In a recent letter to the editor, Riazul Raquib attempts to justify, or at least explain, the violent protesting by some Muslims in Europe. He does so by arguing that Islam is essentially above criticism, much less comedy. Specifically, he states that "satires of Jesus may not create much unrest to the overall Christian community, [yet] the same principle does not simply carry over into the Muslim worldview. According to Islamic belief, the Prophet Mohammed is not just any other Muslim."
I would respectfully point out to Riazul, that Jesus Christ is no ordinary Christian. Yet his likeness was mocked most recently by Kanye West on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. No matter its degree of offensiveness, the photograph has not yet led to the torching and burning of Rolling Stone's corporate headquarters in New York. Likely, the worst that will happen to Rolling Stone is an acerbic letter to the editor.
Of course, the lack of violence does not mean that these characterizations of Christ are any less offensive. Photographs of the crucifix submerged in a glass of urine, drawings of Jesus Christ as Osama bin Laden, and paintings of the virgin Mary covered in elephant dung are not welcomed by Christians. Nor have they led Christians to burn down a building or kill people. These Christians have made the choice not to incite violence in response.
In Europe, some Muslims have chosen a very different path. Showing utter disdain for freedom of speech, their reaction has been destructive and deadly. Those burning down buildings show no mercy and no signs of stopping. Never mind that newspapers throughout the Arab world often compare Jews to snakes, pigs, rats, monkeys, and Nazis. In the same countries whose governments now condemn the Danish cartoons, mocking religions other than Islam is good fun.
Author Tom Gross has done an excellent job chronicling cartoons from Arab media sources. They range from rabbis depicted as cannibals to Ariel Sharon drinking a wine glass of blood while swimming playfully in a waterfall of blood. In other cartoons, the word "Kill" is drawn into a Star of David and a Star of David into the flag of the Third Reich. A popular theme in cartoons from Syria, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia is to show a Jew playing puppet-master to Uncle Sam. Even in Denmark, one Muslim group proudly displays a cartoon of Anne Frank sleeping with Adolf Hitler.
The point is simple and the double standard is clear. While Jews and Christians endure constant mockery, often from newspapers within the Arab world, some Muslims in Europe cannot stand ridicule from cartoons, far less offensive in comparison. Their deadly reaction is not justifiable.
Their opposition to freedom stands in stark contrast to our values here in America. We know that in any combination of open, free, classically liberal, or democratic societies, no religion is superior to another. Similarly, no one, not the Pope, the Dali Lama, nor the president, escapes the funny pages. To make an exception for Islam is to make it the superior religion to all others. In a free society, that cannot happen.
Mike Inganamort is a senior in the School of Public Affairs.
