Wednesday, February 01, 2006

Cartoon Wars

The Islamic world continues to throw a tantrum over the publication in a Danish newspaper of cartoons that dared to depict the Prophet Muhammed, a serious blasphemy in Islam. The war of retaliation, words and deeds escalates by the day.

"Because no religious dogma can impose its view on a democratic and secular society, France Soir publishes the incriminated cartoons," So said France Soir editor Serge Faubert. Under a headline "Yes, we have the right to caricature God", France Soir ran a front page cartoon with Buddha, the Christian and Jewish Gods and Prophet Muhammad sitting on a cloud above Earth, with the Christian God saying: "Don't complain Muhammad, we've all been caricatured here."

Papers all through Europe along with France Soir published the cartoons. France Soir's editor was fired, shortly thereafter... caving in to the hoopla.

"There is no right to protection from satire in the West; there is a right to blasphemy." So said the editor of a German Newspaper.

When the West dares to talk to Islamic countries about uptholding human rights, executing teenagers for being gay, dismay at the whipping girls for not showing respect for a man, for summary executions and mutliations, for free elections and ceasing funding terror, Islam slams the door in its face. Don't dare lecture us, poor downtrodden Islam, they whine.

Islam, as it is practiced in most of the Muslim world, is racist, homophobic, backward and sexist. It scares me to think what this world would be like if Islam ruled. Too bad, as the Koran is a wonderful book, full of peace and understanding. Like Christianity, it has been perverted. But perverted in even a more pervasive way. Christian fanatics are loud but thankfully are curtailed in a secular society. The US is moving away from that, slowly but perceptably. But in the Muslim non secular society, the radicals rule with an iron fist.

The West is seeing a serious escalation of intolerance and discrimination against Muslims while unequal treatment of religious minorities in the Middle East, is well documented, and instutionalized.

I have to agree with the Europeans on this. The world should not have to 'walk on eggshells whenever the topic of Islam is discussed either in good light or bad.

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