Again, Wanting Your Opinion

As you most likely know....

Cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad published in several European newspapers have caused outrae amon some Muslims and protests have now spread across the world.

Accordin to this viewpoints column:

One of the cartoons shows the Prophet wearin a headdress shaped like a bomb. In another he says paradise is runnin short of virins for suicide bombers. Islamic tradition bans depictions of the Prophet or Allah.

Do you think the protests are justified? Do you think the cartoons went  too far or, do you think the  reactions to the cartoons  as one too far? What is your  opinion about the "cartoon row"?

Comments

[Paige]

Being american I have a right to speak in MY country. I think the country(ies) the cartoons came from have a right to do as they see fit for what their laws are. They also should have thought about their ambassy & its people {oh well}. I also believe the Islams have a right to be pissed off about it & as long as they are following the Laws of their OWN country- Why sould we make it our business? I'll be pissed off if an other country came here & told me what I can & can not do in MY USA

[plumkrazzee]

I have a hard time with this. I am always highly offended when a certain group of people are targeted for their beliefs, culture, or ethnic background. Even if it is in jest, or of a "humorous" nature, I just disagree. Unfortunately, it will always be here. As long as we have the "sacred" freedom of speech, and intolerant jerks who abuse it, someone will always be offended. I count myself as one of those, almost on a daily basis.

[Tamara]

I'm not muslim and I am offended by the images. Society as a whole must learn to respect each others beliefs and muslims believe there should be no depictions of their prophet. Let alone how he was depicted; as a terrorist.

However, the reaction was way overboard. How can you garner respect for your religion and beliefs if you respond ignorance with violence.

[Keb]

Having not seen the cartoons myself, it is hard for me to opine the correctness of them, or whether they have gone too far. I am fairly positive that not sure protests are not the answer, nor the correct way of making the point that one is offended.

However, as with any religion, people take their belief quite personally and I would imagine many in the Western world would be similarly offended at portrayals of Jesus or even God in the same manner.

The sad thing is that this isn’t going to end anytime soon. I heard on the radio just this morning that a newspaper in Iran put out a call to the people asking for similarly disturbing cartoons depicting the Holocaust figures in an effort to see just how far free speech will go. I was able to confirm that story at Today Online. http://www.todayonline.com/articles/99582.asp

[annie]

Hmmm... reminds me of the old, "This is not a pipe."

Some people are WAY too uptight. I thank (my) God, I was born in the USA.

[kenju]

I definitely believe in freedom of speech, but most people know that the people of Islam will not take cartoons like that with a grain of salt. I think they should have known that using any likeness of Mohammed is forbidden (and yes, I know it is forbidden to them, not to us). The cartoonists should be more sensitive to their beliefs and taken another tack with their cartoons.

[sigmund, carl and alfred]

From Ibn Warreq:

"A democracy cannot survive long without freedom of expression, the freedom to argue, to dissent, even to insult and offend. It is a freedom sorely lacking in the Islamic world, and without it Islam will remain unassailed in its dogmatic, fanatical, medieval fortress; ossified, totalitarian and intolerant. Without this fundamental freedom, Islam will continue to stifle thought, human rights, individuality; originality and truth.

Unless, we show some solidarity, unashamed, noisy, public solidarity with the Danish cartoonists, then the forces that are trying to impose on the Free West a totalitarian ideology will have won; the Islamization of Europe will have begun in earnest. Do not apologize."

[Phil]

I know it's cliche & corny (especially since it was popularized by a comic book), but there's a saying I like. "With great power comes great responsibility."

We in this country (and any other nation which has freedom of the press & speech) have a great power in that we can speak our minds & express our ideals no matter how unpopular they are. But with that power comes the responsibility of not using it in a hurtfull manner.

IMO, that is exactly what the cartoonist & newspaper did when they published such a cartoon--used their rights in a hurtfull manner. They attacked & insulted an entire religion based on the actions of a few. Far as I'm concerned, their actions are no different than that of White Supremacists who use their freedom of speech to degrade & insult non-Whites.

Should the paper be banned from printing such things? No. It is an unfortunate consequence of free expression that we must put up with jerks who abuse it. Did their publishing the cartoon justify the violent response? Again, no. Being offended does not give you the right to become violent. But, neither side of the conflict is blameless. And those who have tried to defend the papers by saying "Hey, they were just excercising their freedom of speech/press" are, quite frankly, furthering the problem. Just because you have the right to do something does not mean you're in the right to do it.

[Megan]

They need to get over themselves. It is the extremists that created the image of Islam that is depicted in these cartoons. It is a reflection of how Islam is perceived in general. The Muslim majority should start looking inside themselves and see what they can do to teach us what their religion is really about.

People should be able to express their opinions without fear of violence and recrimination. These people are getting up in arms about cartoons while Muslim extremists are kidnapping and beheading innocent people in their names. Which is worse?

[blaze]

why are my views about islam or its followers are distorted? If I respect my own religious belief, I don't see, how can I get influenced by some newspaper advertisement.

I say, from now on I am going to declare jihad against everyone/anyone, who dares to draw a cartoon of ME(yes ME). I will even go to the extent of releasing audio-tapes to threaten and ensure that no-one messes around with my image.

[guppyman]

It's a cartoon. People, people's religious figures, etc... are drawn in cartoons every day. Most of the world doesn't riot and kill people because of cartoons. Looks to me like they may have touched a nerve way too close to home for some of these folks.

[tommy]

Protests in general are fine. The cartoons are fine too. Setting fire to something is overdoing it though. Part of living is dealing with those that offend you.

These particular protests are an overreaction, but I think there is an agenda behind them don't you?

[Leanne]

I had mixed feelings over this, but in just reading through the comments here I have to say that I wholeheartedly agree with Phil.

Two things stand out, specifically:

"With great power comes great responsibility."

"Just because you have the right to do something does not mean you're in the right to do it."

While I understand the cartoonist and agree that they had the right to do it, he also offended a very large religous population by mocking their prophet. Those starting and participating in destruction and riots, however, are only proving that they are just as capable of violence as the stereotype that the cartoon was created based on, and they should all be hauled off to tiny cells to chill out.

(How I wish it could all be fixed as easy as just saying how you feel about it.)

[Mamacita]

A people without a sense of humor. . . .

Well, you probably know by now what I think of THEM.

My God and His Son laugh all the time. (Probably more at me than at anything else.)

A 'religion' that does not emphasize love and peace and understanding is not a religion in my book; it's nothing but a focus group for anger management failures.

I know, I know, I'm opinionated.

[Tania]

I can understand why some people would be upset by the cartoons, but the reaction has been a major overreaction. The people who are rioting are disrespecting the Prophet they believe in more than the original cartoon ever did.

One group cannot expect freedom of religion and freedom of expression if they don't allow other groups to have those same freedoms.

I do think that it's important to remember that it is the extremists who are responsible for the violence. There have been extremists of many religions (Muslim, Christian, etc.) in many countries that have perpetrated crimes in the name of religion. This shouldn't paint an entire group with the same brush.

[Dave]

So quite a hoo ha about these cartoons that have been published in various european newspapers. For those that don't know what all the fuss is about they can be seen on loads of websites, one of which can be seen here. (http://www.humaneventsonline.com/sarticle.php?id=12146)

It's without doubt a very sensitive subject both in terms of what the Islamic community think about depictions of their religion and in terms of what western societies think about the threat to freedom of speech.

I am an advocate of free speech wherever possible and whilst I think that currently Islam is its own worst enemy, it is understandable why some Muslims are upset about the cartoons. What is absolutely not alright or understandable is the protests that have seen people dressed as suicide bombers (though I am pleased to see that the
person concerned has apologised) or threatening violence to the cartoonists and publishers.

Their can be only one answer to the growing gap of understanding between the middle east and the west and that is for both sides to make much greater efforts to see the others point of view and to do that in a civilised, peaceful manner.

[Jude]

I saw the cartoons and I thought "big deal". I am sure there are worse depictions of americans floating around in the muslim world, but I really don't care about that either. The cartoons are the opinionated work of individuals that have the right to express their own opinion. In the world of internet and super media coverage, you can't let cartoons get you worked up.

[Carmi]

Kinda hard to justify murder and pillage because of a cartoon.

If this represents the future of the world, we should all be frightened.

[Margalit]

Um, no, I don't think violence and shooting guns off in the middle of streets is EVER justifiable. I also think this is just one more stupid way to rile up people and make them even crazier about the west. I mean, who hates Denmark?

When the arabs stop maligning the Jews and stop with their constant antisemitism on the radio, on TV, in their schools, and in their newspapers then maybe, just maybe I'd have a tiny little smidgen of sympathy for them. But I don't. I hope they all kill each other and just leave Israel out of their constant misery.

[Melanie]

I am never crazy about cartoons taking jabs at people's race, religion, etc. I do believe protests are fine to show your strong disagreement with all of it but to the extent these protests are going to in my opinion is taking away from the movement against the cartoons and what they stand for. It is just wrong to go to those lengths over anything in my opinion