Insulting Islam?

On Tuesday February 7, 2006 my local paper once again sprung to the defense of the offended Muslims in the cartoon flap, this is my response to them.

Your editorial “Insulting Islam” February 7, 2006 completely misses the mark. As a purveyor of free speech I find it amusing that you would call the publishing of these cartoons “an unnecessary, deliberately provocative and a patently stupid move on the part of those newspapers” and yet you were completely silent on the publishing by Newsweek of the completely false Koran Flushing incident which caused almost as much consternation in the Muslim world. The truth of the matter is most editorial and political cartoons are drawn based upon some kernel of truth, if Muslims are “understandably offended” by the portrayal of their prophet wearing a bomb instead of a turban then why aren’t they offended when one of their members wears a real bomb into a crowded market place and murders dozens of innocents all in the name of their God?

To so disingenuously claim that this “is another manifestation of the culture clash between an increasing secular Europe and the religious Muslim world” ignores the fact that Christians and Jews around the world do not call for the beheading of those that offend them when they use images of their savior in offensive art. Or more importantly when the offending party calls for their removal based solely on the point that they are Christians and Jews. The fact that it has become a “vicious cycle” is because the media outlets in this country continue to make excuses for their intolerant behavior instead of demanding that they act more civilized.