por AMIR ASIFUDDIN

A Muslim Perspective on the Denmark cartoons

Freedom of press and speech is an important aspect to any democracy, be it in America or a European nation. But it seems that what some people have failed to realize is that with these freedoms also comes grave responsibility.

What would happen if People Magazine named Denzel Washington The N-word of the Year? Or Fox decided to exhibit a picture of a Jew with devil horns on his head crucifying Jesus? How about a picture of a big Swastika on of the cover of Time magazine with a heart around it, or a cartoon of a gay man having sex with the devil? Would any of these images cause a stir in the world? If people complained about these images, would other nations print and display them for the "sake" of freedom of press and speech? We all have the freedom of speech, but our democracy teaches us that our freedom stops where another one begins.

This is what is happening to Muslims at the moment. A Danish magazine asked 40 artists to submit drawings of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)[1]. The 12 overly offensive cartoons published a few months ago did not initially receive much publicity. They were then deliberately reprinted in Norway "coincidently" on Eid: a Muslim celebration of the Prophet Abraham's test of sacrifice. It was only after this second attempt when the Muslim world reacted. Unlike other religions, Islam prohibits any and all depictions of prophets. It is sheer disrespect to Muslims to not only print these images, but to have other newspapers from Europe reprint them for the sake of press. This action alone seems an attempt to disrespect my people rather than to salvage any democracy.

Secondly, the correlation between democracy and printing an offensive image is asinine compared to the other issues we face today. Where are the documents in the newspaper that prove our administration knew about the events of September 11th before they occurred? It is events like this that are hidden from us that essentially oppose the true meaning of freedom of the press.

The irony lies in the negative response to Muslims by Denmark and other countries across the world. Muslims are justly using their freedom of expression and speech to exhibit their resentment toward the printing of these cartoons. It seems as though newspapers are fighting only for their own freedoms.

I of course am not approving the over-zealousness of the Muslims in the third world. Our Prophet (pbuh) would not condone the behavior as well: "You do not do evil to those who do evil to you, but you deal with them with forgiveness and kindness." But one can understand how in the midst of the increasing tension between the two societies, an event like this would cause such chaos. New facts are surfacing daily and tensions will continue to rise.

Unknown to most of the public, a Danish newspaper, Politiken, printed an article on Feb. 4 about the issue. In it, the newspaper proclaims that the Denmark newspaper that printed the cartoons previously had received a caricature of Jesus being resurrected. Claiming that this image would result in an outcry, they deemed it offensive and the cartoon was never published. It is hard to not see the double standards that are being placed upon us in society today.

At this moment, there are several of you who feel that this is a problem that should only be dealt with by Muslims. I beg to differ. This is your problem as well as ours. This injustice, if overlooked, will only open the doors for the next man to be persecuted against. Please do your part and voice your disapproval by writing an e-mail to the newspapers that have reprinted these offensive images.

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Este texto foi publicado em: The California Aggie Online, 2/16/06

[1] Editor's note: The letters pbuh are an abbreviation for Peace Be Upon Him, an expression used when the name of a prophet is mentioned. It is the meaning of the Arabic expression "Alaihis Salam." This expression is widely used by English-speaking Muslims; however, some argue that it does not give the full meaning of "Salla Allahu 'Alaihi Wa Sallam."