Sound Politics: A selective willingness to take offense

February 10, 2006

A selective willingness to take offense

Also in today's P-I is a report on the reaction of local Muslims to the Danish cartoons "Area Muslims channel anger over cartoons"

no local demonstrations are planned ... Aziz Junejo, who hosts a local cable television show on Islam, said some Muslims in the area have engaged in a letter-writing campaign and other activities to defend Muhammad's image.

Meanwhile, today's news from Iraq is that one group of Muslims set off a car bomb at a mosque frequented by a different group of Muslims, killing 9 people.

I post the cartoon at left not to offend Mr. Junejo and other Seattle Muslims, but to criticize those Muslims who bomb other people in the name of Islam

The P-I article doesn't say to whom the local Muslims are writing their letters in order to defend Muhammad's image. But I think they'll maximize their success if they send some of those letters to the actual bombers who have done more to conflate Muhammad with bombs than any cartoonist has ever done.

Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at February 10, 2006 10:08 AM | Email This

Comments

1. Islam is a religion of peace.
There will be peace on earth when all the infidels are dead, converted or dhimmis.
It is Allah's will there be peace on earth.
Therefore criticizing Islam is criticizing Allah's will.
Criticizing Allah is heresy.
Heresy deserve death, to maintain the peace.

Bombings and beheadings are the path to peace.

Are you against peace?

Posted by: JCM on February 10, 2006 10:38 AM

2. I always wondered- was this cartoon about Mohammed or just a cartoon caricature of Zawahiri? And then, if it was Zawahiri, how did it come to symbolize Mohammed?

Posted by: swatter on February 10, 2006 11:00 AM

3. As long as they get attention and are useful to the terrorists who back this ruse, the players will act
out their respective parts. Liberal Democrats are empty brained simps.

Why didn't these "devout Muslims" raise hell early last summer when the cartoons were actually
published on an international scale? This isn't about cartoons, or Islamic outrage.

Posted by: Amused by liberals on February 10, 2006 11:11 AM

4. Gutsy call, Shark. Well done.

Posted by: Hinton on February 10, 2006 11:12 AM

5. Hey -- has Horsey stepped up to the drawing board yet -- huh?? -- huh?? -- anyone know?? -- or is he still trying to figger out to make it Bush's fault??

Posted by: Bill on February 10, 2006 11:21 AM

6. Come on Horsey -- can't we have at least one depiction of ole Mo' with one of your signature phalus capped noses???

Posted by: Bill on February 10, 2006 11:23 AM

7. When will the media start realizing that radical Islam is the mainstream Islam? I say this because it seems that if there was a non-radical mainstream Islam, you'd hear from them more. But you don't. It seems that all Imans, or most, believe what the rioters/terroists are doing is OK and preach it.

BTW - I don't believe people should go out of their way to offend people, but that you believe what you believe and if that offends people that is what is going to happen. I'm not going to change my beliefs just because someone is offended. I will engage in open discourse with those that are offended to understand that offense and educate them on my belief and then they can decide to remain offended or not or I might be persuaded that my opinion/belief is incorrect and alter it. But never will violence cause me to change that opinion....it will only bolster it.

Posted by: Dengle on February 10, 2006 11:41 AM

8. How many religions impose the death penalty on non-adherents?

Posted by: JCM on February 10, 2006 12:01 PM

9. Nice comic there! :)

Posted by: dcat on February 10, 2006 12:11 PM

10. The refusal of the MSM to publish the cartoons is their version of Jane Fonda Goes To Hanoi. The current US president is Repulican. The MSM is Democrat. They feel they can hurt the Republican President by supporting the enemy and opposing America. It's the same old story. To Democrats, getting elected is all that matters. National security and honest elections don't matter.

Posted by: PW on February 10, 2006 12:56 PM

11. I'd love to see some of these "letters." It's doubtful that they exist in the same way the fake cartoons were doubtful and simply designed as a tool for incitement.

Posted by: Jeff B. on February 10, 2006 01:20 PM

12. Don't you find it interesting that the reclaiming of their 'wounded' honor needs very little to trigger it and a great deal to relieve the offense.

When you look at the reactions to the cartoons by comparison to the cycle of an honor killing where a woman who has been raped and found out must be killed by her family because she has dishonored them, you quickly see that their 'honor' is easily sullied. It always appears that others do the dishonoring and never they themselves. Where else can you liberate your honor by doing in others.

Posted by: Carla on February 10, 2006 02:58 PM

13. Howyousdoing,

I know how dem Muhammad types feel, us wise guys dont eat at GODFATHERS PIZZA for the same reason.

Forgetaboutit.

Posted by: Joey bag of doughnuts on February 10, 2006 03:39 PM

14. To Democrats, getting elected is all that matters. National security and honest elections don't matter.

Posted by PW at February 10, 2006 12:56 PM

It seems to me that National security and honest elections are things that really bother most Democrat leaders-they think as soon as they get rid of these little issues, they will be the in crowd

Posted by: pagar on February 10, 2006 04:17 PM

15. Bill: Horsey has a wife and kids. Do you think he would risk their lives to defend freedom of speech? Get real. I agree he could probably do a good Mo and get some Muslims worked up, but he could start WWIII tomorrow with his depiction of 72 nubile virgins. Nobody does ta-tas like Horsey.

Posted by: Organization Man on February 10, 2006 04:34 PM

16. Islam means "submission", not "peace", salaam means "peace". Or so I've been told.

If these jihad whackoffs go nuts over a few mild caricatures published months ago, then they'll go nuts over anything. No matter how we tippy-toe around them, these habitual bullies are simply going to find or contrive another "insult" to blame their rampages on. It's past time to call them on it.

Submit? NEVER.

Radical Islam needs to be treated by the world as Apartheid was, and swept into the dust bin of history.

Posted by: starboardhelm on February 10, 2006 06:40 PM