Mohammad Cartoon Controversy – Lesson for the Muslim World.
Mohammad Cartoon Controversy – Lesson for the Muslim World.
By A.K. Enamul Haque PhD
with Philip Shaw M.Sc.
On February 13, 2008, 17 Danish newspapers and one Swedish newspaper reprinted the “Muhammad Cartoon” in their bid to show off their “liberty”. A part of these cartoons were previously printed in 2005 and then in 2006, which started the problem between the West and the Muslim worlds. The controversy led to deaths of citizens in many countries when people were protesting against the Danish publisher and the police forces were trying to protect the Western properties. I believe the Danish news-editors did not read the message carefully and so they have once again decided to show off their audacity in the name of “freedom of expression”. The attempt is clearly a step in the line with blasphemy and a deliberate attempt to rekindle the controversy and to fuel the clashes of “civilizations”. Dear readers, many of you know me through my writings and might have already considered that today I am going to write another piece blaming the “West”. I hope I do not do this in this piece of writing.
The first set of such cartoons appeared in the one of the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten on September 30th,2005. Most of the Muslims around the world did not even notice it. It went unreported in all the major media in the Muslim worlds. Then in 2006, the newspaper decided to republish it again and this time the local Muslim Imams launched the protest against the dirty and demeaning works of the editors of the newspapers in the name of press freedom. Protest started in many parts of the world. Most of the protests were in the Muslim world, some of which escalated into violence with police firing on the crowds (resulting in more than 100 deaths, altogether), including setting fire to the Danish Embassies in Syria, Lebanon and Iran, storming European buildings, and desecrating the Danish, Norwegian and German flags in Gaza City (source: Wikipedia).
By 2006, many newspapers in predominantly non-Muslim countries including India also published the cartoons as a show-off of their support to their Danish cartoonists. Muslim countries were outraged and many considered it to be a “deliberate” insult on their ritual (I believe it is not an insult to the faith but it is an insult to the ritual followed in many Muslims).
“Islam generally forbids visual depictions of Muhammad. That strict taboo is honoured today by almost all Muslims. The taboo is stronger in Sunni Islam (representing 85–90% of the world’s Muslim population) than Shia (10–15%). Depictions of Muhammad were common during the Ottoman Empire, when the taboo on portraying him was less strong, although his face was often left blank (quoted from wikipedia).”
Editors of the newspapers in the non-Muslim world decided to use their “freedom” while knowing that the publication will lead to chaos, controversies, deaths, and apologies. In the sequel of 2006 all these happened. Governments, political leaders both from the Muslim and from the Western countries eventually pulled together a deal to help reduce the rage flared by some of the “irresponsible editors”.
On February 13, 2008, the very same group of editors has done it again. The question is who will benefit from such a act of “freedom”? Again we can clearly see – protests, deaths, and apologies looming in the sky.
The reason I am saying this is simple. The so-called liberty people seem to have a very simple agenda in their mind – “Be offensive to the Muslims”. Many Muslims will protest around the world and believe me many of them may not even have seen the cartoons. Again violent protests will flare and police will open fire. Innocent but many simple Muslims will die but I hope this does not happen this time. The strategy of the editors is to create agitation among the common people who are often “blind” in their faith, who are the weak groups in their own society and who often see a kind of “conspiracy” theory against them and want to blame someone for their poverty (either in knowledge or in wealth). More often they are the victims of inequality in their own society and blame the liberal (who are western educated and have been able to amass huge wealth) groups for their current position. The cartoon controversy will be quickly capitalized on by the groups who have been fighting against western oppression. They can also use the controversy to align support of the common people in their favor.
To me, it will help the Iranian government to benefit in their fight with the US government on the nuclear issue. It will help the Taliban launch more attacks against the NATO forces stationed in Afghanistan and Iraq. It will help Hamas to consolidate their support and it will help Hizbullah to regain their power in Lebanon. It will bring many extreme forces in society to make political deals, and so on. It will weaken liberal Muslim governments around the world who are having a hard time to deal with the economy amidst high food prices, oil prices and also inflation.
My own worry is for the innocent civilians who are likely to join the bandwagon and participate in the demonstrations against the West. It is likely that police in many of these countries will kill many of these people and most of them neither have seen the cartoon nor have any idea on who is doing what in this world. In countries where the law enforcing groups are often untrained to deal with large crowds, civilian deaths are seen as collateral damages or unavoidable deaths. Are the “Editors” aware of this price of press freedom?
The Muslim world could do a justice if they could stay calm, avoid demonstrating against the West and simply ignore the existence of the cartoons but remain resolved in taking decisions against the nations who “offend” them at a personal level. In this regard, Mahatma Gandhi’s step to boycott non-essential products and services of these countries is the ultimate test of their pride. I mean “non-essential products and services” to emphasis the fact that boycotting essential products and services is tantamount to self-imposed punishment while the other one is a kind of self-imposed sacrifice for a better cause. Protesting against their own governments and getting shot and possibly killed is no answer.
Western Editors Need To Take Get Real. Responsibilities Come With Press Freedom
By Philip Shaw M.Sc.
I’m a long way from any Muslim country. I’m also a long way from any Danish or Swedish editor who decides to bate Muslims with a blasphemous portrait of Muhammad. However, in my mind its pretty clear what’s going on and it tugs at an ugly side of greater western society with it roots solidly in encased in racism.
I have quite a few Muslim friends, many of which have had the opportunity to visit my farm. However, rarely have I ever talked about religion with my friends. It’s not that I’ve avoided it. It’s just that I don’t have an overriding feeling within me to “convert” them to what I believe. Shame on me I guess. It’s the job of all Christians to go out into the world and evangelize. I know many of my Muslim, Hindu, and yes gay friends will be on the “left hand” of God when I get to heaven. Somewhere on the way I’ll have to find time to share my faith. However, there is nothing in me as a press baron to ever act like those Danish editors do.
Many of you know. Many of you don’t. That is, I publish in many different forms of media. I write for some major magazines in Canada. I have my own radio commentary. I deal with media all the time. It’s important never to take yourself too seriously. It’s also important to realize that being in the media doesn’t give you a license to yell, “fire” in a crowded theatre. And from my standpoint on my small perch in the western media, it doesn’t give you license to pillar and launch a veiled racial taunt toward the wonderful Muslim people in this world who are just fighting to make a living just like anybody else.
This is the way Enamul puts it.
“I believe it is not an insult to the faith but it is an insult to the ritual followed in many Muslims.”
Bingo as far as I’m concerned. However, Enamul might be a bit charitable with this. I think the Muslim cartoon thing is an insult to the ritual Muslims follow, but it also says much about how Western Europe feels about Islam.
In North America its all about 9/11. You ask many Americans how they feel about Islam and its all about 9/11. However, if any can get past that, its mostly feelings of indifference. In Canada on the other hand there is much more integration into our greater society. Sure we don’t like Muslim extremism either, but for the most part so do most Muslims.
AS I said when I walk through Muslim countries, everybody strikes me the same as the west. These people are simply trying to make a living. However, Enamul is right that many ordinary Muslim citizens don’t really have any idea over what this “fight” is about. The idea of a Danish editor complete with his sardines for lunch launching some slur against “them” is enough for them to be swept up in a crowd. Sadly, getting pummeled from some security forces protecting western embassies may be there fait. You can bet no Danish editor has a clue or even cares.
It reminds me of the time in 2005. I was talking to Enamul about some issue, I cannot remember what. He said he had to go there, he had to go here, but then he said “Oh!” He just remembered there was a protest in Dhaka the next day against the Danish embassy. He said he would have to avoid the area. He said somebody would probably be killed and “for what?”
Enamul makes some great points about Iran, Hamas, and the many other problems we have between the West and Islam. Yes, I too hope things remain calm in Muslim countries and boycotting Danish non-essential good might be in order. However, there can be things done in the west too. In 2003 I toured a clothing factory where young Bangladeshi women were making designer shirts for a company out of Denmark. I enjoyed that tour partly because the young women hardly took notice of me.
Some of you might think I’m being a little vain. However, not so. When I go to Bangladesh I stand out. My complexion is very noticeable. So there is lots of staring but none that day in the factory. These women were doing their job making designer shirts for rich European guys with the profits going to Denmark.
The point is I’d still go out of the way to buy one of those shirts. I want those Bangladeshi women to have work. However, don’t those Danish editors realize when they attack Islam in the name of press freedom their attacking those women too? Isn’t that indirectly an attack on the Danish economy?
So stop the garbage! I’m embarrassed as a Western journalist. Hiding behind their big western journalism degrees lies a racism behind those cartoons. It’s the cheapest kind of attack. Muslims need to pay them no notice. If you ignore them, eventually just like the bully on the play yard, they’ll go away.