Callous Cartoons

Callous cartoons
Images depict a growing Islamophobia in the West
10:07 PM PST on Tuesday, February 7, 2006
By SHAKEEL SYED

Freedom of speech is an inherent right and, in many societies, is legally protected. But that doesn't make every expression of it right. The inflammatory content of the Danish cartoons -- comparing Prophet Muhammad to a terrorist -- belies the claim that it was an exercise in "freedom of the press." Muslims worldwide see it as anti-Semitism reborn as "Islamophobia" in a Europe that gave the world the Inquisition, the Holocaust and the recent Bosnian genocide.
From the Islamic perspective, freedom of speech and expression ( hurriyyat al-qawl wa bayan) is "vindication of truth" and "protection of human dignity," with embedded maxims of morality and legality. Slander and libel are not protected under free speech.

The outcry over the Danish cartoons didn't emerge overnight. After their first publication in September, Muslim and Arab envoys tried to persuade the publishers that the cartoons were at best insensitive and at worst inciting hatred toward an entire community. The Danish courts refused even to admit the case on the grounds of freedom of expression; and the Danish prime minister cried off, citing freedom of press in his country.

Diplomacy Failed
After such efforts failed, the envoys turned to the EU and the United Nations and, finding no response even as more papers printed the insulting cartoons, only then were diplomatic withdrawals and economic boycotts started and demonstrations seen from London to Jakarta. But it is regrettable that some elements have used this issue to stage violent protests.

Why have Muslims pursued the matter? Islamophobia is a clear and growing trend throughout the West, and Muslim immigrants bear the brunt of this animosity and atmosphere of hatred and mistrust. In this context, the motive of a small, right-wing Danish paper in printing such drawings is highly questionable. Would the same champions of press freedom approve reprinting of anti-Semitic cartoons from 1930s Germany?

Also, Muslims are aware of the double standards of freedom of expression in the West. Al-Jazeera's offices are bombed and shut down for showing the "collateral damage" of U.S. invasions in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The 21st century has divided the world into two camps -- the secular and the religious, living together without knowing one another. What is sacred in one camp is deranged in the other. These are the two civilizations clashing, not East and West.

The Closed Circle
Fostering an environment where nothing is sacred in the name of freedom of speech will not help anyone understand the values of a civilization in which the sacred is all that counts. Many Christian and Jewish leaders recognize this and have decried the Danish cartoons.
Failing to see beyond oneself will result in a life that sees all within the closed circle as good and all outside as evil. In an ever more interconnected and interdependent world, this is a sure recipe for a disaster of biblical proportions.
All strands of artists and academics, journalists and politicians must engage in a thoughtful discourse to advance the understanding of Isaac and Ishmael. The world belongs to both and they belong to one another.

Shakeel Syed is executive director of the Islamic Shura Council, a federation of more than 70 mosques in Southern California ( www.shuracouncil.org).
Online at: http://www.pe.com/localnews/opinion/localviews/stories/PE_OpEd_Opinion_D_op_08_syed_loc.628d7e0.html