Rock the Casbah

NPR isn't known for editorializing. Which is why I couldn't help but notice a remark on "Morning Edition". I'm paraphrasing here but it went something like "Muslims in Europe continue to be offended by the depiction of the Prophet as violent. So they burned a Danish embassy and ransacked a Christian neighborhood".

I've seen the cartoon in question. I understand that any depiction of the Prophet is offensive to Muslims, let alone a depiction of the Prophet with a bomb for a turban. Particularly because it's not the Prophet who is running terror networks. Bin Laden with a bomb turban, sure. Just like Garry Trudeau depicts Bush as a little bomb. That's funny. I would be offended if someone depicted the cross of Christ as a surface-to-air missile because it isn't reasonable to me to blame the founder of a faith for the unmitigated and faithless way his followers mess up.

It's the whole infidel thing that is disturbing to me. How upset are believers supposed to get at the things non-believers do? I know how fundamentalists of any stripe would answer that. Getting upset at non-believers is their stock in trade. I'm talking about the rest of us. I've had to listen to my share of priest and little boy jokes. They make me sad. Sometimes they make me angry. Not all priests are pedophiles. Not all Muslims are terrorists. I think it is up to those of us who see the nuances of grey in the world to resist the efforts of the few to suck us up into their pettiness and hatred. We shouldn't be conned into by the few into tarring entire peoples with the same brush.

European papers have reprinted the offensive piece as a way of demonstrating the democratic principle of free speech. You don't have to like what I say but you can't keep me from saying it. However, democracy and free speech are not necessarily valued by all parties so it's only making things worse. Meanwhile, the US and Britian are taking a touchy-feely "tolerance for other faiths" tack which is ironic considering how busy we are foisting democracy on sovereign nations.

I keep reminding myself that it was the Arab world that gave us zero and probably yougurt. I have to remember that there are mothers and fathers in the Middle East who no more desire the death and destruction of the West than I enjoy the rotting fruit of our misbegotten war. It takes a lot of work to rebuff the "other" mentality that is operating in our world but for those of us who still dream of our children living in relative peace it is necessary work.

Man, the Crusades were SUCH a bad idea.