A vicious cycle?
Naureen Ali Chambersburg, PA
While the controversy over the cartoons published in the widely circulated Danish daily Jyllands Posten (and subsequently other European newspapers) has spiralled out of control, I am left wondering what is my own reaction. The reaction of the vast majority of the Muslims is an apt reflection of the very dichotomy that faces Muslims today. It is undeniable from a Muslims' viewpoint that it is unacceptable to depict any images of any prophet. To be a Muslim implies recognition and acceptance of all prophets. Yet, Muslims by and large have, by silent consent, allowed depictions of Jesus, Moses, and other prophets to go unchallenged. Nevertheless, Muslims and upholders of faiths from across different belief platforms are reacting to this event-why?Reaction over the cartoons is two-fold (interestingly an important detail left out in most reports)- depiction of the prophet (pbuh) and offensive caricature that aims to insult. If it were only depiction of the prophet (such as Jesus in Passion of the Christ or Moses in Ten Commandments), the upheaval would probably have been different, undoubtedly more contained in nature. It behoves us not to recognise that the content reeks of satire and ridicule, hurting the very core of human dignity. Freedom of expression has to come with an urgent sense of responsibility to have credibility, even when protesting against injustice. Even as the cartoonists themselves jeopardised their own legitimacy, so does emotional chaotic outburst, manifested in holding all Danish companies and citizens responsible for the thoughtless act of a marginal group of people, take away from the integrity of protest. For so many, the immediate onslaught of reaction has resulted in confusion. On one hand, they can perceive the transgression of civility but they are alarmed by the reactionary outburst. Expression is of paramount importance in a world where the communication gap seems ever widening between different belief structures. Let's take a minute and think of how Muslims and non-Muslims alike would react to a racist cartoon against an African American or Jewish American published in this century. The world would find it unacceptable. The Muslim world finds itself operating on the margins of being considered part of that world. Why that is so is a discussion beyond the scope of a cursory blurb. For now, it is a truth that one simply cannot ignore-- this recent event has mustered more support for freedom of expression, at the expense of transgressing the very essence of human dignity that freedom of expression is meant to uphold, than what the 21st century would want to claim in retrospect. Does that then mean that torching down Danish embassies, boycotting their products, and holding counter-competitions calling for cartoons that ridicule other faiths are the optimum reaction? So, it's a catch-22. For believers and non-believers (by that I mean theists and atheists and the entire spectrum that lies therein) alike, it is a situation that can only keep getting worse. Let us then continue with this "you did, I did, you did I did" chronic syndrome of apathy... and twiddle our thumbs for the end of the civil world, boxed in the narrow confines of our socio-religious-economic identities.
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