Thursday, February 02, 2006

Does This Mean I Have to Boycott Danishes?

A political cartoon in a Danish newspaper has Muslims worldwide up in arms - literally. The cartoon was of the prophet Mohammed, showing him with a bomb stuffed in his turban. Violence has erupted in the West Bank over the item, where scores of Muslims rioted and looked for Westerners to kidnap. While the rioting is unfortunate, the secondary issue arising from the incident is more concerning.
Many Muslims living in Europe were upset over the cartoon, and lit the fires of the furor. This lends the question: Should Europe adjust to the increasing Muslim population, or do the Muslims need to accept criticism from non-muslims? We all know that fundamentalist Muslims have no sense of humor and can be very defensive. However, satire and lampooning are staples of Western culture, and perhaps some of these people need to remember where they live.
I wasn't thrilled when I saw the picture of the Virgin Mary spattered with fecal matter, and Jews don't inflict their views on other groups, so why can't Muslims do the same? Western society accepts all cultures, and upon that acceptance, it leaves those open to criticism - justified or not. If people want to take advantage of our freedoms, they will be exposed to our shortcomings as well. Maybe they just can't take a joke either......


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