Cartoons and Chaos

“We’re facing a growing global crisis that has the potential to escalate beyond the control of governments and other authorities,” Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen said today. Why? Because of this:

According to Al-Jazeera, Rasmussen has asserted that the recent row that has overtaken the Muslim world over the cartoon, depicting the prophet Mohammad in a less-than-politically correct light, has developed into a global agenda. He attributes this agenda only to some “radicals, extremists, and fanatics”, noting his own desire to “work together in the spirit of mutual respect and tolerance”.

What boggles my mind is the fact that this issue has escalated to this point. Had an American paper published this or, say, a cartoon depicting a black person committing a crime or adhering to some other stereotype, the outrage from the public (not just Muslims) would have been great enough to kill the piece. The fact that it happened in Denmark, however, has allowed the cartoon to circulate much more. This includes Norwegian papers re-printing it, bringing upon their country the same protests that Denmark has seen.

While I’m a vehement supporter of First Amendment rights and am not uber-politically correct, this cartoon is just wrong. The racial profiling and abominable discrimination of Muslims since 9/11 is appalling enough. Now, many are essentially asserting that we have the right to depict the most important figure in Islam as a suicide bomber. If this right does indeed exist, then my suggestion is that Muslim papers run a cartoon of Jesus funneling money from the pockets of a Christian congregation. An Iranian newspaper apparently shares my sentiments.
Ironically, the “radicals, extremists, and fanatics” that Rasmussen has spoken of have taken to protest through violence.  Thus far, ten people have died as a result, most of them protesters themselves.  This outcry has reached as far as the Philippines and has exacerbated security concerns in Afghanistan.

President Bush, that diplomatic genius, has reportedly offered his “full support” to the Danes. This also perplexes me. Shouldn’t Bush, who has rallied for the rights of Muslims (in his words, not his actions) be denouncing this insult and expressing some kind of sympathy towards the Muslim community? Of course these violent protests should stop, but the majority of Muslims are not violent people. Many have resorted to banning Danish and Norwegian products, or verbal protests.

My point: don’t publish cartoons or articles that inherently insult over a billion people. But also, don’t start attacking troops and burning flags because you have been insulted. And don’t do anything that George Bush does.