliberately aim to insult the fundamentalists and their cheerleaders, but there’s a bigger point in play here, that point being that if they can’t learn to NOT issue death threats over words or cartoons, then I have no desire to co-exist with them. None. Period.
But this is not to say that those who choose NOT to participate are “dhimmis” or “surrender weasels”. They just choose not to. Except, in the case of the media, I would be a lot more convinced about their “noble intentions” behind choosing not to publish if they’d show that kind of sensitivity towards ALL people, not just those that might carbomb their offices. Theirs is not a “noble” stance, since it is based entirely on hypocrisy and cowardice.
Yours, on the other hand, I respect.
4:08 pm
Reaction to the cartoon demonstrates their bloodthirsty insanity
We now have some in the conservative blogosphere going all PC soft on Muslims. I expect this from the left, they have always been willing to reject peaceful Christians in favor of bloodthirsty Muslims. We are told we should be…
4:30 pm
A very thoughtful piece Rick. I read it first thing this morning. Having been away from my box this Sunday, I have had much time to reflect on what you say.
From Wikipedia: “A Dhimmi, or Zimmi (Arabic ???), as defined in classical Islamic legal and political literature, is a person living in a Muslim state who is a member of an officially tolerated non-Islamic religion. The term literally means person of the dhimma, the security treaty signed with the Muslim state.”
The determination as to whether the refusal to show the cartoons is simply dhimmitude can be answered by the past history of the media outlet refusing to show the pictures. If it is consistant, I agree that the term Dhimmi does not apply. But if it is NOT consistant, if the same standards are not used with every religion, then I would suspect that they are “going along to get along”, not out of some mighty respect a people’s religion.
But, even more, as the media has a duty to act responsibly, so do the kids in this playground called “the world” have a responsibility to act responsibly when offended, because we all know that offence WILL happen. Flag burning and protests are one thing.
Burning consulates constitutes an act of war.
Do I suspect that war will come from this episode? No, I do not, because the west “go along to get along” to calm things down. But the rancor from the east will continue until they eventually get what they want….Sharia.
Allowing Sharia law to take precedence over other local, national and international laws and rights allows a form of dhimmitude.
If this is not the case, I would expect the muslims of the world to act respectfully of those of us who are not muslim, to express outrage of those who murder, bomb, execute, and all other manner of uncivilized beavior. They do not express that outrage. If they have a complaint, let’s have it adressed, respectful of ALL parties, not threaten beheading of any who “insults a prophet”. Instead they threaten death and war upon the infidel.
That we have a clash of civilizations is true. But this is only the beginning. Those who believe that all law must be Sharia and that those of us who are not Muslim may be allowed to live with certain conditions under that law (dhimmitude) will continue to press for that end. This clash will continue and it will grow. Victory may not come by force of arms, but force of arms there will be because that is, appearently, the direction that these barbarians desire to go.
I hope we have the will to resist them.
5:39 pm
“Yes we have the freedom to mock religion and satirize other people’s belief systems” (Rick). Yes, in the United States—even if the major newspapers are afraid of making use of that freedom, where Islam is the target. Elsewhere it is not so clear. The whole point of the Danish newspaper’s initiative was to see if they still had that freedom. This could not be done without being a little bit offensive. Preserving freedom of speech is a great deal more important than offending some hypersensitive Muslims.
In view of the extraordinary reaction from Muslim countries, any cessation of mildly offensive anti-Muslim speech in the West will now be regarded as sheer cowardice, weakness and lack of belief in our own proclaimed values. So such offensive statements should CONTINUE to be made.—Unless the West is prepared to do something more substantial to indicate that it is not totally spineless, like shutting down further Muslim immigration. In that case we might again be able to afford to take account of Muslim sensibilities.
8:25 pm
Rick,
I hate to say some one as eloquent as you is wrong, but you are.
IF things were reversed what would happen.
Oh I am sorry Catholics are already made fun of and murdered etc.
Our response is usually the judgement is up to god.
WIth Islam we are judged by his followers.
I am sorry but I prefer to be jugdged by God over how much damage is done to him rather than his followers. After all even they admit that it’s hard to interpet Gods word.
We are already at war and we are losing. Bush not withstanding. I wish you could see it, but this is a plan by Islam that is why the additional cartoons were added and so many danish flags are popping up.
All the best.
Oh by the way all immigration should be banned. It’s hilarious how Republicans say immigrants are doing the jobs no one wants.
There mere fact we sign a treaty to promote fair trade is a violation of the free market.
If we left the market alone the wages would rise to the right amount.
I won’t factor abortion into it But imagine the potential of 50 million more American citizens working and having children.
I doubt there would be that much immigration and damage potential there is today.
People should all read the Declaration of Independence much more than they do.
8:35 pm
If Islam is a religion, or a philosophy, an ideology, or some other kind of belief system, what are its demonstrated beliefs vis-a-vis nonMuslims?
Obviously, as demonstrated by 99+% of Muslims, it condones or colludes with the murderous, hatemongering jihadists who insist on the subjugation, coerced conversion, or death of nonMuslims. This collusion is adequately shown by the lack of forceful, continuous, large-scale protests against the barbaric behavior that is anti-Christian, anti-Buddhist, anti-Jew, anti-Hindu, anti-women, anti-Gay, anti-nonjihadist/nonSalafist Muslims, anti-atheist, and anti-animist, by the 99+% of Muslim spectators. Whether due to fear of retaliation against them by the jihadists, or because they favor the attitudes and acts of the jihadists, these 99+% of ‘peaceful’ Muslims are giving aid and comfort to bestial, murderous jihadists and like-minded fundamentalists.
What is there in this present REAL-WORLD Islam for us to respect? How is this 99+% Muslim-accepted jihadism, or more clearly, xenocidia, different in performance from Nazism and Stalinism and Maoism which slaughtered 60 million to 100 million innocents?
Hitler described his plans for democide in Mein Kampf and his many speeches. The Koran/Hadith/Sharia, as practiced nowadays, and as preached by Muslim clerics, describes and prescribes the attitudes and practices to be put into effect against the infidel, subhuman, nonMuslim (nonMuslim = those who do not follow the jihadist/Salafist murderous interpretation of the Muslim scriptures).
We now how cowardly WE are; we don’t realize how ignorant and stupid WE are!
8:43 pm
I appreciate your essays and this one was very thoughtfull, too. You’d be right if we were dealing with basically decent rational people. In this case we are not, and therefore I think you are wrong.
8:43 pm
A Danish newspaper prints cartoons depicting Mohammed in a negative light and Muslims urge the boycott of all Danish goods. An American television network creates a sitcom depicting Christians in a negative light and Christians urge a boycott of the show and its sponsors. Is there any difference between the two incidents?
I think there are significant differences. The Christians launched a targeted protest against those whom they felt directly responsible for the offensive program. They did not urge a boycott of the entire television network, the entire entertainment industry, or the United States as a whole. On the other hand, the Muslims have urged a boycott against the entire country of Denmark to protest the actions of one newspaper that chose to print cartoons they considered offensive.
The reaction of the Muslims is far out of proportion to the original act. I believe this disproportionate response is the essence of terrorism. The goal is to get the Danes to turn on each other. By punishing the innocent who had nothing to do with the cartoons along with the guilty, the great mass of people is taught a lesson. The lesson is that they should rigorously suppress the speech and actions of their fellow citizens. Similarly, the publishers of the cartoons learn a lesson as well – they should impose self-censorship lest their actions cause harm to innocent third parties.
Recently I watched a movie about a Nazi concentration camp. Some prisoners successfully escaped. The guards rounded up the remaining prisoners and randomly shot 30 or so. The lesson? (1) Don’t try to escape or others will be killed as punishment for your act. (2) Don’t let others try to escape or you may pay for their actions with your life. How different is this from the Muslim response to punish all of Denmark for the actions of a few?
11:00 pm
I respectfully disagree. The west and specifically Christians have been targeted by muslim fundamentalists for almost fifty years now, they have killed thousands if not millions and not one peep of outrage from any moderate muslims or Imams why is that? The muslim faith is the faith of a conqueror and if you read the Koran you will realize they will not and cannot allow any other culture or religion to coexist with them unless it is enslaved by them. This is a fundamental problem with our culture, government and people they do not understand the threat posed by not just fundamentalist islam but islam in general. It is beyond me why we have not come to understand this. Why do we not treat islam just like we did Nazism and Communism? We eradicated them and ostracized them and we should be doing the same to islam. We better wake up or we will all be paying Jizaya to our muslim masters it has already started in the Gaza strip in Bethlahem. The western world better start learning what islam is all about and understand that in the modern world where technology allows the killing of millions with one device we cannot afford nor allow a religion or idealogy like islam to exist and yes I know all the people who say but Christianity was just as bad look at the crusades or the inquasitions, this is true however, Christianity went through the reformation and became more tolarant, islam is not capable of doing the same thing read the paragraph after this to see why. I am sorry Rick but you are tragically wrong but that is ok most everyone is on this issue becuase as civilized people we just cannot accept what needs to be done to solve the problem. I am sure this will get me tagged as an Islamophobe well so be it, I am sure in todays PC world if I were saying the same thing about Nazism I would be tagged with the same lable and Islam and Nazism are the same only differance is Islam is a religion and Nazism is an ideology.
Hugh Hewitt interviewed Father Joseph Fessio, Provosty of Ave Maria University in Naples, Florida about a meeting between the Pope and a muslim scholar you can read the whole thing HERE it was not good read on:
HH: And so, is it fair to describe him(the Pope) as a pessimist about the prospect of modernity truly engaging Islam in the way modernity has engaged Christianity?
JF: Well, the other way around.
HH: Yes. I meant that.
JF: Yeah, that Christianity can engage modernity just like it did…the Jews did Egypt, or Christians did to Greece, because we can take what’s good there, and we can elevate it through the revelation of Christ in the Bible. But Islam is stuck. It’s stuck with a text that cannot be adapted, or even be interpreted properly.
HH: And so the Pope is a pessimist about that changing, because it would require a radical reinterpretation of what the Koran is?
JF: Yeah, which is it’s impossible, because it’s against the very nature of the Koran, as it’s understood by Muslims.
HH: And so, even the dialectic that was the Reformation is not possible within Islam?
JF: No. And then a second thing which he did not say, but which I would have said, I might have said at the time, is that…and this is from a Catholic point of view, there’s no one to interpret the Koran officially. the Catholic Church has an official interpretor, which is the Holy Father with the bishops.
HH: Right. Well, let me ask you then. If, in fact, that reformation within Islam is not possible in the eyes of the Pope, and the demographics do not change, as they are unlikely to change in Europe, the last time Christendom went under the waves, so to speak, in Europe, there were the monasteries, beseiged as they were by the barbarians, sacked as they were by the Vikings, they endured.
JF: Yeah.
HH: That doesn’t happen in modernity, because of the technology of oppression. And you’ve just noted the reluctance of Islam to accept religious pluralism, or to embrace it and celebrate it.
You can also read a really good article at American thinker by James Arlandson HERE or you can type his name in the archive search and read all his articles.
11:36 pm
Cartooning For The Masses
Over the last three or four days, while I’ve been mentally and physically occupied with my primary vocation, an uproar, with ensuing physical damage, has ensued over the publishing of cartoons depicting the prophet Mohammed in a Danish newspaper. (You
12:36 am
Rick:
I appreciate your intent with this post. There has to be some level of sanity in approaching this madness. But therein lies the rub. The “Arab Street” will not respect this approach. Will they respect any approach? I don’t know. On another site a comment was made that this was a conflict of two civilizations. The response to that comment was that there was only one civilization.
Maybe we have become callous here in the West. Maybe we are so cowed by political correctness that all we can do when confronted by similar situations (“Piss Christ”, Anti-Semitic or Anti-Israeli rhetoric, anti christian-fundamentalist commentary, and even the hate-filled political rantings of the Far Left) is to shrug and calmly accept the situation as the natural way of the world. Maybe our own Judeo-Chriatian upbringing and our “turn the other cheek” mentality has a stronger grip on us than we really know.
It is obvious the Arab World does not accept this status. Maybe they do not believe in the turning of the cheek. Maybe they do not believe in diversity, multi-culturalism, or any of the other methods of just working together for the cause of peace. The Gitmo controversey of last year regarding stories of improper handling of the Koran should have been a warning. And now we have what may be a potential watershed crises between the Arab world and the West regarding cartoons.
So what do we do? I think we are on a course whether we have chosen it or not. Representatives have apologized for the harm done. Actions have been done by the newpapers and even governments to correct the situation. And still the “Arab Street” explodes. What more can be done?
In times past, when the common people rioted and burned and looted their way through the Jewish quarters of 17th, 18th, and 19th Century Europe, the powers that be, who instigated the riots in the first place, stood by and let the anger fade. The hope was the mob would burn out it vengeance on the Jews before it spreads to the normal parts of the cities. These were called Pogroms by the Jews. They came to fear and accept them as their lot in life. Shall we join the Pogrom? Or stand by and hope the riots and the cause of the riots fade from the mind of the rioters.
And in all of this I have but one question? How far have we really travelled from those dark days of the Pogrom. Or do we stand up on our hind legs and state “Enough
”
1:45 am
Well sorry, but I think that you are wrong on this one. I can understand where you are coming from but it will only lead you into more confrontation with Islamists. I belive Mishi said it best. You will probably change your position at some point in the future (hopefully). Appeasment does not work!
1:57 am
Fresh Air asked:
Since when is it logical to burn down a country’s embassy because a few newspaper editors from that country, though in no way representing it officially or unofficially, chose to publish some offensive cartoons?”
Answer:
he following is an exerpt from an interview conducted by the Hindustan Times with Liaquat Hussain, secretary of the Bradford Central Mosque contrasted with statements from Flemming Rose, the cartoonist responsible for the original caricatures that appeared in Jyllands-Posten.
“This is clearly a demonstration by the Christian world of hostility towards the Muslim community,†he said. “This has come from all the nations of Europe and it reflects an ongoing campaign against Muslims by the Western powers. You can’t differentiate between the Western world and Christianity; you can’t separate what’s happened from the people of those countries and their governments. I blame all of the Western population because these cartoons reflect the opinion of the people.â€
Liaquat Hussain
8:10 am
Is there something about the very core and heart of Islam that gives rise to this kind of behavior? What kind of spirit leads people to wish to behead someone for drawing a caricature? Where is the outcry when Christ is regularly mocked in all the media of the world? Christians don’t burn down buildings when Christ is depicted in cartoons, do they? But if Mohammed is shown saying “We have run out of virgins!” to a line of waiting Muslim men, Muslims go wild and start loading the clips of their AK-47s. I find it disturbing to now see the world walk on eggs, not daring to offend for fear of further Muslim violence/terrorism. My how quickly we want to isolate these recent events, and refuse to see the them in context of this so-called religion of peace. And Iran wants a nuclear bomb…
2:15 pm
Republishing Multiple Mohammed Cartoons and Insulting Images: Is This Really Necessary?
The internet seems to be exploding with Mohammed cartoons and images. It started with a publication of some Mohammed cartoons in the Danish daily Jyllands-Posten on September 30, 2006. Some of the cartoons were reprinted in a Norweigan publication in J…
12:03 pm
Your analogy to American nationalist sentiment and idenity is very apt, but we are still left with the questions of where to draw the line, who is to do so, and how much authority they will gave make their line stick.
6:17 pm
To Our Muslim Allies: Here’s What We Think of Your Prophet
I’ve chosen my deliberately provocative title for this post as a wake-up call. The mocking of Mohammed has gone to far. What started as a few cartoons in a newspaper to make a point has, in parts of the blogosphere, deteriorated into an all-out in you…
6:44 pm
If the issue is simple, Rick’s analysis makes sense. If it’s not, his analysis is incomplete.
There’s more going on here than just an insult to a religion.
In fact, Islam is not really a religion; it’s a political movement. Communists during the cold war hoped to replace all religions with their own all-encompassing belief system. This belief system covered a lot of ground, from the nature of the universe to the way each individual should relate to the state and other individuals.
An understanding of the pernicious nature of this kind of total religious intrusion into every sphere of life is one of the bedrock principles of Western Civilization.
We’ve had plenty of martyrs to this cause but we don’t use that word because of its archaic and religious overtones.
When, almost five hundred years ago, Copernicus proposed a view of the solar system that contradicted Church teachings, it caused persecution and burnings at the stake. At around the same time, Englishmen were being persecuted and occasionally burned at the stake because they refused to incriminate themselves under oath.
It took a long time, but Western Civilization is beyond that kind of thing now. The Islamic world is not.
Deliberately insulting Moslems for the sake of insulting them is ridiculous and crude. Deliberately insulting them to prove the point that they are not tolerant is another thing entirely.
7:49 am
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11:03 am
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