More Cartoon Musings
542 words.
I continue to muse about the Danish Cartoon Incident, which is growing into a full-scale Cartoon Intifada (uprising). I don’t like link-fests, but here are some recent articles on the subject that I’ve found interesting.
Many bloggers have linked to Islamic Protestors in Paris Come Face to Face with an Unexpected Counter-Protest, an account and video of “BAF”-two journalists/cartoonists (one Danish-American)-counter-protesting amid a mob of Muslim protesters in Paris. I salute their bravado, if not their common sense.
In We were brought up to hate - and we do, Nonie Darwish describes her upbringing in Egypt, where Muslims were taught “hate, vengeance and retaliation.” It’s a very interesting, and frightening, view of the Muslim world. It’s hard to believe in hope for peaceful co-existence when Muslim children are taught to hate all Westerners.
In Let’s be honest about cartoons, Tim Rutten calls for more American journalists to be honest in explaining why they won’t re-publish the cartoons: They fear retaliation. (He then, for no apparent reason, takes the opportunity to bash The Da Vinci Code as offensive to Catholics in the same way the Danish cartoons are offensive to Muslims.)
In On the cartoons, Amy Welborn links to, among other things, an article raising an interesting point about Western Europe’s increasing prejudice against not just Islam, but religion in general. One can’t help but think a confrontation has been brewing for quite some time.
And lastly, to get back to the theme of my blog, in We don’t want to kill them all, Crowhill echoes-um, somewhat harshly-a sentiment frequently written about the Muslim world lately within the blogosphere. Which is, in a nutshell: It’s too bad for them, but Sharia (Islamic law) doesn’t belong in the modern world and it’s time to put a stop to it. I’m not sure I’d go that far, but I’m definitely against allowing Sharia to take over modern secular law.
I find myself wondering if we aren’t re-living the 1930s. Hitler’s Nazism doesn’t sound all that different from Islam’s Sharia. I have little doubt that most Islamic leaders would love to conquer as much of the world as they could get their hands on, not so much because they want to but because they believe the Qur’an compels them to do so. The only difference between the Nazi movement and Islam is that, for now, Islam has no country, unified leader, or military force to back up their crusade.
That’s a good thing, but on the other hand, perhaps an invasion is already underway. Muslims are emigrating to Europe and America all the time. Which begs the question; if they believe in Sharia, why would they leave an Islamic nation to enter a secular society? Most Muslims probably do so for perfectly legitimate reasons, like having stable water and electricity, and a life without constant gunfire. But is it so far-fetched to think that some less scrupulous Muslims infiltrate Western society, under orders, for more militant purposes? (Case in point: 9/11.)
If Islam ever does gain a unified leader and a significant military force, it’s not hard to imagine another scenario like World War II. Which is why I’ve come to favor putting as much pressure on Iran as possible, even if it means military action.
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