If One Thinks That I Am Being Harsh On Muslims, You Are Right, They Deserve It....

The South Park depiction of Muhammad. There has been a long history of the use of Muhammad images. Some of them can be found here in Islamic texts and here with his face hidden.

But I feel very strongly that Muslims are not only overreacting to the recently contrived Muhammad cartoon controversy but are showing their true colors of over-the-top intolerance, ignorance and heavy handed violence. The violence in particular is troubling since it shows a lack of intellectual understanding of even their own religion.

Such cartoons as the following one, one of the 12 cartoons printed in Denmark, cannot be construed or interpreted to be in bad taste, vulgar or even disrespectful...



So what is the problem? Maybe it is this cartoon that is upsetting Muslims...



But I think that this one is fairly mild as far as cartoons go. The message in the cartoon is that Islam is being used by terrorists and this cannot be denied. Terrorists wrap themselves up in the Muslim religion to justify incredibly heinous acts of violence and death. By Muslims protesting this kind of picture, they are attempting to distance themselves from the reality of Islamic terrorism without dealing with it in a adult manner. These cartoons reflect how the artists and many in the modern world see Islam. This should actually be a wake-up call to Muslims everywhere that their culture is sliding into a violent and anarchic movement that promises to end in further deadly conflict.

Even somewhat moderate Islamic voices cannot come to grips with the ties between the deathcult of political Islam and the defensible religion of Islam. They are instead framing the issue as a clash between freedom of speech and derogatory depictions of a religious figure.

The cartoon controversy is spiraling out of control around the world as a fight between freedom of speech vs. derogatory depictions of a prophet. Some Muslims unfortunately have resorted to violence and destruction of property. This is un-Islamic and must be condemned.

While we can argue about the merits of freedom of speech vs. responsible journalism, and peaceful vs. violent protests, lost in this debate is the persona of the individual who has been insulted and depicted in a most vulgar way.

The problem with the above quote is that Muhammad really has not been depicted in a vulgar way. Come on that argument is just silliness. Maybe in a narrowly defined Muslim world it is vulgar to depict Muhammad in any other way than a flattering light. But the real problem is that fellow Muslims are staining Muhammad using violence death and destruction and are themselves defiling Islam and therefore Muhammad. So we therefore, have the right and obligation to make this connection and have defined it as such. It is the Muslim and Islam that then has to right the wrongs perpetrated within their own society.

People of the Muslim faith should not be allowed to hide behind the "love" of Muhammad to avoid facing their responsibilities as people inhabiting the same earth that we do. And when their ideals are questioned, these people react in a juvenile and inhuman manner. Why?

When their ultimate goal becomes an object of vilification and ridicule, some feel that their very existence is being called into question, and to them nothing in life becomes more important than protecting this ideal.

So, even this writer is saying that the violence and horrible actions of some Muslims are leading to these unflattering depictions and that Muslims "some feel that their very existence is being called into question" are reacting to this. But they are reacting to the symptom of a disease and are not fighting the disease itself. The sickness resides in their own midst and until they realize that they alone can control this, we will continue to have this useless conflict. Additionally, it is important that the West does not adjust now and continues to portray the situation as we see it. Its for everyone's own good.

And I think that lots can be learned from Islam. The teachings are very similar to Christianity and Judaism.

We can all benefit from the Koran verse that says: "Goodness and evil cannot be equal. Repel (evil) with something that is better. Then you will see that he with whom you had enmity will become your close friend. And no one will be granted such goodness except those who exercise patience and self-restraint." (Koran 41:34-35)

Muslims should learn from their own religion as to how to deal with the modern world and other people. Is they think that this is vulgar or evil then "repel" it with something that is better. Teh Koran urges patience and self-restraint in this passage and it appears as if many Muslims, those that riot, burn property and threaten death do not follow these teachings. And until Muslims actually follow their prophets own teachings, we can expect to have further conflicts and clashes with these people.