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Sunday, February 12, 2006 ' 1:16 PM Y

& your soul is all i ever wanted

chewing on pasta and blogging...

haha. having lunch (instant pasta, my LAST packet!!) and thought I'd take my time to post my tuppence worth of opinions on :

THE DANISH MUSLIM CARTOONS ISSUE

yes, i find it quite big, and worthy of an analysis. After all I need to promote my evaluation skills for GP no?

What happened (for the sake of those who don't know)
Muslims around the world are protesting against a set of cartoons published by a Danish Newspaper last September. The cartoons are deemed controversial as they portray the Prophet Muhammad (Who is not suppsed to be portrayed in any image by muslims) in, quote, BBC, "a variety of humorous or satirical situations. "

So far, 12 people have been killed in protest related events, Danish products are being boycotted by Muslims (especially in the Middle East), diplomats from various countries are being drawn out, political and religious leaders world wide are voicing various opinions and urging the Muslims to calm down. Well some of them anyway, not all.

to see all the 12 cartoons, visit http://michellemalkin.com/archives/004413.htm
to know what they mean, visit http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4693292.stm

I added the 2nd link because I didn't understand more than half the cartoons.

Among the issues being debated now are freedom of speech, the cartoons being an insult to the Muslim belief, discrimination issues, and even relating the escalating conditions to Iran and her nuclear pursuits.

First of all I'd like to comment on the protests. Burning cars, carrying all sorts of placards, etc etc. I was shocked and dissappointed when I found out there was even a protest in Malaysia (although it was peaceful..) Violent protests are the ones we should be worring about now. It's understandable that people can get carried away when in large groups and when they feel very strongly about something, but is it neccessary to burn cars and heaven knows what else to make a statement? Sure, you get the attention of the media, but what about your safety and that of those around you? Note, 12 people have DIED so far as police attempted to control the crowds. Perhaps they might say they're dying for god or something, but would you do more good to god dead or alive? This is not a war. There are other means of resolving it without risking human lives, and imagine how families would feel, their loved one being killed as a result of CARTOONS?

Here some may say that these cartoons are an insult to the Prophet and Islam, but I would like to point out that you cannot expect to live in a world where no one will criticise what you believe in. Granted, the criticisms in this case are extreme, but what about the opinions of Muslims to other races and beliefs? Can they say that they do not criticse or condemn others? I'm glad to know I DO know Muslims who can, but at the same time, there are Muslims out there who openly voice their opinions that certain people should be "wiped off " the map, and cause controversy, but I didn't see any protests or riots then. Leaders around the world are now appealing to Muslims to calm down. Obviously, a peaceful situation is safer for all negotiations and such to be conducted in, and the various protests would likely inflame more people to make a big fuss and hullabaloo.

In my opinion, the cartoons are a portrayal not of the Prophet, who I believe is relatively exemplary in character, but instead, a portrayal of some of the Muslim people today. I'm sure that a majority of Muslims there are more conservative in their thoughts and do want to work for peace for all. Unfortunately, quite a substanstial minority are also radical in their beliefs and have no second thoughts of using violence in any situations they deem neccessary. (Given even rather minor events call for violence from these people, I think this gives us only more to worry about) In my opinion, the 12 cartoons reflect criticisms of these mindsets, of terrorists and those who seek to inflict pain and fear in others. So reflect on how you have portrayed yourself when criticised, what have you done to deserve it? How you act in the past, present and future shape people's opinions and judgements towards you, it is rare to have criticism of something without observation. Of course, there is criticism with prejudice, but I don't see any cartoons making fun of other aspects of Islam such as the haj, prayers and Ramadan, so I wouldn't call the cartoons prejudiced in that sense. I do stand that using the Prophet in these cartoons is not appropriate, even though he may be the leader of those of the Islamic faith, as I have said earlier, a majority of Muslims are peace loving and not radically inclined. So limit the criticism to the radicals, as if you insult the leader of a group of people, in essence, you insult the entire group. That is why, in my opinion, there are SO many protests, even in countries that are more conservative such as Malaysia.

Besides this, I wonder why the big fuss on boycotting Danish goods and blah blah blah. Point, the cartoons were published in a NEWSPAPER, not by the Danish Government, and in a country that practices the right to freedom of press, what ability does the government have to censor the news? Responsibility of this issue stands not with the Danish government, and thus it is a gross over-reaction in my opinion, to target the entire Denmark in retailation. Not to mention that the Danish government did extend apologies and such, seemingly to no avail. Protests continued. However, given my limited knowledge on this issue of freedom of press and speech, I shall not press further, as my personal belief is that generally comments of criticism should be given in such a way to minimise hurting the feelings of others.

I'd also like to highlight the timeline of this issue. The cartoons were published in SEPTEMBER last year, it is now FEBRUARY. Funny. I'd have expected the protests to be earlier. Oh, and I've just read the following from the BBC, link is after the excerpt:

This picture, a fuzzy grey photocopy, can now be traced back (suspicion having been confirmed by an admission) to a delegation of Danish Muslim leaders who went to the Middle East in November to publicise the cartoons. The visit was organised by Abu Laban, a leading Muslim figure in Denmark.
According to the Danish paper Ekstra Bladet, the delegation took along a pamphlet showing the 12 drawings. But the delegation also showed a number of other pictures, including the "pig" one. The delegation claimed they had been sent to Danish Muslims and were the sort of insults that they had to endure. These also got into circulation.
(Update: A reader has e-mailed to say that the original of the "pig" picture was from a "pig-squealing" competition held in France every summer. Some character dressed up like a pig. See the link to the neandernews.com site on the right for the details.
Ekstra Bladet has also published a letter taken by the delegation on its mission. This gives the delegation's account of how the cartoons originated and what the reaction to them was. But it also mentions other pictures, which it said were "much more offending." These presumably included the "pig" picture, whose origin is now known.
I have also been sent links to an Egyptian newspaper which published the 12 cartoons last October. The paper said that these were "racist" and would insult Muslims everywhere. See link at right)
Western diplomats appear to have missed this entirely and seem to have made no attempt to counter some of the arguments in the pamphlet or to distinguish between the various portrayals.
The extra pictures might not have made much difference (though some of my readers argue that they must have) but it shows how rapidly propaganda can add to fuel to the fire.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4686536.stm

Conclusion? I have to end now as I have to go on with life. I hope the various parties will at least realise that.

Oh yes, and I'd also like to highlight an earlier issue to contrast with the current one. Remember when the Taliban government destroyed the statues of the Buddha in Afghanistan? The ones that had been there for centuries? Did you see any violent protests then? No, the Buddhist community did not make a big fuss about it. Not that we're chicken, but we do realise that there is not point in getting angry and bitter over people destroying what are in essence, images. After all, everything in our point of view is impermenant, and thus we should not cling onto things which will inevitably result in hurting no one but ourselves. Although it isn't nice to have your religious symbol blown up by some government of another faith, there is also no point in just making everything worse by making a big fuss and a big noise, and probably amass a few enemies at the same time. Sometimes, the way you react also shapes how others will see you.

(I'm Buddhist by the way, haha, so if you find this prejudiced, I apologise ^^ And I'm not sure how other people view Buddhists. Some idol worshippers perhaps? lol)

Just my lil brain's worth of several days of thought. Feel free to comment, considering that I can't even find my comments link on my template.
wahaha

lil miss CK: "evaluation" and expressing feelings done, get your ass back to work!!
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