The other part of this controversy I wanted to say something about was the cartoons themselves. It didn't seem to fit with the last posting.

The Jyllands-Posten has maintained that it didn't mean to single out Muslims for scorn and satire with the cartoons. The cultural editor, Flemming Rose (who is now on indefinite leave) said,

"The cartoonists treated Islam the same way they treat Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism and other religions. And by treating Muslims in Denmark as equals they made a point: We are integrating you into the Danish tradition of satire because you are part of our society, not strangers. The cartoons are including, rather than excluding, Muslims."

http://www.aiu.dk/avisnet/show.php?id=812 (The citation is in Danish)

I imagine that Mr. Rose is being truthful but if so he is naive. There is a great dela of deal of difference between picking on a comfortable religion that is a part of the dominant culture and picking on a minority who feels vulnerable. Christians and even Jews can feel reasonably safe in Denmark. Muslims do not feel they take this for granted in the same way.

I ran into the same sort of thing talking with Jewish friends about the movie THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST when it opened. Christian friends couldn't see anything anti-Semitic about the film, and I would have missed that if I hadn't been looking for it. For the Jews I talked to the anti-Semitism was glaringly obvious. This was probably because they knew the history of the Passion Plays in Europe that were similar in tone and substance to the movie. They remembered the history that Christians had mostly forgotten. In Europe there were Easter riots in past centuries. Christians coming out of the intense experience of the Passion Play would storm the Jewish ghettos burinign the stores of the people they called "Christ killers." Because of that history American Christians and Jews had extremely different perceptions of the film.

I believe it's like that with the Danish Muslims, and Muslims in many parts of the world. Things that seem innocuous to the majority culture may seem terribly hurtful, and even threatening from that perspective. The rest of would do well to remember that.

Did the Jyllands-Posten have a right to publish the cartoons? Of course they did. Freedom of speech (even offensive speech) is vital for any free society. Was it a good judgment for them to do it? Is it good judgment for other publications to continue to publish the cartoons? Maybe not.

In 1 Corinthians 8 there is an interesting discussion of freedom, and the responsibility that comes with it. He has some friends engaged in doing something that they have every right to do (eating meat that has been offered to idols.) The problem is that their doing this is having a bad effect on people who aren't at the same level of understanding.

"In strict logic, then, nothing happened to the meat when it was offered up to an idol. It's just like any other meat. I know that, and you know that. But knowing isn't everything. If it becomes everything, some people end up as know-it-alls who treat others as know-nothings. Real knowledge isn't that insensitive. We need to be sensitive to the fact that we're not all at the same level of understanding in this. Some of you have spent your entire lives eating "idol meat," and are sure that there's something bad in the meat that then becomes something bad inside of you. An imagination and conscience shaped under those conditions isn't going to change overnight." (1 Cor 8:7)

I think the same thing applies here. There's a wonderful freedom in western societies to say what we think without fear of censorship. But when we use this to say things without caring about the effect that will have on others we're abusing that freedom.

I'm not arguing for censorship, or political correctness, or any other form of coercion. I'm just hoping that people who put words out will take the time to think of how powerful they are, and how much damage they can do when used without thought or compassion.

Which means I'm probably just shouting at the wind I suppose :-)