03 February 2006

Blasphemy...or Free Speech?




So, it seems some political cartoons printed in a Danish paper have caused a big conflagration in the Muslim world, with violence and riots and death threats toward the Danes for 'daring' to print the image of the Prophet in a manner that could possibly be seen as derogatory. Now, I'm a pretty progressive guy. I don't think Islam is evil; I recognize the contributions that it has made to the world, particularly in the preservation of knowledge during the Middle Ages (though I remain bitter about Algebra, thank you very much). I understand that it is an Abrahamic faith, and that much of the perception of the faith in the West is derived from a possible misinterpretation or perversion of the teachings of the Prophet. All that being said, the idea that the Muslim world would be up in arms about a bunch of cartoons in a Western paper none of them will ever read is a bunch of crap. To threaten violence over freaking cartoon depictions of Mohammed? This makes that society look so backward, ignorant of the concept of free expression, and so incredibly hypocritical. Consider, for example, the hundreds of 'blood libel' and derogatory cartoons that Muslim papers have printed concerning Jews over the last decades, not to mention the treatment of Bibles and the like in places like Saudi Arabia.
How DARE these people tell Westerners what they can and cannot publish. They ask us, would we print cartoons denigrating Christianity or Judaism? Um, yes...we can and we have and we will. Not just cartoons, but movies, tv shows, and books galore! And you know what? Those communities hate it, but too bad. It's free speech, and while it may be inappropriate, it is not illegal, nor should it be. We will apologize for free speech and these cartoons when you folks apologize for your depictions of Jews and Christians.
On that note, here are a couple of the pictures they are upset about:
















Hit and Run has published more of the cartoons. Check out the link for the rest, plus a pretty good comment section. For a rather light-hearted but pretty spot on take on what a refreshing change it is not to be blamed for something, check out Kevin Drum's short bit here.
Somehow, I feel like dirt. I think I might be on the same side as Free Republic and Powerline. Ugh.