In the western world, we know how to laugh at a cartoon. Maybe, at worst, we might be offended but we will get over it very quickly. Not so in Pakistan.
You might think that high ranking military officials would have better things to do than fuss over a cartoonist. But, no, we are dealing with the Muslim mentality and that is probably as alien to the western mindset as you can get. Those people who refuse to take the Muslim threat seriously, those who dismiss outrageous behavior as that of a minority of extremists might take refuge in their own world view. But they are not seeing the Muslim mindset as it really is.
We would probably associate high ranking military officials with plotting a coup, especially in countries that have a problem grasping the basics of democracy (no offense meant to Pakistan) but plotting to kill (the word "assassinate" makes the whole idea surreal) a Danish cartoonist might come straight from the episodes of Monty Python's Flying Circus if it wasn't so tragically real.
And this is the dilemma we face. Can we see the world as it is (a Monty Python circus with Muslims as the key players) or do we stubbornly stick to our rational viewpoint and assume that all others are equally rational? Rationality is a dangerous presumption that blinds us to acts of mischief (you know I mean terrorism) and the root causes of such behavior.
I'm certainly not laughing this one off.
8 comments:
There was a crusade against Monty Python's Meaning of Life, was there not? Didn't it take longer to show in Britain than here in the US of A? Anyhow, yes, the "sound of silence" from Islamic fanatics attacking cartoons is deafening.
www.culturism.us
Kinda like the Spanish Inquisition, but without the comfy chair and soft pillows.
Dr John, maybe you're thinking of The Life of Brian? It probably would have upset the religious right in the U.S. more than the U.K.
Mattexian, if only the Muslim outrage was as funny as the Spanish Inquisition.
Yes, Lexcen, I was thinking of Life of Brian. And I did some research. Actually the studio quit due to blasphemy and they got the money to make it from George Harrison.
And then the movie was not banned here and it was banned in England. After a court case it was cleared to be shown the next year. But even then, local counties were able to ban the film and it remained banned over much of England until a big showing. I forget the year of the big showing, but it was an undergound film for a long time.
Uh, still, Muslim censorship has much less to do with culturist decisions derived democratically. And, as a culturist, I do not have a problem with local Christian communities deciding they do not want to show the film. That is part of democracy and not the heralding of Christian law uber alles.
This isn't a question of local censorship. It's one of taking one's own values and imposing them on someone halfway around the world through violence.
Lexcen,
This has peaked my curiosity. Is there any way I could see this cartoon, that got these Islamists so upset?
Damien, it's the one with a bearded guy in a turban that is shaped like a bomb. Supposedly representing Allah.
Lexcen,
So that's the one, why am I not surprised?
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