Muslims don't need cartoons to make them look bad

[giza]

These Emmy Award winners are doing more to damage the reputation of Muslims everywhere than a few political cartoons could have ever done:









This is really difficult for me. I don't personally know any Muslims, so I've been trying really hard to keep an open mind since the events of 9/11. But when I see what amounts to bullying tactics like the above, it really leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Congratulations. You probably just set back diplomacy efforts in the Arabic world by 50 years.

Comments

[thraxarious.livejournal.com]

Its a sad state today. The worst elements of both worlds are showing themselves and dragging more to their cause. Where and when will this end? In Tears...

[thraxarious.livejournal.com]

And I'm desperately trying not to resort to banner's Soap and Buttons solution.

[amelitatwinstar.livejournal.com]

Go read The World is Flat (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0374292884?v=glance), or any number of other similar books. It may help.

[inaquara.livejournal.com]

This is phenoninal book. After I read it I went out and bought it on CD so I can listne to it when I drive.

[amelitatwinstar.livejournal.com]

I also got it on CD! :)

[inaquara.livejournal.com]

I <3 The world is Flat.

That and people assume your more cultured than you look when they hear it on your radio ^..^

[ever-frost358.livejournal.com]

''Insanity in individuals is something rare - but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule.''
-Friedrich Nietzsche

[duncandahusky.livejournal.com]

I sympathize with you completely, but before you form opinions about a religion based on a small group of demonstrators, I have two words for you: Fred Phelps.

[bikerwalla.livejournal.com]

Ding.

Every grungy weirdo who wants to make a political statement, no matter how much it embarasses his family, is out there on the sidewalk burning a Danish flag, cause maybe someone with a camera will take his picture and he'll be *famous*.

Remember, these are the WORST examples of the people that the religion produces.

[tailen.livejournal.com]

Oh, you mean that tiny group of demonstrators who burned down the Danish, Swedish, Chilian and Norwegian embassies in Syria yesterday?

Or maybe that little group who have threatened Danish tourists and shopkeepers in every single Arab country?

The small political party in Pakistan who put out a bounty on the heads of all 12 cartoonists?

Or those pesky individuals who have boycotted all Danish products in just about the entire region, forcing the largest Danish diary company to put half its workers on unpaid leave for 10 weeks?

Or maybe you're referring to the tiny, tiny group of completely non-influential Arabs who managed to get the Danish prime minister on the TV station Al Arabiya, in the hopes that he would submit himself and his country to Islam?

This is not a protest of just 50 nutjobs in London with signs that were apparently all drawn by the same imam.

[balinares.livejournal.com]

Sundance's First Rule of Shit Soup Recipe:
It takes a very small percentage of shit to turn a vegetable soup into a shit soup.

Here is, now, for you, a koan:
How do you turn shit soup back into vegetable soup?

[cyriljackal.livejournal.com]

Koans are not really meant to be answered but:
"By putting it into the ground to grow a new crop"

[blackwingdragon.livejournal.com]

XD there are just retarded idiots.

They run around flanging their HOLY RELIGION OH MY GOD around and when someone doesn'T like it, they stab him with an Islamic Dagger of JUSTICE to turn him ISLAMIC! BUt the guy dies from blood loss and the country he's from doesn't like that. And so EVERYTONE hates those retarded suicide-bombing idiots from ISLAAAAAAAAM.

Really. I hate those guys. What's the point of blowing eachother and innocent people up over your f*cking religion?! That's just disgusting...they even put Hungary on their ZOMG ENEMY list XD. Was announced 2 days ago. Pitiful.

This is terrible...

[unciaa.livejournal.com]

The correct use is "its".

[linnaeus.livejournal.com]

Where did these come from, I wonder? Some of these make the protestors look so bad that I wonder if they're genuine. I mean seriously, "Freedom go to hell?" That being said, even if they are real, I'll echo Duncan's statement that you can't judge a group by it's worst members. There was a story on NPR this week about a survey in Turkey, I think, in which the vast majority of Muslim respondants reacted to the Danish cartoons with a resounding "meh", so we're not talking about a general consensus.

[tailen.livejournal.com]

The pictures are from a recent protest in London

I'd also like to direct you to my own LJ post on the subject if you think this is a small group of people making trouble for the rest.

[linnaeus.livejournal.com]

Oh I don't doubt that there are a lot of people acting really shamefully over this and reinforcing the very stereotypes they're complaining about. I'm just saying that 1) the protesters don't speak for the Islamic world as a whole, and 2) I kind of take the really inflammatory signs with the same grain of salt with which the people in the articles you cite should have taken the fake cartoons you mention. Chances are that the folks holding signs saying things like "Down with goodness" and whatever are just genuinely stupid, but since people acting as provocateurs by holding up misleading signs is something that's been known to happen, I'm withholding judgment before I assume they speak for a billion or so Muslims.

[tailen.livejournal.com]

They don't speak for the 1.3 billion Muslims in the world, no. I don't think anyone following the current events would believe they did.

[screwball420.livejournal.com]

FEAR ALL CARTOONISTS!!! :D

[gen-talon.livejournal.com]

*growls*

Day and day its still going on. Getting worse and worse.
These same fanatics that killed my brothers..the same ones that left my brothers without limbs.

Based on personal experiance. You can not deal with fanatics...trust me..

Now seeing as the fanatic who masterminded the attack on the USS Cole has escaped..i'm a bit worried..

[fc-greyfox.livejournal.com]

Definitely fanatics and extremists. I have a few muslim friends, and know a fair few more that follow Islam. The religion itself is not the problem. At its core is a beautiful idea and meaning. Unfortunately, just like every religion, it has been horribly twisted and contorted to fit others' own agendas, and this is the result. Shame, really. That said, these extremists will eventually go too far and get themselves alienated from their own religion. I just hope they either learn the error of their ways or do themselves in before they harm anyone else.

[zealianbadass.livejournal.com]

I like how most of those with the signs are masked. Hiding cowardice behind religion is nothing new, but that's going a bit too far... shouldn't they be unafraid to show their faces, or is their piety too great for their pride?

Yes, it's harsh, and hardly humanitarian, but... we clean up every other kind of pollution. Why not this? They can't be martyrs for a twisted ideal... if it gets wiped out.

Don't get me wrong, this isn't the only extremist group that would best be excised, and it's not my thought that it's exlusive to Islam either... most every faith has its malcontents. But this'll do for a start.

...argh. I sound like a McCarthyite.

[rexxwolfe.livejournal.com]

try seeingt he first world theough the eyes of a thiord world country. When Someone burns an american flag or say ameicans are assholes and arrogant the natural retort is anger the muslim world is feeling strongly persucuted as the so clean up of these countries has set them further back then they were before bad conditons made worse. Its small group of fantaics theres fantatics who want to see Gays taken care of. Ga When the bombs hit Afganistan and Iraq the sheer number of innocents cught in the blasts out weighed the terrorists. I knwo muslims. Most of them are rather shy folks. tehy wear the viels because thats thier religion. the truth is Muslims out number cristains BIG time. Its the largest faith in the world its bound to have lots of fantics and Sects. therss oem real nasty christain sects like the IRA. we aitn so pure and so rightious we have terrible living condions here in the western workd equal too if not worse then the muslim third world when you grow up a certain way and see your family die because maybe 300- 400 members of an organizeation blew up a place your not likely to see yet you live in rubble worse then thetiny den you had as a home i think I'd be a very bitter person too watching my firneds and family die to catch a terrorist that has left my country. :( t o every thing there is three sides. Your side thier side and the truth. In the long run i feel someone will rise up through this unite the peoples and tryt o break the circle of hate. After all Its a simpel chain reaction they hurt us we hurt them harder and they hate us more then we go back and hate more.. eye for an eye for an eye until we are all blind by hatred.

None the less these foolish popel do not realise the consequences of thier actions. Your right congrats you just fed the circel of hate now all muslims are evil murdering terrorists way to go dickwads way to help your cause bravo.

[wesha.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry, but the digital artifacts around the letters give me a hint that the words have been photoshopped onto the banners...

[megadog.livejournal.com]

My belief is that the placards carried by the loony mohammedans are valid.

See http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/02/06/london.cartoon.protests/ for further examples.

Looks like the UK police are investigating whether or not they can act against the protesters.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4686164.stm

I hope there are prosecutions. We can do without their kind on our streets.

[giza.livejournal.com]

I'd be upset if they were arrested, since it goes against my belief in free speech. I say that we should LET them say things like that, it only makes them look like a bunch of complete fanatics when the rest of the world sees their pictures.

Now, if someone is assaulted or killed as a direct result of their signs, it might be appropriate to charge them with being accessories or something along those lines.

Speaking of free speech, what I would really like to see is the supposed "mainstream" Muslims to speak out against this sort of behaviour and spank those who are doing it. Publically. If these people really are a minority and going against what Muslim stands for, I think it's about time that the rest of the Muslims made their voices heard. Where are the counter protests? Where are the ex-communications?

*/rant*

[megadog.livejournal.com]

I agree that letting their silliness being seen is probably the best approach. OTOH I'm also concerned that the UK mainstream media (both print and broadcast) have so far self-censored themselves and backed off from publishing the original cartoons - so your average non-Internet-enabled British punter hasn't actually seen the cartoons that spawned this whole thing.

As such the discussion is taking place in an uninformed environment. This can't possibly be a good thing. I just wish one of the UK newspapers would have the courage to stick two fingers up at the politically-correct 'thou shalt not offend minorities' mentality and publish the stupid things so people could see what the fuss is about.

Meantime, I've been passing out prints of the original cartoons to people at work, purely in the interests of information. I don't fear having a fatwah declared agsinst me.