Muhammed Cartoons and Response to Them Both Out of Line

The world's biggest problem is not George W. Bush or Al-Qaeda. It's not global warming or the cost of crude oil. It is this; we as human beings simply refuse to look at an issue from the opposing point of view. The republication of twelve editorial cartoons depicting the Muslim prophet Muhammed and the violence that has followed is just the most recent example of egocentricity, ethnocentricity and simple disrespect resulting in the destruction of property and danger to innocent human life.

The first mistake was the initial publication of the cartoons in September, 2005. The second was the reprinting sometime in the last few weeks by a number of other European newspapers, supposedly in an exercise of free speech. I, as a purveyor of information, abhor censorship of any kind, but that's not to say that the use of good judgement when dealing with cultures other than your own is not a virtue in this business. The simple fact is that Islam does not permit the creation of images of God or the prophets, so the simple act of depicting Muhammed in any form was offensive to the Muslim world to begin with. Then, to add insult to injury, the Dutch cartoonists created cartoons that were not only not funny but meant to declare Islam a violent religion, painting every muslim as a terrorist simply because of the religion they follow.

If you do not already see the problem, if you think there is nothing wrong in thinking of all muslims as bomb-toting religious zealots, allow me to explain to you what putting yourself in another person's shoes means in this case. Though it's not still headline news, the sex abuse scandals in the Catholic church, the single largest denomination and the most visible worldwide face of Christianity, continue to mar the good works all Christians do and have done. Now imagine the outrage that would be sparked if a cartoon depicting Jesus Christ molesting an altar boy were to appear in a Muslim newspaper. Would that make you stop and think before printing these cartoons? It should.

Does that excuse the actions of Muslims around the world who have attacked Danish embassies and burned the Danish flag? Of course not. Do they have the right to protest their printing and petition the publisher for an apology? Absolutely. What they do not have the right to do is to hold the entire citizenry of Denmark responsible for the actions of a single paper. Nor is it right for anyone in the Muslim community to call for the death of anyone because of an act of expression.

There is a fundamental lesson being placed on display for us in these acts of stupidity and violence, and it is this; Islam is not an inherently violent religion, nor does Christinaity hold the rights to true religion. Both are ways of seeking God and both have given birth to deeds both evil and just. The difficulty lies in seeing each from the others point of view.