Our
Reaction to the Cartoons
By Dr. Syed Amir
Bethesda, MD
For the past one month, the
Muslim world has been rocked by protest demonstrations,
some peaceful and some violent, against the publication
of cartoons, satirizing the Prophet, originally
in a little known Danish newspaper which were
subsequently reproduced by several European papers,
in the name of freedom of expression. The cartoons
were deeply offensive and hurtful not only to
Muslims but to many non-Muslims as well who, whilst
believing in the freedom of expression, maintained
that it should not become a license for unscrupulous
elements to intrude upon the religious sensitivities
of others.
The claim that the publication of satirical cartoons
was designed to uphold the principle of free expression
is disingenuous as is the assertion that the European
media are ignorant about the depth of Muslim sensitivity
to any disrespect shown to the Prophet Mohammed.
Europeans, as opposed to Americans, have had a
long tradition of studying Islam since medieval
times, an interest that led to the birth of a
whole academic discipline, named Orientalism or
Arabism. Many European writers and thinkers, especially
priest and theologians, have unfortunately misrepresented
Islam and the life history of the Prophet in their
writing and treatises, primarily to malign Islam
and ostensibly to protect Christians from its
seductive influence.
Typical among these was Lodovico Marracci, the
seventeenth-century Italian priest, who devoted
forty years of his life to studying Islam and
the Qur’an, with the sole purpose of refuting
its teachings. Even relatively more recent scholars
and historians, such as Edward Gibbon, who never
learnt Arabic, have been hostile to Islam and
its preaching. Over the years, an extensive body
of literature has accumulated in European academic
institutions and research centers that has contributed
much to the dissemination of a distorted image
of Islam.
While they may not have foreseen the extent of
anger and the firestorm the cartoons have provoked,
the editors of the Danish magazine, Jyllande-Posten,
clearly could not have been entirely unaware of
the fallout of their ill-advised decision to publish
them. In a full-length article by the paper’s
Cultural Editor, Flemming Rose, who commissioned
the cartoons, a bizarre rationale for their publication
(Washington Post, February 19, 2006) is advanced.
According to his thesis the publication of the
cartoons was an affirmation that the Danish Muslims
had now become equal citizens and integrated within
Danish society. In other words, since they routinely
ridicule other religions, Christianity, Judaism
and Buddhism, why not take a shot at Islam and
its Prophet as well). However, in reality the
paper is not so even handed. According to the
CBS news program, Sixty Minutes, the editors of
Jyllande-Posten recently rejected a satirical
depiction of the resurrection of the Christ, fearing
that it would provoke an outcry. The exercise
of double standards is not limited to Denmark.
This week, the British historian, David Irving,
has been sentenced to three years in prison by
a court in Vienna for denying that the holocaust
ever happened. Mere denial of the holocaust or
the existence of gas chambers in concentration
camps in Nazi Germany is a crime in Austria as
well as in Germany. So, after all, the Europeans
are not as firmly committed to the principle of
freedom of expression as they claim.
However egregious the provocation caused by the
cartoons might have been, the reaction of the
Muslim world unfortunately has neither been dignified
nor rational. Burning down embassies as happened
in Syria or the destruction of property and loss
of life as happened in some cities in Pakistan
earns us no friends around the world. Above all,
such extreme reaction was not the Prophet’s
way who repeatedly forgave his tormentors and
even prayed for them. In many cities in Pakistan,
peaceful and dignified protest marches, taken
over by more extreme elements, degenerated into
unruly melees. Indiscriminately destroying businesses
that are owned by innocent people, whether Pakistanis
or foreigners, who have had no association with
the offense, is not only wrong but it is also
economically damaging to Pakistan and its reputation
abroad.
During the past century, the world has undergone
revolutionary changes, and with the arrival of
information technology nations have been interconnected
as never before. Whatever is published in the
media in Europe and America becomes instantly
available to millions of people around the world.
Also, the terrorist events of 9/11 have spawned
a great deal of interest in Islam and Muslims,
and many bookshops in western countries are inundated
with publications on these topics. However, we
can exercise no control over what is disseminated
by news media or individual authors in Europe
or America, and no amount of demonstrations and
protests are likely to change it. In fact, the
violent reaction is what some of the publishers
and writers in their perverse way seek, as they
deliberately exacerbate rather than quench the
conflict. It makes them instantly famous and their
otherwise prosaic publications receive a huge
amount of free publicity. How many in America
or Europe, for example, had heard of the Danish
newspaper before the firestorm broke? Unfortunately,
the Europeans don’t have a monopoly on fanning
the fire of religious conflict. According to published
reports, Imam Abu-Laban of Denmark, sensing that
his initial protests were not having any effect
in the country, sent a dossier of highly inflammatory
pictures that had not been published by any newspapers
and were the work of racists, malignant minds
in the country, to Egypt where they created a
conflagration. The Imam had achieved his goal
in the end.
Some good can still come out of this distressing
episode. The anguish and rage that the Muslim
world has felt over the publication of the cartoon
may be channeled into some useful venues. Now
is the most opportune time to educate western
audiences about Islam and its sublime message
and to remove some of the misinformation that
has been accumulated well over a millennium. This
project can only be undertaken by Western Muslim
scholars and academicians who may be best qualified
to tailor the message in such a way that it would
appeal to the western reader, narration that is
perceived as scholarly, historic but unbiased
by the expression of overt religious devotion.
This would be the best tribute to the Prophet,
consistent with the glorious ideals he taught
us.
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