Cartoon Protest in London...

[SeeKer]

Whatever happened to the peaceful muslims? Even the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) had stones thrown at him and was mocked by the unbelievers. He never raised his voice except to reaffirm his faith let alone take up arms.By advocating violence and carrying placards that call for violence you go against the very grain of Islam (peace). This is absolutely revolting.

[Caano Geel]

Burning flags and effigies - the poor [Muslim?] man's protest. Wonder what it will achieve?

[Gabbal]

^It's the thought the counts. Anything is better then nothing and apperently a lot of us just do not understand that concept.

 

 

Harnessing power of Muslim World

 

YnetNews.com

 

Arabs need to come together not simply to punish those who offend them, but to also change policies that directly impact their causes and beliefs

 

 

This week, we witnessed the power of the Islamic and Arabs Worlds to bring a Western nation virtually to its knees over an issue that the nation’s government had nothing to do with.

 

 

I was amazed at that power. All I can wonder is why the Islamic and Arab World doesn’t harness that power more effectively and change policies that directly impact our causes and our beliefs?

 

 

A newspaper in Denmark, Jyllands-Posten, published a series of cartoons that depicted the Prophet Mohammed in a derogatory and libelous manner. Few Arabs or Muslims had ever heard of the newspaper before the controversy, yet they were rightly angered.

 

 

Ironically, the cartoons were published in September 2005, more than five months ago. But this week, the issue came to a head after it

surfaced in the Arab World media.Arabs and Muslims are justified in their anger against the action of the newspaper. The publication of the cartoons may constitute a Hate Crime, which is considered an offense in most Western Countries. They certainly should not have been brushed off as being protected under the universal right of free speech as they were initially by the Danish Government.

 

 

Not an unjust religion

 

 

In their justified anger, Arabs and Muslims have begun boycotting not only the newspaper but also many products that are produced in Denmark. That power has caused many of Denmark’s largest corporations to reel in shock, forcing many to absorb massive profit losses and lay-off employees.

 

 

 

That power to act was mobilized in less than two weeks, although it should have begun as soon as the offensive material was first published five months ago.

 

 

 

In response, the newspaper offered a luke-warm apology. The Government of Denmark also claimed it had no power over the newspaper. But we know that is not true and the government could have stepped up and denounced the depictions.

 

 

Sadly, many innocent companies and people who might otherwise support the just causes of the Muslim and Arab Worlds have been punished. That is unfair. Islam is not an unjust religion.

 

 

The Arab and Muslim Worlds, despite being the target of a constant and unyielding campaign of hatred in the Western Media, should stand as examples of how right and wrong can be addressed correctly.

 

 

The entire episode reminds me of when the Arab and Muslim Worlds joined together in the 1970s to launch an embargo of oil against what were clearly unfair foreign policies against the rights of the Palestinian people and the Arab World.

 

 

Plagued by disunity

 

 

With the power of unity, the Arab and Muslim Oil producers put great pressure on the world’s greatest powers, reminding all that right is not always based on might but is instead based on justice and fairness.

 

 

Today, Arabs and Muslims are plagued by disunity. The only time we come together to exercise our moral and principled strength is when emotion has overcome our reasoning and we act to punish everyone. Unplanned and spontaneous acts of anger and emotion are not strategic. They may even cause a backlash.

 

 

The protests and boycott against the Danish Newspaper are the result of spontaneous emotion rather than strategic action. We reacted rather than acted.

 

 

Everyday, newspapers throughout the world libel not only Islam but everything the Arab World stands for that is principled and just. Everyday, the righteous Palestinian cause is victimized by hate incitement in newspapers throughout the world, and especially in the United States where free speech has exceptions when it comes to Arab and Muslim voices.

 

 

Yet we do nothing about these offenses.

 

 

Ironically, we sometimes help the offenders in their libel. In several major American cities, mainstream newspapers are often sold to the American public over the counters of hundreds of thousands of Arab and Muslim owned stores. These newspapers depend on us to help them sustain their circulation.

 

 

Power to make a difference

 

 

In some places like Chicago, newspapers could not survive without the support of Arab and Muslim owned grocery stores located in the inner-city. The reality is that Chicago newspapers depend on Arab and Muslim owned grocery stores to sell their newspapers in poor communities because the newspaper owners fear their newspapers will be stolen from news boxes placed on the streets of those communities. The sales policy of the newspapers in inner-cities is itself racist.

 

 

Why do we Arabs and Muslims allow this? Why do we allow the American mainstream newspapers that we sell to Americans continue to slander us, defame us and essentially incite hatred against us?

 

 

Emotion and anger are easy. Planning and strategic unity is more difficult and requires effort.

 

 

We need to come together not simply to punish those who offend us, but to also strengthen our community and insure that our voices are included in the American mainstream news media.

 

 

The controversy in Denmark should remind Arabs and Muslims that we have the power to make a difference.

 

 

But can we harness that power when it really counts?

[Gabbal]

U.S. backs Muslims in cartoon row

[NGONGE]

^^^ A quote from the link you posted, saaxib.

 

"We all fully recognize and respect freedom of the press and expression, but it

must be coupled with press responsibility

. Inciting religious or ethnic hatreds in this manner is not acceptable."

The United States, seeking to strike a balance between competing rights,

stopped short of

urging

U.S. media not to republish the cartoons

, which include depicting Muhammad as a terrorist.

This is more or less what Jack Straw said yesterday. It’s also what the Danish government said at the start of all this commotion. The argument was NOT about these governments finding such acts unacceptable, it was about these governments declaring them unacceptable and asserting that they’ll use their laws to punish any newspaper that prints such rubbish. So far, no western democracy has come out with such promises.

 

 

The British newspapers for their part, all decided to be responsible about this issue and not print the cartoons. They did not do it because some law was going to stop them from doing so; they did it because they did not believe there was any ‘news’ value in (re) printing the cartoons. Their argument was that printing them once was fine and proved the paper’s freedom of speech, printing them again (like the other European papers did) was irresponsible and provocative. None of this however dealt with the freedom of speech issue.

 

If you’re going to get angry for a cause, at least understand how it works and pay close attention to the details.

 

In addition, your argument above about ‘doing something’ being better than doing nothing at all does not wash nor stand to reason. In such mass hysteria cases, it’s best to do nothing until calm returns and then set out to do well planned, reasonable and logical things that achieve the same goal. Unless, of course, the gaol is to let out some steam and deprive oneself of Danish butter for a couple of weeks! For while we were turning our noses up at the lovely Danish cheese, the other Europeans carried on printing the cartoons (and now I hear that even irrelevant NewZeland had joined that circus!).

 

What’s more, all this hysteria gave (as it often does) the chance to all those with more temperament than sense to take over proceedings and confuse matters further! I will not at all be surprised if there is a death or two of some innocent passer by in the mistaken belief that we’re avenging our faith and prophet. A few more such scenes and this becomes the norm. Teenage numbskulls that probably don’t know where their local mosque is and are bursting with raging testosterone at the best of times, take it upon themselves to avenge Islam with disastrous consequences for all concerned.

 

It’s a reckless man that rouses a mob into protesting and demonstrating with enraged anger then wonders why some of them went beyond what he considered to be the limit of protest! If any of you have a grain of sense, you would be careful with your rabble-rousing and how misleading and destructive your words might be.

[checkmate]

Ain’t that the truth ^^ saxiib, I personally would have favored a peaceful demonstration (like the one that took place in UK today) violent behaviors aren’t the only means of retaliation.

 

But then of course, there were enormous peaceful demonstrations before the Iraq invasion. I think it all boils down to the relationships between our Muslim nations and these European countries, and how they go about conducting their diplomacy priorities.

[Wiilo]

Checkmate waan kuugu raacsanahay taa, waxay ahayd in la sameeyo banaanbax aan rabsho iyo bur bur laheyn maadaama aanu nahay ummad Islaam ah dabaddana ay diinteenna inoo sheegayso inaan nabad ku sheeganno inaan aad iyo aad oga xun nahay daabacaadaas caartuunnada.....

[Paragon]

Underdog, you asked:

 

Originally posted by Underdog: Layzie,

I'm still waiting for your ideas on how to peacefully advise non-Muslims to respect our faith.

I think she gave us the alternative. Read below, underdog. She said:

 

Originally posted by LayZieGirl: ...managing your time effectively and putting it to some good use(i.e finding a way to mock their faith, their believers, their religion, finding other useful resources than marching and burning a flag and having the kafirs have a big ole laugh on your expense and those 150+ muslims)..

There you have it!

[Paragon]

My fellow Muslims, as much as these cartoons were offensive and the reactions that ensued proportional, yet I fear that this may be the beggining of political silencing, in the pretense of protecting Islam. Dictorships and Despots who have previously harrassed political and social dissenters, now have gained the very thing they so desired: instrumental censorship. We, the Masses, have given them that power on a silver platter. May Allah make our current reactions, the start of global Muslim awareness (what is desirable)that is beneficial in all aspects, and not just another opportunity for despots who use popular sentiments against the natural freedoms of deserving citizens in their countries.

[Gabbal]

Ngonge-

 

On the first part of your commentary; democratic governments do not necessarily wield control over the press but they do generally, and especially western governments, hold influence over it when the image of the state is at stake. I cannot stress that point enough. The Danish government is not responsible for what that paper printed, but they are responsible for their initial support of the "caricature" and their willingness to ridicule and trample on the beliefs of a million plus people on this earth. The Danish prime minister laughed and turned away a delegation of Muslim ambassadors in the beginning, but then came running as soon as the heat was turned on. The Danish government became part of the problem sxb, the freedom of press was a lattar ruse.

 

Here in the United States, I am completely convinced the State Department had something to do with the non-existence of those cartoons in the American media. There is a fine line between what constitues freedom of the press and what constitutes slander/libel. The more sophisticated and advanced the state, the sooner the distinction could have been drawn and the situation pacified. The faster one realizes that aspect of the problem the more clearer one sees the situation for what is sxb.

 

As for the second part of your commentery; I but have one question to ask. Had the cartoons been about the Holocaust and Jews, would the response from the Danish goverment and initial response from the rest of the western world have been the same? Therein lies the answer that justifies the Muslim world's passionate response saaxiib.

 

You stand up for what you believe sxb. However and in any mean you can. Appeasement only hurts you.

[rudy-Diiriye]

lets flip this 360 degrees! will the west stand 4 if christian news paper insult juddism! nope!

 

so i rest my case!......! plz apologize like a mfo n never do that again period. this the right thing to do! no religion or race can be insulted by a nonsense, irresponsible, moranic newspaper!!

 

i am not gonna go out there n throw tantrums! i will wait and see there action! n they better be fast n really very forth coming n worth while!

 

this is not about freedom of speech, but simply hatred insited action! its a racist method n should be abolished totally! no 1 should think that belitteling others religion is cool! its utterely n simply a racist view! its the same thing that hitler did, killing people because of their race n religion!!!

 

if i am wrong, n its about free press tell me why western press dont say anything about judism or christainity when sheron mascared a whole village full of children and women or the bush killing machine in iraq! we certainly been patient birds! but its running out!! word!!

 

where does the buck stop!! all i see these days r musseys getting killed!! every fricking where!!

 

plz, spare me the freeking democracy crap! let me know when u gonna tell me that u f..up!! that democracy grab has lost its full flavor! so u better do the right thing n come out like a man not a sissy!! :mad: :mad: cuz its almost like last call for civility!!

 

no respect! plz expect the same thing!!

[WingA]

mashallah to all those who love the Deen and i just hope a lot more of us bowed down to allah and pray and make duua's for the Uuma..

 

Allahu Akbar..

 

salaams..

[N.O.R.F]

An exhausted thread, agree to disagree and get on with your lives!

 

Each to his/her own and will only answer on his/her own when 'the' day comes.

 

peace

[-Lily-]

Northener, I agree.

 

 

Seeker, I wish we had more peopel like you, the spirit of Islam is endurance and peace.

 

I was just watching the news and there is talk of arresting protestors in London, the ones who carried posters calling for the death of those who published the cartoons. Incitement of murder is a crime in the UK. They are analysing video footage.

[RendezVous]

Originally posted by rudy:

...plz, spare me the freeking democracy crap!

For sure RUDY,We need DEMOCRACY in the ISLAMIC WORLD not DEMOCRAZY as US calls it..The more we are democratic the more ISLAM will flourish n by the way ISLAM is about Democracy/accountability/transparency/civility and respect...What's more

 

 

Originally posted by Northerner:

An exhausted thread, agree to disagree and get on with your lives!

Each to his/her own and will only answer on his/her own when 'the' day comes.

peace

An Exhausted thread When the Truth was properly said..

 

"We need An awareness and Re-awakening of ISLAM..in the whole world..We are either in ISLAM or out of ISLAM.."

We need it NOW..