Christianity

Understanding the Danish cartoons

Udland Jyllands-Posten’s culture editor, Flemming Rose, has penned an article called “Why I Published Those Cartoons“. This is a very good read and I highly recommend it. It is, of course, referring to the cartoons that have sparked such insanity in the Middle East. I learned a lot from the article that I didn’t know, like that there were actually 12 different cartoons, most of which have gone unnoticed, and that the outcome in Denmark has been significantly different (and infinitely more positive).

Frankly, I haven’t addressed the cartoons because I simply can’t wrap my mind around the madness. I read one article where a Muslim was quoted saying something like, “Can you imagine the outrage if this was done to Christians?” and my mind just boggled. Apparently he doesn’t know that Christians, Christianity, and Jesus are routinely mocked all over the world. I also can’t get over the irony of the response: people don’t like that they feel they are being called terrorists, so they react by acting like terrorists.

Understand, I do not try to offend people of other faiths, and would never do so for the sake of offending. I have read and respect other perspectives on this. But I find myself agreeing fully with Mr. Rose.

Has Jyllands-Posten insulted and disrespected Islam? It certainly didn’t intend to. But what does respect mean? When I visit a mosque, I show my respect by taking off my shoes. I follow the customs, just as I do in a church, synagogue or other holy place. But if a believer demands that I, as a nonbeliever, observe his taboos in the public domain, he is not asking for my respect, but for my submission. And that is incompatible with a secular democracy.

Whether or not you agree with Mr. Rose, it is useful to understand where he’s coming from. Now if only I could find a Muslim perspective that actually makes sense. (That’s not quite accurate; the moderate Muslims are perfectly sensible—I just can’t figure out the extremists.)

© 2006 Something Epic.