East vs. West

This cartoon is by political cartoonist, Khalil Bendib.  "'There's a general aversion to iconography in the Muslim faith, and it's something that should be respected,' said Khalil Bendib of Berkeley, who calls himself the only Muslim political cartoonist in the United States."

Methinks he has a point.  There does appear to be a double-standard in practice.  My initial reaction is this mixes apples and oranges, but then again, they're both fruit.  I did hear one commentator point out that Saudi Arabia appeared to be fanning the flames of the protest as a way of distracting Muslim attention from the latest stampede which occurred towards the end of the Hajj which killed hundreds of pilgrims.  The same commentator suggested that since Syria is an absolute dictatorship, violent protests in that country suggest that their government is encouraging it.  He also suggested that the violence in Lebanon might very well be traced to Syrian influence as well.

Everyone commenting thinks the anger fueling the riots is far in excess of the provocation.  To that end, this is just another round of Muslim discontent.  The November 5, 2005 riots in Paris and then around Europe are also connected.  Looking just a wee bit farther back to 9/11, Muslims around the world viewed the attack on the World Trade Center with a lot more sympathy than most Westerners understood.  It didn't help when the President of the United States likened our challenge to that of a crusade.

And then there's Israel.  There is no doubt but that American press heavily skewers its coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in favor of the Israelis:   the Israelis are our kith and kin; the Palestinians are non-Western and blood-thirsty.  Killing innocent civilians by missile is so much more civilized than killing innocent civilians by blowing oneself up at a wedding party.  Western leftists may show more sympathy to Palestinians, but the police are much more likely to harrass Muslims than Jews.  Our prejudices against Islam are very strong.  After all, we have a very long history of antagonism between Europe and Islam.  As recent as 1683 the Turks were laying siege to Vienna. 

For us to fully understand Muslim anger, we need to examine the past 300 years of interaction between the West and Islam.  The defeat of the Turks at Vienna is the precursor for the next phase of domination of the peoples of the Middle East by Europe, reaching its zenith in the late 19th and early 20th century with the colonization of much of the Middle East by European powers and the subsequent exploitation of oil reserves found there.

As you can see, there's a lot to think about here, and it's all connected.  Monday evening on the Newshour with Jim Lehrer, there was a discussion between Fouad Ajami, director of Middle Eastern studies at Johns Hopkins University, and Ali Abuminah, media critic and co-founder of Electronic Intifada.  It was good to see Mr. Abuminah on Newshour.  Ajami pontificated, Abuminah articulated details not covered by the western press in its coverage of the crisis.

I'm in favor of everyone having religious freedom and freedom of expression.   The name of the game here is respect.  Europeans need to show a lot more respect for their rapidly growing Muslim populations if they want peace.  Muslims need to find more effective ways of integrating into the culture of their host countries.

While we're thinking about it and sorting it out, may I suggest a working rule?  Hell, I'm going to suggest it anyway.  If your religion proscribes, restricts, or forbids something, then that is your rule.  You do whatever it takes.  It has nothing to do with others who are from a different tradition.  That's the essence of multi-culturalism.  Kosher Jews don't want to eat pork?  Don't eat it.  I'll eat whatever I want.  Muslims don't do caricatures of Mohamed?  Then don't.  Europeans can do whatever they want.  Fundamentalist Christians don't want to see Jesus talking to an Episcopal priest on a television show, turn the channel.  Don't want to see people of the same sex get married, don't let them get married in your church.  Since my church allows it, show some respect for my fucking religion.  Okay?

If you all want to be fools letting others tug your chains?  Then don't do anything.  It's all going to take care of itself.  I just hope I don't get hit by a ricochet.

UPDATE:  There were two articles in this morning's paper, and a link on Andrew Sullivan's blog to a letter that provided an interesting perspective.  The first article, by James Pinkerton, examines multi-culturalism in a calm and dispassionate way.  The second article by Cinnamon Stillwell, is the morally outraged, WE Must Defend the West and All The Ships at Sea From Islamic Fundamentalists- kind of rant that is very common now on the conservative side of the dial.  And finally, From the Brussells Jounal is piece by Paul Belien that contains a letter from a Muslim in Canada that is very elucidating of the entire affair.

We do need to discuss this issue, but we need to be very sensitive to our fears and prejudices when we do.  Don't get me wrong:  I have nothing but contempt for Islam as a religion, but that's how I feel about all religions.  Right now I'm more sympathetic to Pinkerton's concerns than I am with Stillwell's rant.  Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Austria, Germany, France, and England have opened their borders to millions of people they have not allowed to integrate fully into the fabric of their countries.  The fault may lie with one side or the other, but the problem belongs to both.

Comments

[Crys]

as ever, i agree with your perception here, particularly as it concerns the last two paragraphs.

and here's an < a href="http://www.danielpipes.org/article/3360">article i thought you might like.

[Crys]

dude:

http://www.danielpipes.org/article/3360

[Lab Kat]

I put what muslims are doing now over a cartoon in the same category with christians bomb abortion clinics. Sorry, but your right to believe in something doesn't give you the right to kill those to disagree with you.

[Peter]

I'm a lapsed Christian, so what do I know - but it seems to me any religion worth a major following should be telling its believers to look inside themselves when dealing with conflicts that tear the world apart, and finding a solution there. How about that new religion, Cruisetianity - do they have anything to say about this?