[RMadd]

Quote: (Originally Posted by RalphyS)

What did actually happen? Someone drew a character, the founder of an religion to some, no one special to others, and related in a funny matter some things that people tend to associate with that religion also in the picture? It's a drawing !!!! People want to kill people for drawing !!! I hear they are urging for Fatwa's against the cartoonists. This is exactly the thing why islam/mohammed was drawn as a terrorist, these people need to get a sense of humor. And if you don't like the paper, don't buy it.

That's got to be one of the most ridiculous cop-outs ever. "If you don't like it, don't buy it." Yes, that's an option, but it doesn't change the fact that it was printed and reprinted across the continent. I'm not suggesting that, any and every time someone might be offended, we merely back off and not do anything to offend them. Rather, I'm saying that the paper, editors, and cartoonist(s) all need to take a good look at against whom they're planning to take a stand, that group's potential reactions to the stimuli, and, in the case of newsmedia, that group's familiarity with and understanding of the standards of Western newsmedia. It seems pretty blatantly obvious to me that Islamic culture doesn't jive with many precepts of Western society. Also, given the divisive nature of the current situation in international politics (namely, that Middle Easterners seem to tend to hate the West), I would advise against doing something that only gives extremists more reason to protest against us in whatever manner they choose.

Quote: (Originally Posted by RalphyS)

Who is making the bad comparison's now. Comparing the fuzz over some cartoons, with invading a nation/starting a war.

Well, your "tough shit" attitude seemed to indicate to me that, when you're faced with something you might not like, then don't worry about it at all.

Quote: (Originally Posted by RalphyS)

I don't even care why these cartoons were published, except maybe if they were really intentionally being made to piss off people/muslims, but even than, in our western society we can make cartoons of Jesus, the basic character of the major religion of the west, therefore we can do the same to any religious character. Blasphemy is probably the most stupid law there is.

You yourself have already pointed out that Western culture is more understanding. That means we're not going to take caricatures of Jesus and start rioting in the streets over them. Yes, I might be slightly offended over them, but it's no reason to barricade government officials in their office for 45 minutes. In this sense, you're comparing apples and oranges. Many of the precepts governing day-to-day behavior in Islam are far different from those in Christianity. So, saying that Muslims should just deal with it because we, as Westerners, are able to is an absurdly ludicrous statement. They don't have a history of centuries of free press. For them, freedom of expression is gathering in a group on the street and burning images related to the US and Europe (flags, effigies, pictures, etc.). So, in this sense, perhaps more disturbing than anything else, the printing of these cartoons represents an insensitivity toward core Islamic beliefs and a severe inability to grasp just what that insensitivity means.

Quote: (Originally Posted by RalphyS)

This is just Salman Rushdie all over again, muslims will just have to learn that not all people agree with their religion and criticism, sarcasm, irony on your religion of choice is something you will have to deal with, and if your religion is all that you think is is, it can stand some scrutiny.

Maybe they will have to, and it will be great if they do. But, at the present, they don't. Was the cartoon published as a statement to Westerners? If so, I think most people in Europe and the U.S. already have a pretty good understanding of the intolerance of Islamic society (particularly Fundamentalist Islam) and that they need to allow a bit more. Or was it made as a statement to Muslims that they need to lighten up? If that's the case, I don't think they got the point. If you want to point something out to them, and have a prayer of a hope that they actually catch on to it, you have to speak their language, to use their means of communicating ideas. Otherwise, the ulterior motives of something like this falls on deaf ears, and is widely misinterpreted, causing an even greater uproar in Muslim cities in the Middle East.