Opinion
Cartoon uproar bad for Islam, West
Looking for a print version?
Simply use your browser’s ‘Print’ command and a printer-friendly document will be generated automatically.
Also by Mike Skelly:
- America gripped by entertainment news (November 22, 2005)
- ASM must raise campus awareness (April 19, 2006)
- Death penalty demands certainty (December 2, 2005)
- Diversity vital on UW campus (May 3, 2006)
- Rhetoric polarizes holiday season (December 6, 2005)
Sharing tools:
E-mail this article:
The world's biggest controversy of the moment is misguided.
The firestorm of protests surrounding the printing of 12 cartoons depicting Muhammad has become a maelstrom of anger and misunderstanding that is quickly losing control and focus.
As many know by now, a series of caricatures printed by the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, and subsequent reprints in other European periodicals, have sent much of the Muslim world into an increasingly blind rage over the perceived apathy towards Muslim sentiment in the West.
As such, the controversy has largely been regarded as a struggle between Western democratic tenets such as freedom of speech and sensitivity regarding important religious taboos. Yet, to frame the controversy as merely an issue between the press and religion ignores the direction that many of the recent protests have been trending and the potential impact on future international relations.
While the reactions in the Muslim world have been front-page news for several days, what has been slightly overlooked is an explanation for the disparity between the current eruptions and the original dates of publication.
The cartoons were originally published in September, yet the brunt of the reaction, and its most aggressive occurrences, only began in late January and are still intensifying. Many credit this to a movement by radical Danish clerics to stir anger and garner attention to their cause. Due to a lack of resources, this caused a lag between the worldwide reaction and the original publication dates.
Yet, the immediate intensification of protests cannot be blamed wholly on radical clerics. What is most disconcerting about this issue is the role that many state actors have played in furthering this controversy and the potential ramifications of these acts on future diplomatic relations.
While all of the heads of Muslim states have denounced the cartoons as offensive and intolerant, there are still several states that have not tried to stymie the occurrences of violent protests. Recently, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice criticized the reactions of Iran and Syria towards protests in their countries.
"Iran and Syria have gone out of their way to inflame sentiments and to use this to their own purposes," said Ms. Rice at a Feb. 8 press conference.
While this tactic has undoubtedly been used previously, in this especially tenuous environment between the United States and Iran, the increased political capital that the Iranian government can lever has serious consequences. Iran's position on its nuclear program can now become even more intransigent due to increased nationalistic and Islamic pride that is being promulgated by the Iranian government.
The anger felt by Muslims has left them susceptible to manipulation by those bent on turning their solidarity into an important political gain for radical or state-centered movements. With signs boasting such slogans as "Death to America, Death to Israel," protests that are ostensibly for the purpose of expressing grievances about the publication of offensive cartoons are taking a surprising detour towards the typical anti-Western tirades of radical Islamists.
The effect of such misguided actions is a loss for both Islam and the West. By cloaking their well-deserved sense of anger in needless and nonsensical anti-Western sentiment, many Muslims are eliminating the prospects of a truly effective dialogue on the issue. This furthers the divide between understanding the outrage of Muslims and reconciling it with the freedoms Western governments and publications are so strenuously defending.
Regardless of the efforts of the governing bodies of extremist Muslim states, some time this century Islam will be forced to meet the modern world, and state-enforced ignorance will only exacerbate the current disparities to an even more incomprehensible degree. Thus, it is necessary for state actors to refrain from needlessly inflaming negative sentiments and to help focus attention on realistic opportunities for compromise. This is imperative, because if violent protests spread to new areas, it will be a disservice for both the West and Islam.
Mike Skelly (meskelly@wisc.edu) is a senior majoring in finance and political science.
20 Comments | Leave a comment
Leave a comment
Herald Blogs
The Beat Goes On
Brother Ali makes an ‘Exclusive’ stop
Muckrakers
Report: Barrett to make decision by the end of the week
Extra Points
Top Classified Ads (view all)
HOUSES FOR Fall 2010. All houses are on W Dayton or N Bassett. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8 bedrooms. All have parking. madisoncampusrentals.com
"The anger felt by Muslims has left them susceptible to manipulation..."
That's 1400 year old news.
I would like to send you to Pakistan right now and see you engage in "effective dialogue."
Good article, nice job using an argument that hasn't been used much as well.
So glad you printed the cartoon pictures. To go against the main stream liberal press (which has no problem offending Americans and bashing on our President)is a real uplift.
I moved away from Madison about a year ago(after 20 + years) because of liberal nonsense. I have found that many regular people outside Dane County think of Madison as out of touch and a sieve for our tax dollars.
If only the likes of Doyle and crew would get the point and get out of office.
Mark
Nice piece, Mike.
For one, the lag can not be simply attributed to clerics, and to not mention the fact that the negotiations and pleas of muslims in denmark proceeded for 5 months and were completely disregarded (then again, what do you expect from a country that has refused to allow muslims to build a mosque in copenhagen for 20 years) leads to some poor framing of the situation here. Not that the Iranian government hasn't reacted irresponsibly. I just get the sense from this article(and correct me if i am wrong) that the opinion is a general condemnation of protest over this coupled with the condemnation of state manipulation.
But let's talk about state manipulation. Afghanistan for example. Who was it that died in these protests in Afghanistan? Protestors demonstrating. Who shot them? NATO and puppet law enforcement. Whether or not they were justified, the extreme cases of violence haven't been state-sponsored. And what about the biggest protests yet? the 5,000 people protesting in pakistan on tuesday, in its largest protest so far, was peaceful from start to finish. and their chants were directed specifically towards the danish cartoonist and his paper. not the West.
"some time this century Islam will be forced to meet the modern world"
first of all, do the rodney king riots or wto protests ring a bell? we havent come close to seeing destruction on that scale in this incident. to turn this into a western modernity vs. islamic lack of modernity is disingenious and blindly ethnocentric to the core.
Ok, the fury over the cartoons increased because more and more countries have reprinted them to stir up controversy.
Also, Mike, you know what's even more disconcerting than political leaders taking a stance against the cartoon? The editorial staff of the BH printing these articles and cartoons just to create even more hatred on minorities and religion itself.
"...some time this century Islam will be forced to meet the modern world..."
Islam is part of the modern world if you haven't noticed. 1.3 billion of the people on earth are Muslims. Many of them are around you- working, going to class, etc. And these Muslims aren't just the "non-radical" ones or non-practicing ones. Faithful, peaceful Muslims are all around you, so quit generalizing them with the few that get in the media all the time. Read a Quran. Study the life of Muhammad. Then, go ahead and pass judgement on the "Muslim world."
"...blindly ethnocentric to the core." ?
No, that would be expecting me to submit to your religion. You may submit to your religion in any way which does not infringe upon my right of free speech. Just like your right to move your fist ends well short of my nose.
"Study the life of Muhammad."
Does that mean I can be doing little girls under 10 when I'm in my 50s? I understand that I'll have to submit to Islam and move out the USA but I was just wondering.
"Just like your right to move your fist ends well short of my nose." kind of like where the rights of free speech end. but honestly, this isn't a religious issue. it isnt that muhammed was drawn, it was that he was drawn in a way which suggests that the muslim religion is founded on the principle of terrorism. this has nothing to do with 'submission'
It was not drawn to show that Islam was founded on terrorism, but rather to show that Islam has a problem within factions of its' religion that preach terrorism. And you can't disagree with that. What's wrong with pointing out the bad in a group? We point out the bad in other groups, it forces us to strive for better, because better is possible. If you can't take someone else's opinion in without feeling the need to retaliate in any way, you probably aren't open to the sharing of ideas to begin with.
"the muslim religion is founded on the principle of terrorism"
It was founded on the principle of conquest. There is the House of Islam and the House of War, there' no third way.
Submit or Die, these are your only choices in the end.
"Islam is part of the modern world if you haven't noticed. 1.3 billion of the people on earth are Muslims. Many of them are around you- working, going to class, etc. And these Muslims aren't just the "non-radical" ones or non-practicing ones. Faithful, peaceful Muslims are all around you, so quit generalizing them with the few that get in the media all the time. Read a Quran. Study the life of Muhammad. Then, go ahead and pass judgement on the "Muslim world.""
Oh, yeah, the Muslim Middle East is completely part of the modern world. That's why women have so many rights there. And why you can speak out against the government without being killed.
Most people forget that muslims worship the same god that christians and jews do. Muslims even recognize jesus as a prophet as well. The Qaran does not teach violence, and it shames the depiction of the prophet Muhammed in any human form, other than with a veil over his face, not to mention in an extremely offensive and racist way. Things have become misguided, however, it seems just as so that everyone else is taking this issue too lightly. Freedom of speech has its limits.
Lets print a cartoon in the badger herald also of jesus having sexual relations with an altar boy, or a rabbi in an accountant's office. Lets use racial slurs in our cartoons as well. All three are very similar abrahamic and monotheistic religions, why can't uneducated, ignorant cartoonists and everyone defending them get over the freedom of speech card and realize that these were immature attacks on islam, and if you found them funny, then you may want to consider checking in to Mendota mental health clinic.
If Muslims are too Stupid to realize the hypocracy involved in showing their religious icon with a bomb in his turban by blowing up buildings, setting fires, killing and rampaging. Then they are indeed about as ass backward as the world depicts them to be. I find the cartoon only slightly humourous at best. If the author of the cartoon wanted to depict the true issue he would have drawn Mohammed with a bandoleer of dynamite or plastic explosive strapped to his chest not a bomb for a turban
Nothing is quite as surreal as the Islamic world's fury at the liberal and innocuous Danes. How could anyone wish to burn their embassies and kill their citizens, when they have always offered all the politically correct, multicultural platitudes and welcomed in any and all from the Middle East?
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/Commentary/com-2_14_06_VDH.html
Muslims are doing nothing but shooting themselves in the foot. The Muslims that claim they are supposedly not associated with any "radical" Muslim sects or terrorists state that they are peaceful and that Muslim in general is a peaceful religion. However, everytime they are offended by something, they respond by rioting, burning down buildings, and just flat out showing a hatred for Western Culture. I'm Catholic and my religion has basically been a continuos punch line over the last 5 years due to the scandals with the Priests molesting children. Personally, I don't like the fact that people are making fun of the situation, but do you see me or any other Catholics rioting? A whole other topic that is a interesting segway is to discuss how corrupt groups like the ACLU will defend Muslims but won't defend anything relating to Christianity. The bottom line is that Islam is not a peaceful religion, it is a misguided cult, plain and simple.
The cartoons don't just picture a Muslim with a bomb for turban... the depict the Prophet. The connotation there is that the religion is founded upon terrorism. Add that to the political climate of Denmark and it makes sense. There isn't a problem with pointing out the problems of terrorism, CAIR does it regularly but it rarely gets any media attention. And the Herald didn't print the cartoon to make a comment on anything but the fact that they could print it if they felt like it.
Congratulations to your Newspaper and the Editor for having integrity and courage to publish the cartoons. Great honor and excellent publicity.
There is no excuse for violence! Where these so-called "pieceful" religious people were after 9/11, or when terrorists cut throats to innocent victims? Who protested when same people busted there own "holy" mosques? How can one respect "great cultures" that turn into mob at the first opportunity, justified or not?
There is an old saying: "I'll poke me an eye out, - let the people talk that my mother-in-law has an ugly son-in-law"! Sounds like whole bunch of folks are doing just that.
On a serious note, I sure hope that these unfortunate events rejuvenate sense of identity for all truly civilized people. Once, again, thank you, The Badger Herald! Stand strong and bring up a new generation of strong Americans. I will make a point of reading you regularly.
Mike
We are in a civilized society. Respect and understanding the other culture and sentiments are one of our basic principles. If so call responsible persons start abusing others without knowing them properly makes our society a dangerous place to live. Why our media and responsible persons are inflaming our society by doing irresponsible things. I respect the western media because at least they have sense to understand our society scientifically. But doing such type of blunder in the name of freedom of speech is only going to make our society a vulnerable place to live. That brings hatred and division in our society. Media should play positive role to minimize our difference within our society. I have no idea that what is the main motive behind these cartoons, especially the person who fought and sacrificed his whole life for the cause of human kind and spread love within the society, where people were always fighting to each others. One of the program, I was seeing on the TV in which anchor was saying Muslims are always causing disturbance without seeing the books and cartoon against them. I am asking the same question to the main stream media that why are they writing or printing about the great personality like Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) without knowing him properly. If you are really a great journalist then it is you responsibility to know about Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), the great personality of all the time, before going to write about him. Everybody knows that how much Muslims sentiments are attached with Prophet Mohammad (PBUH). I am going to ask you one question before stopping here that what will you do if somebody hurt your beloved one?