Blogosphere to Muslim world: “Eat My Shorts”

Writing a paper?  Huge collection of links on this issue below the fold…

The Danish newspaper ‘Muhammed cartoon’ flack is what I’d call a ‘clarifying event’ for those who think the world’s Muslims are just ‘misunderstood’.  It’s hard to see the burning embassies,  the protests, and to hear the deafening silence of the Muslim world that apparently thinks that’s just fine, and still think that the Muslim religion is all that good for humanity.

Some of the controversy seems to be that a couple of the cartoons were offensive, but mostly it’s just that images of Muhammed were made at all.  Well OK, that’s not Halal for Muslims, so I guess Muslims had better not do it.  But hey, it’s their hang-up, not ours. 

In particular some have objected to the association of Muslims with violence.  That association is made by Muslim terrorists and rioters, and by moderate Muslims who do nothing to stop them.  I have a saying; “If you don’t want to be treated as a stereotype, don’t act like one.”  Muslim society appears to be about where Christianity was when it was burning witches.  Some may long for those days but if Christianity hadn’t moved on from there, the rest of the world would have long since left it behind.  Is that what Muslims want for their religion?

Offended Muslims, Catholics, Baptists, etc. need to realize: free speech is not a little appendage to be tacked onto society when it is convenient and comfortable.  Free speech makes for a vibrant nation and world; it is the enemy of tyranny, of medievalism, of crime and corruption.  While every offended idealism tries to carve out a little exception for itself, immune from the criticism that other idealisms must endure, in the end such exceptions are both self-serving and self-defeating.  Your religion/interest-group/victim-group or whatever will only be weakened by such protection, because you’ll be less adapted to reality.

Continued...

Posted by George on 02/06/06 at 04:35 PM
Religion • (8) Comments • Link
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