Riots have erupted across the globe in reaction to a Danish newspaper’s publication of cartoons depicting the Muslim prophet Muhammad.
The cartoons were published months ago, yet the controversy has only taken hold recently. The newspaper, Jyllands-Posen, printed the cartoons after asking several prominent contributors to depict Muhammad in the form that the world perceives him today. They meant to prompt a respectful and open public discussion.
Yes, many found the cartoons offensive. But fundamentalist reactions that pervert the name of Islam are what should offend us-all of us.
Several American newspapers have refused to reprint the cartoons in an effort to prevent offending additional individuals.
Yet the media blackout has ensured that few people actually understand what has been printed, and most imagine the images much worse than they really are. Some Muslim agencies in the Middle East have gone so far as to distribute doctored versions of the cartoons, intending to provoke a negative reaction.
Now, in the name of “free speech,” Muslim publications are calling for the submission of cartoons that will offend Westerners to the same degree as the Muhammad cartoons. And the race to offend, stereotype and misunderstand rages on.
If the observers and critics are right, “the clash of civilizations” has arrived-but the difference is that the Western world isn’t burning down embassies and taking citizens hostage.
Muslim culture, as well as Muslim individuals, deserve the same respect any other religion or demographic warrant-yet those who have chosen to threaten, kill and riot over these cartoons are wrong and need to be denounced as such.
Surely a peaceful reconciliation of the differences and misconceptions between the West and Middle Eastern countries is possible-a reconciliation that is mutually tolerant, open minded and knowledgeable of the norms and values in each society.
But hostility is not part of the answer.
Responding with violence because your holy leader was portrayed as violent is not only hypocritical but also more blasphemous to your cause than some trivial cartoons.
An open and unrestricted freedom of the press is one of the most critical principles of our society. While journalists will necessarily be held responsible for the material they choose to write and draw, they must not be held captive by a particular segment of the public.
No demographic has the right to impose their beliefs on the rest of the populace. Members of the press must not live in fear for speaking their mind, sparking debate and, yes, even offending people.
Satire, and even offensiveness, is one of the means by which many people overcome differences and foster a wider understanding. Perhaps we will truly be equal at the moment when we can all sit around a table and laugh at ourselves.
Yet in order for this idea to hold true, no belief may be held in higher regard than another. Muslim culture, while deserving respect, is not more deserving than Jewish, Christian, Buddhist, Zoroastrian and atheist ideologies-and if one group is open to joking, they all are.
If Muslims wish for their faith to garner tolerance and recognition, they must be willing to do the same for their neighbors. Until that day, their message will lack the credibility and insight necessary to participate in the global forum, and few will understand even the most reasonable objections to something like a cartoon.