The lengthy manufacturing of the Cartoon Crisis and how the wildfire then spread

It took an awful lot of effort over two months by Danish Muslims, leading Muslim religious figures, Islamic organizations, and Middle Eastern media and governments before the public rage could be ignited.

Surely the tireless propagation by Danish Muslims of the images of the Prophet was itself contrary to Islam? And obviously a great deal of concious effort went into creating the crisis.

And then the arduously created rage was stoked by rapid and sometimes false electronic communication.

Some excellent reporting, though rather late, by the MSM on the manufactured nature of the Cartoon Crisis. At whom should our sorrow, indignation and anger over the violence and deaths be directed: Jyllands-Posten or all those others who intentionally fanned the flames?

I doubt however that the reporting will do much to alter the widely held view that many Muslims somehow just became aware of the cartoons and virtually spontaneously erupted in righteous wrath.

Update: "Now they want to write our laws"

Sober and realistic reflection on the issues by a Muslim--much more honest analysis than much in our media.

ON FRIDAY, I sat on the carpet listening to the sermon at an L.A. mosque. The topic was expected and familiar: a denunciation of the publication of the offensive cartoons that have had the Muslim world up in arms [please read the above stories to see how that really happened]...

The khateeb (the person delivering the sermon) stated that it was not right that Islam was the target of abuse. He said some will go out of their way to disrespect Islam. He said the Muslim community demands an apology, and (thankfully) he called on Muslims to be peaceful and forgiving...

...Muslims appear to have a double standard. We cry out that Islam should not be desecrated, but in several countries where the majority is Muslim, it is illegal or incredibly difficult for minority religions to build churches, synagogues or temples. Moreover, in some parts of the Muslim world, cartoons that could be considered anti-Christian or anti-Jewish are common.

...it seems as if Muslims do not believe in freedom. Those of us living in the West say that we cherish the liberty to practice our religion and express our views, even if our actions may offend the sensitivities of our non-Muslim neighbors. Yet when others express views that are offensive to Muslims, there is no tolerance...

Another complaint made by my fellow Muslims is that we alone are the victims. This argument is flatly false. Christians have felt victimized by the movie "The Last Temptation of Christ," and there are many who object to the soon-to-be-made film based on the bestseller, "The Da Vinci Code." Judaism is the basis of jokes, cartoons and films considered to be anti-Jewish — the most recent film being "The Passion of the Christ."..

...The honor of Islam will survive petty mudslinging without rioting.

Where do we go from here? Unfortunately, the damage on all sides has been done. If the Danish government offers an apology, Muslims will be viewed as bullies capable, through their use of violence, of squashing free speech. If the Danes refuse to apologize, the West will be viewed as the victor over a fanatic religion that must be put in its place. Either outcome spells disaster for Muslims in non-Muslim public opinion...

...the prophet cared deeply about public opinion. Now if only Muslims would follow his lead. We need to learn to ignore these insignificant attacks and focus Muslims' attention on immensely more important issues: homelessness, world hunger, the widening gulf that separates rich and poor, and freedom.

Upperdate: "Orchestrated 'clash of civilizations': Global protests were anything but spontaneous"

Posted by markc at February 9, 2006 09:49 AM | TrackBack