- Introductions: Name & What is your opinion of Islam?
- Restatement of theme:
- “If this issue was the reason a non-believer gave as their obstacle to Christianity, what would we say to them?”
- Theme verse: “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart.” (Matthew 13:19)
- Today’s Topic: Muhammed Cartoon Controversy
- Background to the Issue
- What have you heard in the news, etc., about the cartoons?
- The cartoons were originally published in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten in September of 2005.
- They were originally commissioned to high-light an author’s difficulty in getting illustrators for his children’s book about Muhammed.
- According to Flemming Rose, culture editor at the paper, “I did not ask the illustrators to make the Prophet a laughing stock—I asked them to draw the Prophet as they see him. In Denmark we have a tradition of satire and humour and some cartoonists made satirical cartoons. We have done the same thing with Jesus Christ and other religions. That’s what we do with the royal family, politicians and other public figures. We were not treating Islam or the Prophet any differently from how we treat everybody else in Denmark.”
- They only provoked mild complaints at first.
- Last month (January 2006), several (around 6?) European newspapers decided to reprint the cartoons. Apparently, this was joined (although I’m not sure if it as in the same newspapers or simply at roughly the same time) with political and media leaders trying to assert that free speech was a greater priority than being concerned about Muslims. (See article in The Age.)
- They had also been printed in an Egyptian paper, with a strong denunciation. (From Wikipedia.)
- There were 12 cartoons. They depicted:
- A picture of Muhammed with a bomb as a Turban. It also features the Islamic creed, “There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is His Prophet.” as an inscription on the headpiece.
- A cartoonist drawing a picture of Muhammed in fear of being discovered.
- A line-up of turbaned figures with a witness trying to identify Muhammed; they appear to be several different religious figures.
- A man telling suicide bombers about to enter Paradise, “Stop, stop! We have run out of virgins!”
- A star and crescent superimposed over the Muhammed’s head.
- Muhammed (actually, apparently a Muslim immigrant to Denmark) “teaching” a lesson that “Jyllands-Postens’ journalists are a bunch of reactionary provocateurs.”
- A man wearing a turban with a “PR stunt” orange on his head holding a card with a stick figure wearing a turban on it. “Orange in the turban” is a Danish proverb meaning “stroke of luck.”
- A picture of Muhammed in the desert.
- An abstract thing of stars and crescents with a caption of “Prophet! Daft and dumb keeping woman under thumb.” or “Prophet, you crazy bloke! Keeping women under yoke.”
- A man wearing with a crescent in the place of halo over his head; it looks a little bit like horns.
- A picture of a man wearing a turban with a sword and two veiled women behind him. The woman have their eyes unveiled, while the man has his eyes covered with a black rectangle, the exact “negative” of the women’s veils.
- An apparent religious leader saying to men with swords and bombs, “Relax, friends, at the end of the day, it’s just a drawing by a non-believing South Jutlander.”
- You can see the cartoons.
- The original article had the following text:
- “The modern, secular society is rejected by some Muslims. They demand a special position, insisting on special consideration of their own religious feelings. It is incompatible with contemporary democracy and freedom of speech, where you must be ready to put up with insults, mockery and ridicule. It is certainly not always attractive and nice to look at, and it does not mean that religious feelings should be made fun of at any price, but that is of minor importance in the present context. […] we are on our way to a slippery slope where no-one can tell how the self-censorship will end. That is why Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten has invited members of the Danish editorial cartoonists union to draw Muhammad as they see him.” (See the Wikipedia article.)
- Reaction against Denmark had started last October or so, but reactions have been escalating since, with the re-publishment of the cartoons, with other (and sexually offensive) cartoons having been found, possible reactions of Danish people toward Muslims, and a report by Danish Muslim leaders claiming the repression of Islam in Denmark (which included 3 extra cartoons of mostly unclear origin).
- Why the reaction?
- Many Muslims believe that pictures of Muhammed are blasphemous. As stated by Mustafa Akyol, “A deep respect for God, His revelations, and His prophets is a hallmark of the Islamic faith. In the Muslim culture there are no jokes about God; we take Him and His religion quite seriously. And we abhor those who ridicule them.”
- But there is a huge disagreement among Muslims whether peaceful reaction or violent reaction is appropriate. Akyol would argue strongly that the theologically consistent reaction is “civilized disapproval” rather than “emotional uproar.”
- There has also been a lot of controversy about whether they cartoons should have been published and whether or not they should be republished.
- As a Christian, what is your response to this issue?
- What did Jesus teach that would help us respond to this issue?
- How about the rest of the Scriptures?
- But where does slander fit in? Not necessarily with the original cartoons, exactly, but with the generalizations we make from them. Yes, some Muslims are violent. (As are some Christians.) But not all are—and, I suspect that we, as Christians, have a real duty to promote truth and not slander. Not by making more laws—but by setting the story straight.
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