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February 09, 2006
What's Next
Bruce Bawer weighs in on the Danish cartoons, putting the whole affair in context:
Many Europeans agree with Kofi Annan that freedom “should always be exercised in a way that fully respects… religious beliefs, “ and with Sunday Times (UK) columnist Simon Jenkins that the main question here is “whether we truly want to share a world in peace with those who have values and religious beliefs different from our own.� What’s called for, they say, is “respect,� “restraint,� and “responsibility.� And, above all, “sensitivity.� For them, this is simply a case of the powerful mocking the faith of the weak.On the contrary, what’s happening here is that a gang of bullies—led by a country, Saudi Arabia, where Bibles are forbidden, Christians tortured, Jews routinely labeled “apes and pigs� in the state-controlled media, and apostasy from Islam punished by death—is trying to compel a tiny democracy to live by its own theocratic rules. To succumb to pressure from this gang would simply be to invite further pressure, and lead to further concessions—not just by Denmark but by all of democratic Europe. And when they’ve tamed Europe, they’ll come after America.
After all, the list of Western phenomena that offend the sensibilities of many Muslims is a long one—ranging from religious liberty, sexual equality, and the right of gay people not to have a wall dropped on them, to music, alcohol, dogs, and pork. After a few Danish cartoons, what’s next?
Meanwhile the New York Times reports on how Islamic elites intentionally turned the Danish cartoon affair from a local controversy in Northern Europe into a worldwide jihad. The notion that the Danish newspaper editors should have anticipated all this is getting more absurd every day.
Posted by Conor at February 9, 2006 03:48 PM
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Comments
The idea of toleration to avoid conflict will inevitably fail because there will always be radicals who will do their best to destroy the opposing beliefs. That leads me to question if the world was to be unified, what beliefs should we follow? Which society is correct? Who knows the best way to lead our lives?
As we offend the Muslims, they offend us. We know that we live life the right way, and they know that they live life the right way. It seems like the only option to end this conflict is for a set of beliefs to dominate and wipe out all others, most likely through war, since it is becoming clearer each day that the opposing cultures of the West and the Middle East will not be able to coexist forever.
Posted by: Cy-town at February 9, 2006 04:08 PM
I see Cyrus's point with the radicals but I don't understand why we have to chose the Western or the Middle Eastern lifestyle. I think the people we need to change are the radicals. They are not expected to agree with the opposing side. They are simply excepted to agree to disagree. I know to most people this seems to ideal. While this idea is ideal, I think it is the only way to go about the situation. It seems like we are spending too much time thinking war is the only way out but really war doesn't actually change anything. Maybe we will accomplish our goal and win this war but in twenty or thirty years from now, when the opposing side's fear has worn off, we will face another war. The process is never-ending and our "victory" will only be temporary. Instead of wasitng our time with temporary victories, why not focus on the long term? We should spend more time trying to "agree to disagree" rather than to change their whole outlook. It's not our place to change their beliefs and it's not possible to change the way they live. If neither cultures try to dominate each other, why can't we coexist?
Posted by: Priya Kumar at February 9, 2006 04:46 PM
The appeasement of evil just allows more evil to occur. While we should be sensitive to the culture and religion of other countries, we should not let this need for sensitivity to become our handicap. Let us remember that Muslims (not neccessarily all) believe its alright to kill foreigners. Their religion condones this type of action. How are we supposed to treat with another culture peacefully when they assume the right to take the lives of others? However, I do not believe that the only solution is the decimation of an entire race or culture. That rings too close to communism for my taste.
Posted by: Richard at February 9, 2006 05:53 PM
Even though I see Richard’s point, I find that I definitely agree with Cyrus. It is unfortunate that the only solution seems to be one set of beliefs conquering the other, but there is no way that these different mindsets can co-exist peacefully. We are clearly seeing the rumblings of a much bigger problem. However, unless one side gives in, petty battles such as this one over the cartoon will continue. How can we say that our views here in America is right? We can’t, so trying to force our beliefs down the throats of others can never be a solution.
Posted by: Nisha Bedi at March 9, 2006 05:59 PM