Immigration Global Muslim anger at European depiction of Prophet Muhammad

[Maciamo]

BBC News : Anger grows over Muhammad cartoon

Protests have spread across the Muslim world over the publication in Europe of cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.
...
There have been anti-French and Danish protests in Pakistan over the cartoons but one Jordanian paper reprinted them urging Muslims to "be reasonable".
Palestinian gunmen briefly surrounded EU offices in Gaza to demand an apology over the cartoons.
...
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak warned that the decision by some European papers to publish the cartoons could encourage terrorists.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai also strongly condemned their publication, saying it was "an affront... for hundreds of millions of people".
Hundreds of students demonstrated in the Pakistani cities of Lahore and Multan, burning flags and effigies of the Danish prime minister.
...
The row intensified on Wednesday when France Soir, alongside the 12 original cartoons, printed a new drawing on its front page showing Buddhist, Jewish, Muslim and Christian holy figures sitting on a cloud, with the caption "Don't worry Muhammad, we've all been caricatured here."
Publications in Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain also re-ran the Danish cartoons to show support for free speech.
Islamic tradition bans depictions of the Prophet or Allah.
...

If just a caricature in some newspapers is enough to startle violence around the Muslim world and "encourage terrorists", then the whole concept of Islam is a threat to world peace.

We have discussed earlier the problems of adaptation of the Mulsim community in Europe, especially North Africans in France and Belgium, but also Pakistani in Britain (e.g. Bradford riots of 2001) and others. I believe that the core of the issue is neither economic nor racial (Indian, Chinese or Latin American people do not face similar adaptation problems in Europe). The problem is a severe incompatibility between European culture and values on the one hand, and Islamic ideology on the other hand.

More than that, Muslim beliefs are so uncompromising that Muslims around the world also seem to run into conflict with people of other religious affiliations. This prompted the split of India in India vs Pakistan/Bangladesh, continuous tensions between Mulsims and other religious groups within India, conflicts between Muslims and other religious groups in Indonesia (Hindus, Christians, Animists...), in the Philippines, in Sudan, in Israel, in Russia, in ex-Yugolsavia, in Western Europe, and basically anywhere where Muslims have to live with non-Mulsims. In fact, most of the world's conflicts in the world nowadays are caused by Muslims, and terrorism in the West is only the tip of the iceberg.

The recent events caused by the caricature show just how sensitive and overreacting the international Muslim community can be, and how violence is deeply rooted in their mindset and way of solving conflicts.

 

[Dutch Baka]

I think it is INSANE!!!! I think that the cartoons are disrespectfull, but what is happening now, the boycots, closing embassies and consulates, etc. are just madness!!! I mean come on, one paper throws this in ther paper, and the whole world is going crazy!!!!

How many times did newspapers, magazines make fun of Jezus, budha, etc... okay they were not happy with it, but this is just ... SAD

Long life Freedom of speech, and press.... However It would have been better to keep respect.

 

[Clawn]

The funny thing is...

this started when a Danish newspaper put out a rude article and a group of 500-600 Muslims living there went back and got their entire governments riled up about it! Just goes to show you that offending a few people can lead to national disputes.

I too, have to say that this was a little extreem of a reaction, I mean, in many newspapers daily there are offensive cartoons concerning religions.

 

[Ma Cherie]

Hey, this isn't the first time religious groups got angry at cartoons. But I guess they don't see how silly it makes them look when they get angry at a cartoon. Personally, I don't see how a cartoon can encourage terrorism. But what do I know? :souka:

*Sigh* People can be so sensitive for no reason.

 

[Dutch Baka]

here is some more information from Wiki, about what all happened, and a picture of the cartoon http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jyllands-Posten_Muhammad_cartoons_controversy

Also I read somewhere that because of the boycote, 11.000 people are maybe losing their jobs... for what?

 

[Clawn]

Thanks Dutch!

Also I read somewhere that because of the boycote, 11.000 people are maybe losing their jobs... for what?

Because those countries are extremely "proud" of their religion, those nations feel that they have to react in the most extreme way short of actual violence.

 

[Ma Cherie]

I don't see what's so offensive about this cartoon.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Jyllands-Posten_Muhammad_drawings.jpg

:souka:

 

[Dutch Baka]

I don't see what's so offensive about this cartoon.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Jyllands-Posten_Muhammad_drawings.jpg
:souka:

Because of this :
The twelve drawings were drawn by twelve different caricaturists, after an invitation from Jyllands-Posten for around forty different artists to give their interpretation on how Muhammad may have looked. Each of the twelve drawings portrays Muhammad in a different fashion. In the clockwise direction:
-The face of Muhammad as a part of the Islamic star and crescent symbol, his right eye the star.
-The most controversial drawing shows Muhammad with a bomb in his turban, with a lit fuse and the Islamic creed written on the bomb.
-Muhammad standing with a halo in the shape of a crescent moon.
-An abstract drawing of crescent moons and Stars of David, and a poem on oppression of women "Profet! Med kuk og knald i låget som holder kvinder under åget!". In English the poem could be read as: "Prophet! daft and dumb, keeping woman under thumb"
-Muhammad as a wanderer, with a donkey.
-One shows a nervous caricaturist, shakingly drawing Muhammad while looking over his shoulder.
-Two angry Muslims charge forward with sabres and bombs, while Muhammad addresses them with: "Rolig, venner, når alt kommer til alt er det jo bare en tegning lavet af en vantro sønderjyde" (loosely, "Relax guys, it's just a drawing made by some infidel South Jutlander"). A South Jutlander is a person from South Jutland; the reference is to a common Danish expression for a person from the middle of nowhere, which is how many Danes regard South Jutland.
-An Oriental looking boy in front of a blackboard, pointing to the Farsi chalkings, which translate into "the editorial team of Jyllands-Posten is a bunch of reactionary provocateurs". The boy is labelled "Mohammed, Valby school, 7.A", implying that this Muhammed is a Danish second-generation immigrant rather than the man Muslims believe was a prophet. On his shirt is written "Fremtiden" (the future). According to the editor of Jyllands Posten, he didn't know what was written on the blackboard before it was published.
-Another drawing shows Muhammad with a knife and a black bar over his eyes. He is flanked by two women in burqas.
-Muhammad standing on a cloud, greeting dead suicide bombers with "Stop Stop vi er løbet tør for Jomfruer!" ("Stop, stop, we ran out of virgins!"), an allusion to the promised reward to martyrs.
-Another shows Kåre Bluitgen, wearing a turban with the proverbial orange dropping, with the inscription "Publicity stunt". An "orange in the turban" is a Danish proverb meaning "a stroke of luck." In his hand is a stick drawing of Muhammad.
And in the center:
A police line-up of seven people, with the witness saying: "Hm... jeg kan ikke lige genkende ham" ("Hm... I can't really recognise him"). Not all people in the line-up are immediately identifiable. They are: 1) A generic Hippie (possibly Imam Abdul Wahid Pedersen) 2) Politician Pia Kjærsgaard 3) Possible Jesus 4) Possible Buddha 5) Possible Muhammad 6) A generic Indian Guru (although some people claim to recognise the image as Imam Ahmad Abu Laban ) 7) Journalist Kåre Bluitgen, carrying a sign saying: "Kåres PR, ring og få et tilbud" ("Kåre's public relations, call and get an offer")
Not all of these drawings were wholly new, according to the chief editor of Jyllands Posten; one or more had already been published in the newspaper at earlier dates without drawing major criticism.

Thanks Dutch!
Because those countries are extremely "proud" of their religion, those nations feel that they have to react in the most extreme way short of actual violence.

Oww I understand that they are proud of their religion, and I respect them for that, as many other people do too. But they should understand/respect that there are countries where they have Freedom of press, and that they can NOT DEMAND an apologie from the goverment, and boycoting denmark * also norway, and swedish * products, all because of this... I read the whole wiki article about it this afternoon, and I jus think, where is the sense of humor, or why are they so bloody serious!!!

so yeah, I can't wait to see this movie: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Looking_for_Comedy_in_the_Muslim_World

 

[Maciamo]

They see it as offensive because the Quran says that God or his Prophet must not be depicted. It's purely religious. If you are not a fundamentalist Muslim, you probably can't understand that feeling...

 

[thomas]

Deja vu... anyone remember Salman Rushdie?

 

[Ma Cherie]

Deja vu... anyone remember Salman Rushdie?

I do, his novel Satanic Verses comes to mind.

 

[Dutch Baka]

They see it as offensive because the Quran says that God or his Prophet must not be depicted. It's purely religious. If you are not a fundamentalist Muslim, you probably can't understand that feeling...

so this means: seventeen Islamic countries' goverments are funamental muslims?

Recently the foreign ministers of seventeen Islamic countries renewed calls for the Danish government to punish those responsible for the cartoons, and to ensure that such cartoons are not published again. International Islamic organisations have demanded that the United Nations hold sanctions against Denmark

 

[Da Monstar]

As one of the few Danes in here i think I will try posting me view on this matter. Mind you I have little of interests in Politics and global matters, but I do have my personal values and ideals as a human being.

I do not find the pictures directly Disrespective since there has been made plenty of other drawings exactly like that without anyone getting hurt or anything.

I think the muslims are taking it a little too far by claiming an official apology from our primeminister and our queen aswell as the news paper who first published these photos must be prosequted(that word is spelled wrong). And by boycutting every single danish product in muslim countries and throwing danish people out of their countries is going to far I think.
Also the video records showing muslims burning the danish flag and pictures of the queen and primeminister is what I call taking things too far.
Also I have heard that they have put a big prize on the heads of the 3 danish painters, which has caused them and their family to go under ground and now hides and are being stalked in their own country (which is supposed to be a free country)

On the other Hand I think the danish people has handled these actions and threats extremly bad. There have been send SMS text messages around from people to people in Denmark, telling everyone to boycut all the muslim shops, burger bars and pizza places (there is at least 2-3 of these in every city in Denmark, owned drived and managed completly only by muslims) and to make up a rising in our capital where we should burn the muslim bible (which I do not remember the english name for)
Also many people is saying that for each danish the muslim will harm, we will hurt 10 muslims here in our country.

I think this is just Bull&%¤ because it will only make us like the ones whom we complain about. which I think is just hypocrisy. saying that it is wrong what they do, and that that will make it right for us to do it.

I for one will not be doing any of this extreme stuff. Me and my friends are going to our favourite pizza place tomorrow to show them that we are not going to boycut their shop or food and denying them work, simply because some other muslims are doing the same thing in another country. Usually we go there once a week after school, and if we would be missing out one week I think they would see us as racists, which we are not.

I think this is generalizing races, cultures and believes. Which for the first is very wrong in such matters. Also this is only making things worse.


My solution for this would be:
I think the 3 danish painters who drawed the photos, and the editor of the newspaper. should make a personal and official apology on behalf of themself and on behalf of the paper. This will not be admitting a defeat of the freedom of speach, becuase it is standard manners to apologize to people if you hurt them. The muslims should be able to accept this apology, since it comes directly from the persons who inflicted the pain caused, and would therefore be a suitable settlement for both parties.
Every one of you in here who uses chatrooms, forums or just normal real life conversations and community knows that freedom of speech does not give you the right to embarass or humiliate others. therefore If you hurt someone, being on purpose or not, you owe them an apology. This is what keeps wars from rising, and men from getting killed.

Thats my views and ethics in all of this. I hope it isn't to confusing since the time was 11:30pm when I did this post, and I was very tired. But I stick to my opinions which I think I have made very clear here.
Bottomline:
1. I have no fear of the muslims in my country(seeing them as bad guys or terroists), I still see them as the same fellow humans as before al of this, of which many of them are my friends boith before and now.
2. The newspaper DID insult the muslims. Not all religions is taking it easy with a joke about their gods and/or prohpets. If they get offended, the agressor must pay them an apology.
3. great parts of Muslims are Handling this Extremly bad, taking it too far.
4. great parts of Danish are handling this Extremly bad, also taking it too far.
5: the solution must be a personal offcial apology from the 3 painters and the newspaper. nothing more and nothing less. and that should be satusfying for both part and thereby ending this crazy incident.

-Da Monstar

 

[Clawn]

You can listen to a NPR report on the issue at http://www.theworld.org/latesteditions/01/20060131.shtml Look through the topics and click on the speaker to hear the file. Also notice that the the newspaper apologized for offending Muslims, not for the cartoons themselves.

 

[Maciamo]

Here is more : Expatica : Cartoon uproar threatens to blow up in Europe's face

The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades and the Popular Resistance Committee warned that "all nationals and those who work in the diplomatic corps" of Denmark Norway and France "can be considered targets."

The two groups threatened to destroy all local offices and consulates of the three states unless they closed, and called for a Muslim boycott of Danish merchandise to be extended to France and Norway.

Gunmen besieged the European Union's Gaza City headquarters early Thursday, scrawling the words "Closed Until Further Notice" on its door.

Norway announced that it had closed its West Bank mission in response the threats, and was taking them "very seriously".

What disturbs me in this story is that Muslims attack (European) people who have nothing to do with the few journalists who published those caricatures. And even if they did, killing or injuring someone for a caricature is certainly not justified.

The Palestinian boycott on Danish, Norwegian and French products comes (surprisingly ?) just after the EU annouced that it would not fund a Hamas-led Palestinian government. The EU gave 600 million US$ in aid to Palestine in 2005, including a fourth directly to the government. After the Hamas was elected to power a few days ago, the EU declared it would stop funding the government (but continue to help the people) if they did not try to find a pacific solution to the problem with Israel. Their reaction was clear; not only are the Palestinians ungrateful for the billions of euro/$ given to them by EU over the years, but they even attack EU diplomatic missions on their land now !

sources

 

[No-name]

If you mock the founder of a religion and violate that religion's traditions because you find it entertaining, you risk offending millions of followers-- who are free to respond however they wish. To their credit, they have not been violent. Hopefully no further violence will break out. A bit of tolerance can go a long way.

I'm sure someone has suggested that muslims are just too sensitive and need to develop a sense of humor.

 

[kumo]

The irony in this story is that doing this Muslims just confirm every bad stereotype people have about them. Very counter-effective...

 

[No-name]

As long as they stick to boycotts and protests...

 

[ArmandV]

Who was it who said "Christians are intolerant?" (At least most Christians have a sense of humor.)

 

[bossel]

The recent events caused by the caricature show just how sensitive and overreacting the international Muslim community can be, and how violence is deeply rooted in their mindset and way of solving conflicts.

Haven't seen a lot of violence in that regard from the German Muslim community. The Turkish Community of Germany officially denounced violent reactions & even supported freedom of speech (but asked for a bit more sensitivity by the media). Other Islamic organisations in Germany reacted pretty similar to what the Christian churches did when there were some offensive caricatures about Christian stuff.

They see it as offensive because the Quran says that God or his Prophet must not be depicted. It's purely religious.

AFAIK, the Koran only forbids to make pics of Allah. That Mohammed also shouldn't be depicted was more a later consensus among scholars.

Their reaction was clear; not only are the Palestinians ungrateful for the billions of euro/$ given to them by EU over the years, but they even attack EU diplomatic missions on their land now !

They? It's a small, radical (even terrorist) element of the society.

Hamas has been voted into office not for their terrorism, but for their social engagement in Palestine &, most of all, because of the corrupted Fatah authorities. The latter is also one of the reasons (beside Israeli destructive efforts) that the average Palestinian didn't see very much of these Euro billions.

There have been send SMS text messages around from people to people in Denmark, telling everyone to boycut all the muslim shops, burger bars and pizza places (there is at least 2-3 of these in every city in Denmark, owned drived and managed completly only by muslims) and to make up a rising in our capital where we should burn the muslim bible (which I do not remember the english name for)
Also many people is saying that for each danish the muslim will harm, we will hurt 10 muslims here in our country.

Which shows that similar idiots to those we find in Muslim countries, are running around free in our societies.