Stop imposing
Having born and brought up in a Muslim family I have always felt that Muslim nations and societies have always had problems with accommodating and tolerating different view points about their values and customs, as well as questioning the norms of their own practices. I can understand why it happens. Because the Muslims emphasise the fact that their religion had not been changed and their script is God’s true revelation to mankind, everything that they do, their customs and rituals, cannot be questioned. This is all fine. I have no problem with people who believe in what they do, and how they abide by their religious values. But if and when they try to impose their belief on other people I would oppose it.
Yes, Muslims have a taboo about their prophet’s picture. But why should that stop those who don’t believe in their taboos, from drawing Prophet Mohammed’s picture? With all due respect to the Prophet, did he himself ever forbid his followers from drawing his picture? Even if he did, I would have thought it applied to his followers, not the ones who did not follow him! Denmark, France or Germany for that matter, are not Muslim countries, as their laws are not decided upon what is written in the Quran. Tolerating a religion does not mean you should be stopped from criticising the religion. One must not forget about the context of publishing the original cartoon, which was intended to debate about Islam and so on. When Jews are called despicable names in the press in Muslim countries just because of what Israel does to the Palestinians, the rabbis hardly go on to shout in the street.
About causing ‘offence’ in Muslim hearts by the alleged cartoon, being honest, I can’t find any logic behind it. Since Prophet Mohammed had no picture of him, whatever one draws, purporting to draw Mohammed surely can never draw Mohammed!
You may protest if you don’t like the cartoon or find it offensive, but you have no right to torch embassies and condemn the West as a whole. To the Muslims I would say, Wake up and enlighten yourself a bit about what it means to exercise freedom of speech, something that has long been denied to you by your repressive regimes. In Europe people have not only mocked Prophet Mohammed, they did the same with Jesus, Moses and God himself.
A student
UK
Cartoons and after
It has become a tradition for many Muslims to show extreme love for religion than love for those who really are in want of it. We saw this in the case of Salman Rushdie, Taslima Nasreen and other dissident voices. Ayatullah Khomeini gave fatwa to kill Salman Rushdie, but did he ever give a fatwa that no Muslim should go hungry, no Muslim should be homeless, no Muslim child should remain illiterate? No, he did not. He was a stereotyped Muslim politician in the cloak of a mullah to whom religion was more important than his fellow Muslims.
The violent protests throughout the world over the cartoon is not the real protest to show respect and love for the prophet. It is a very clear outburst of frustration about many other Muslim failures. The autocratic Syrian government, which does not allow freedom of expression, which is a punishable act there, is allowing these rowdy acts to reap benefits from the religious sentiments of the people. These fake and dishonest outbursts for Islam are not serving Islam in any way. This is unnecessary and too much. The Muslim world does not have the power to teach anything to anyone. What can Muslims do with a bowl in hand when their kitchens do not warm up without any help from the western nations? If anyone wants to show any love for Islam, come out and be vocal against the corrupt rulers, show your concern against illiteracy, poverty, democracy and fight against the vested interests in Islam. Unmask those people who still want to play the religious dogma card to perpetuate their ulterior designs. Destroy those forts of darkness and conspiracies that do not allow Muslims to ask questions. Fight those who still try to conceal facts and spread fear in the name of religion. A cartoon posted by a newspaper does not harm Islam. Our foolish action does.
Akbar Hussain
Canada
Dance in the dark
It is indeed sad how the Danish press has defamed another religion. They’ve done it by printing cartoons of Prophet Muhammad (SM).
That they are trying to defend their act in the name of freedom of speech is outrageous enough. It is quite appalling when people of the west show audacity towards other humans or hurt their faith on some vague and vulgar pretext.
It appears sadder when they come up to defend them instead of apologising. It’s indeed a sorry state that undoubtedly creates some cracks in the very essence of humanity. It is time for the foreign ministry or the authorities concerned in Denmark to do something to mend the damage done. The sooner the better.
Rafiqul Islam Rime
Agrabad, Chittagong
Lesser evil
Mahmood Elahi has called a spade a spade by calling Sunnis with chauvinistic goals in Iraq evil in his letter, ‘Iraqi bombers kill Iraqi Muslims’ (February 5).
The evil of division among the Muslims dates back to the golden period of Islam. A person from the rebelling clan assassinated even Caliph Hazrat Ali (R). So the sane Muslims cannot blindly support whatever is happening in Iraq only because some perpetrators of killings in Iraq are Muslims. True Muslims cannot shed the blood of their fellow Muslims only to realise their narrow clannish goals.
The Quran has urged Muslims to be united and not be divided, so those Sunnis who are killing Shiites are actually fighting against the tenets of Islam and thus they can be rightly called evil. But considering the dire situation in Iraq, one cannot but say that they are the lesser of two evils, the other being the occupying forces led by the USA and its Iraqi quislings.
Abdus Subhan
Lalpur, Natore
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