Voices of Reason
Although the newspapers seem more than a little happy to publish news of the ongoing maelstrom of anger from the Muslim world, painting a truly bleak picture of what the western world views as an unreasonable backlash to a perceived slight, there are voices of reason from among the Muslim intellectual elite who are making an attempt to still the violent reaction.There is no denying that this entire uproar was caused by a rash, somewhat foolishly naive decision to uphold freedom of expression. Let's be frank: it was more than that, it was a direct challenge. As much as Muslim populations throughout the world feel beleaguered by the west, by democratic, secular countries the last number of years, the west feels oppressed itself by the dangling, jangling sensitivities of their own resident Muslim populations and the self-imposed political correctness of host countries trying to avoid confrontation.
Civil dialogue sounds like a good idea at any time, but what's that old saying about being able to discuss frankly any subjects at all - with the exception of religion. In this context, almost anything can be negotiable, can be argued, can be intellectualized, from social mores, to interpersonal relationships, to raw sex, to raising children the "right" way and the "wrong" way, to political insensitivities, and workplace miseries. But not religion. So, if religion cannot be discussed by parties of varying allegiances, in an analytical, intellectual manner, can it possibly help relations by satirizing some concept held sacred by others? Ho, ho.
Yes, we're appalled by the implacable hatred demonstrated by the aggrieved, by the insistence that apologies be issued for what is, in essence, a silly prank. Yet, in upholding the basic tenets of a free, secular society, what is there to apologize for, other than bad manners? And, let's face it, if, in response to some stupid stunt you might pull, the reaction is a promise to send you into the next world, and not necessarily the one on top, would you feel constrained to beg forgiveness? Not likely.
In any event, how do you make amends without abusing your own intelligence? For the fact is, the silly prank came about as a result of the most crass, incredible hypocrisy practised daily by a large group of people who believe that they only are custodians of a precious way of life, while disdaining another way of life they have no interest in, but have no hesitation in feeling abhorrence for, so it becomes fair game for cruel caricature at the hands of the very people protesting now.
For the sake of sanity, theirs and ours, it is a saving grace that some Muslims can see beyond their most immediate hurt, and that they realize that matters cannot continue to spiral downward. These people also realize that there has been gross manipulation practised here, quite aside from the hypocrisy which brought this crisis to a head. So we read that the Organization of the Islamic Conference regrets the deplorable attacks on the Danish and Norwegian embassies in Damascus as detrimental to the image of Islam.
A moderate Muslim leader in Denmark, Naser Khader, said the Syrian government and rival Palestinian factions factored more into the situation than religious pique. Mr. Khader reported to a Spanish newspaper : "This is not only about the cartoons, there are other agendas. In Palestine, those who lost the elections were the first to protest, even though Hamas is more religious; they needed to show they were good Muslims. And President Bashar Assad of Syria has never been religious. Now he is saying the cartoons are a problem.
Well, edifying and most interesting, but as I understand from what I've read elsewhere, Danish Muslim leaders led a delegation of aggrievement to Arab countries months ago with a voluminous set of documents, including the 12 cartoons in question, along with three others having no history of publication, which were far more demeaning and insulting than the published cartoons. What was their agenda?
Irshad Manji, that lovable Muslim criticizer pointed out in a newspaper column that Muslims themselves are engaging in idolatry when they venerate the Prophet to that degree, for the whole point of Monotheism is the worship of one God, not the God-plus-Prophet, be he Moses or Muhammad. Anver Emon, a professor of Islamic law at U. of T. Faculty of Law points out that Muslins throughout the world protest their corrupt autocratic governments where free speech is disallowed, opposition newspapers are closed down, and here they're issuing death threats to artists and newspaper editors.
A spokesperson in Lebanon, a Mr. Siniora, informed through Lebanon's Future Television, that "those who are committing these acts have nothing to do with Islam or with Lebanon", that "This is absolutely not the way we express our opinions". Yes, but this is the way that masses of people are manipulated, to be put to the service of those with a particular agenda, be it to defer attention from their own incapacity to lead, or to demonstrate to the west that the anger of the Muslim community can be unleashed to subdue western values.
But, guess what? After everything is said and done, I truly believe that the vehemence of the protesters, the murderous imprecations launched by jihadist-appreciative simple minds, do not reflect the greater aggregate of Muslim populations. There are more than a billion Muslims in the world, and while they are perhaps aggrieved at the spectacle of a deliberate slight to that which they hold in the greatest reverence, it is a minuscule proportion of Muslims who have launched this vitriolic assault. They are not at all representative of the majority.
posted by Pieface @ Tuesday, February 07, 2006
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