The Angry Fag

News and Views from a Man Who Likes Men

Muslims Need to Worry About Cleaning House More than Muhammad Cartoons

Posted on | February 7, 2006

I have been a little ambivalent about the protests that Muslims have been conducting over the cartoons that depict the prophet Muhammad. On one hand I want to support their right to voice their displeasure and defend them from the overt racism like profiling as advocated by Michelle Malkin or from individuals like Ann Coulter who advocates that the US invade Muslim countries and convert them all to Christianity. But on the other hand I want to condemn their methods and I want to just shake my head in disgust over the fact that they are making a big issue over the fact that someone pointed made a caricature of one facet of their religion in which they need to clean house.

The controversy started back in september when various cartoons were published in a Danish newspaper depicting the prophet Muhammad. Some of them were satirical or had obvious messages like one that showed Muhammad wearing a turban that was a bomb. The cartoons were done as a sort of experiment on depictions of Muhammad after an author complained no one would illustrate his book on the prophet fearing the reprisal of radical Muslims for breaking a ban on depicting Muhammad. These cartoons were republished in January by an Austrian newspaper and then later by newspapers in France, Germany, Italy and Spain.

In the interest of debate and actually depicting the item being discussed, I have included a copy of the one depicting the bomb turban. I would have included more but this was the one that was referenced the most. Even some newspapers in Muslim countries have reprinted these cartoons for the same reason. Others have reprinted them because Arab news media has published similar cartoons about Christian and Jewish beliefs.

One thing I wonder though is if it is hard for these protestors to grasp the concept of a free press that Europeans, we in the US, and other various nations enjoy. We do not have the government deciding what news can be displayed to us in order to maintain its power or to keep us "safe" from things that are unholy and such. In fact, I would love to see American media republish the cartoons simply to show what the big deal is about if nothing else but I think they are, and in my opinion wisely, choosing not to do so because of what has happened over seas. But Austria has already said that it cannot offer a governmental apology for the actions of its free press. Several papers have, for reasons of appeasement, fired editors who made the decision to reprint the cartoons which I think was complete bullshit. A newspaper is not doing its job of someone is not offended or contentious over the content as far as I am concerned. The BBC took some heat because of a perceived double standard when it aired the Jerry Springer Opera which Christians found offensive but so far has not shown the cartoons.

I also am of the belief that Muslims’ have decided to protest at odd times. Michael over at Gay Orbit posted a list from Neal Bortz of things that were major, cause by other Muslims, and yet we did not see protests the likes of which that have been occurring over the last couple of days. The list is as follows:

  • Muslims fly commercial airliners into buildings in New York City. No Muslim outrage.
  • Muslim officials block the exit where school girls are trying to escape a burning building because their faces were exposed. No Muslim outrage.
  • Muslims cut off the heads of three teenaged girls on their way to school in Indonesia. A Christian school. No Muslim outrage.
  • Muslims murder teachers trying to teach Muslim children in Iraq. No Muslim outrage.
  • Muslims murder over 80 tourists with car bombs outside cafes and hotels in Egypt. No Muslim outrage.
  • A Muslim attacks a missionary children’s school in India. Kills six. No Muslim outrage.
  • Muslims slaughter hundreds of children and teachers in Beslan, Russia. Muslims shoot children in the back. No Muslim outrage.
  • Let’s go way back. Muslims kidnap and kill athletes at the Munich Summer Olympics. No Muslim outrage.
  • Muslims fire rocket-propelled grenades into schools full of children in Israel. No Muslim outrage.
  • Muslims murder more than 50 commuters in attacks on London subways and busses. Over 700 are injured. No Muslim outrage.
  • Muslims massacre dozens of innocents at a Passover Seder. No Muslim outrage.
  • Muslims murder innocent vacationers in Bali. No Muslim outrage.
  • Muslim newspapers publish anti-Semitic cartoons. No Muslim outrage
  • Muslims are involved, on one side or the other, in almost every one of the 125+ shooting wars around the world. No Muslim outrage.
  • Muslims beat the charred bodies of Western civilians with their shoes, then hang them from a bridge. No Muslim outrage.
  • Newspapers in Denmark and Norway publish cartoons depicting Muhammad. Muslims are outraged

I sadly have to concur with this list. If Muslims expect the world to respect their outrage over an insult to their religion, they are going to need to clean up that religion. They are not alone in their job either. Christianity is just as negligent in this regard with individuals subverting the religion in order to justify their own bigotry. Doing things like calling for people to "massacre those who insult islam" just prove individuals like Michelle Malkin, Ann Coulter, and the anti-Arab Freepers are right in their assessments.

Iran, ever willing to show that the only reason anyone even cares about the place is because of oil, has one of its newspapers calling for cartoons that make fun of the Holocaust. To me this illustrates the extreme idiocy that everyday Muslims need to stamp out. Newspapers in Christian, European countries publish cartoons offensive to Islam so Iran must publish cartoons offensive to Jewish people. Talk about a synaptic misfire. But then again IRan never misses a chance to open its big mouth and spew anti-Semitic bullshit to push itself further and further into irrelevance. The country has instituted a ban on products from Denmark but I doubt Denmark really cares.

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Comments

2 Responses to “Muslims Need to Worry About Cleaning House More than Muhammad Cartoons”

  1. Jason
    February 7th, 2006 @ 11:00 am

    Amidst all the flame-warring discussion about these events, I did read a particularly insightful comment. I do not remember exactly where I saw it, but to paraphrase:

    The author wondered if most of the uproar wasn’t a misunderstanding on the freedom of press. Many of the rioters are from countries that have state censorship. Everything they see printed is controlled by the government. There are some outlets that may profess to be “free,” but they usually are censored as well.

    It’s not a big leap to assume that the “free” press in other countries isn’t similarly controlled. If so, then such cartoons cannot be printed without the state’s approval.

    Of course, I also wonder about how much is being stirred up by opportunistic elements. I saw three additional cartoons that the imams are purportedly showing with the set of 12 (can’t find links to ‘em anymore, sorry!). The extra 3 looked to me like bad photocopies of staged photographs rather than actual cartoons.

  2. The Angry Fag
    February 7th, 2006 @ 11:46 am

    Yeah, I could only find two but the second one was missing its punchline about running out of virgins so the image in and of itself would probably not have made sense.

    A definitely agree on this being a free press versus controlled on issue as well.

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