Cartoon Hatin'

This international fury over cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad is very interesting.

I am sad that people can't take a joke, but it really goes to a deeper level than lacking a sense of religious humor.

From my understanding and research, Muhammed is not supposed to be depicted in images. Wikipedia says, "Islamic teachings forbid the depiction of Muhammad as a measure against idolatry (see aniconism); however, in the past there have been non-satirical depictions of Muhammad by Muslims. Although Jyllands-Posten maintains that the drawings were an exercise in free speech, many Muslims in Denmark and elsewhere view them as provocative, racist and Islamophobic." (From this article.)

Whether cartoons humorously depicting Muslim figures should be allowed is one thing. Whether they are overly racist and offensive (and therefore inappropriate) is another thing. What makes this issue difficult is that both are occurring and it is almost impossible to separate the two questions.

American culture says take the holy and sacrosanct, and mock it through satire until there's nothing left. That's what we do. It's the American way.

I guess I am pretty American in that regard. We live in a secular society. I would tolerate almost anything on the printed page as long as it doesn't incite violence against people. What is interesting is that violence has been incited in retaliation for these cartoons (so, the reverse is occurring).

Now again, with the disclaimer that my understanding is limited, it seems that the global majority of Muslims want the government of their nation-state to operate as an Islamic republic. Again quoting good old Wiki, it says, "Today, the creation of an Islamic Republic is the rallying cry for Islamists all over the world." (From this article.) That's where I disagree. You can live your life however you want, but demanding a government that enforces religious law in everyone's lives is wrong, in my perspective. It is nothing short of some degree of Taliban. So, on the question of whether a cartoon depicting Islamic figures should be allowed, I say yes, absolutely. Even if it is against Islamic law, it is not against American law, or Danish law, or French law... and for that matter, I don't think it should be against Iranian law or against Pakistani law. 99.999 percent of people can think it wrong, but the one person who communicates carefully but powerfully through that image should be allowed to. That person should not be forced out of the country. That's just my free-press-loving, idea-happy, nothing-is-too-holy-for-humor, minority-empowering perspective. So sue me. (That's American, too. Ha.)

THAT being said... there is no reason to draw a cartoon of Muhammed wearing a bomb in place of a turban. There is no reason to further the stereotype that all Muslims are violent. It is inappropriate. All things are permissable, but not all things are beneficial. It just ain't right in a multi-cultural society.

However, the violent response has been interesting. lol What a mess all of this is.