In the Funny Papers
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I've been trying to think of something to say on the Mohammed cartoon controversy. It's a complicated situation and I keep running into contradictory information that's been put out. In putting this out I have to say I'm not certain I have all of the facts straight yet but...
The whole thing seems to grow out of some bad feelings between European countries (especially those involved in colonialism in the Middle-East in the 19th and 20th centuries) and the Islamic world. There is still a great deal of resentment about the way the colonial powers operated and the way the west supported repressive dictatorships like the Nassar government in Egypt and Shah Palivi in Iran after the colonialists pulled out.
There's what looks like a pretty good summary of the events at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohammed_cartoons
To date about 139 people have been killed in connection to this controversy. Mostly these have been in North Africa and Pakistan. Protests were initially anti-Danish but some heve become anti-Western, anti-US, anti-Christian (especially in Nigeria), and anti-Jewish in nature.
There's obviously more going on here than a reaction to some cartoons. There are old wounds and present fears beign acted out in some very dangerous ways. When people make decisions based on fear or anger (which is usually a cover emotion for fear) it is easy for things to escalate out of control.
I am most distressed by the violence that has broken out. I can see why the cartoons were offensive. I can sympathize with a culture that feels unfairly singled out. I can understand the fears of those who see the cartoons as a sign that Europe and the west are increasingly bigoted against them.
But outrage and fear can't justify violence. The protests and the deaths are far out of proportion to the original offense. Innocents are suffering and dying and that will continue to happen more and more unless something changes.
One of the most important truths that I've learned is that there are essentially two ways of approaching the world. I call them "faith" and "fear".
Fear tells us that compassion, truth, justice, and such things are optional. When we're threatened we should drop them and become as ruthless and deceitful as we need to to beat our enemies. Fear teaches us that the only real value is winning and the only real god is power.
This is a kind of reasoning that can be seen in the protests but it's not limited to them. Fear is also the guiding force among those in the west who want to paint all Muslims with the same brush. It's the thinking of those who imagine that Islam is an evil religion and that disdain, intolerance, or brutality against Muslims are justified.
Fear justifies anything and everything in the name of self-defense and a righteous cause. It often masquerades as faith but it is really the enemy of true faith in every religion, and the enemy of integrity in the secular world.
What I call faith is the courage to remain true to your most important values even in frightening times. When we insist on speaking the truth in the face of popular misinformation, or insist on just and humane dealings with our neighbors in tims of conflict we are acting in faith.
For the religious, faith is trusting that the promises of God are every bit as true in times of crisis as they are in times of peace and prosperity. It is the assurance that the things we value most highly are not optional values, that they can and must be honored even when honoring them comes at the cost of personal sacrifice.
While I don't want to suggest that publishing hurtful words and images is the same as committing physical acts of violence, there's enough I'm using religious language, but I believe that what I call faith has a strong parallel in the secular world. I've known too many atheists and agnostics who showed great integrity in times of crisis to believe otherwise.
The world seems to be spinning dangerously down into the vortex of fear and violence. I hope that isn't true but the only way I know to respond is to commit to not being afraid, or at least not to let fear goad us into rash words and actions.
Keep the faith.
The whole thing seems to grow out of some bad feelings between European countries (especially those involved in colonialism in the Middle-East in the 19th and 20th centuries) and the Islamic world. There is still a great deal of resentment about the way the colonial powers operated and the way the west supported repressive dictatorships like the Nassar government in Egypt and Shah Palivi in Iran after the colonialists pulled out.
There's what looks like a pretty good summary of the events at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohammed_cartoons
To date about 139 people have been killed in connection to this controversy. Mostly these have been in North Africa and Pakistan. Protests were initially anti-Danish but some heve become anti-Western, anti-US, anti-Christian (especially in Nigeria), and anti-Jewish in nature.
There's obviously more going on here than a reaction to some cartoons. There are old wounds and present fears beign acted out in some very dangerous ways. When people make decisions based on fear or anger (which is usually a cover emotion for fear) it is easy for things to escalate out of control.
I am most distressed by the violence that has broken out. I can see why the cartoons were offensive. I can sympathize with a culture that feels unfairly singled out. I can understand the fears of those who see the cartoons as a sign that Europe and the west are increasingly bigoted against them.
But outrage and fear can't justify violence. The protests and the deaths are far out of proportion to the original offense. Innocents are suffering and dying and that will continue to happen more and more unless something changes.
One of the most important truths that I've learned is that there are essentially two ways of approaching the world. I call them "faith" and "fear".
Fear tells us that compassion, truth, justice, and such things are optional. When we're threatened we should drop them and become as ruthless and deceitful as we need to to beat our enemies. Fear teaches us that the only real value is winning and the only real god is power.
This is a kind of reasoning that can be seen in the protests but it's not limited to them. Fear is also the guiding force among those in the west who want to paint all Muslims with the same brush. It's the thinking of those who imagine that Islam is an evil religion and that disdain, intolerance, or brutality against Muslims are justified.
Fear justifies anything and everything in the name of self-defense and a righteous cause. It often masquerades as faith but it is really the enemy of true faith in every religion, and the enemy of integrity in the secular world.
What I call faith is the courage to remain true to your most important values even in frightening times. When we insist on speaking the truth in the face of popular misinformation, or insist on just and humane dealings with our neighbors in tims of conflict we are acting in faith.
For the religious, faith is trusting that the promises of God are every bit as true in times of crisis as they are in times of peace and prosperity. It is the assurance that the things we value most highly are not optional values, that they can and must be honored even when honoring them comes at the cost of personal sacrifice.
While I don't want to suggest that publishing hurtful words and images is the same as committing physical acts of violence, there's enough I'm using religious language, but I believe that what I call faith has a strong parallel in the secular world. I've known too many atheists and agnostics who showed great integrity in times of crisis to believe otherwise.
The world seems to be spinning dangerously down into the vortex of fear and violence. I hope that isn't true but the only way I know to respond is to commit to not being afraid, or at least not to let fear goad us into rash words and actions.
Keep the faith.
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