From enmity to understanding

From enmity to understanding:
Some remarks on political cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) and following reaction

‘Goodness and evil cannot be equal.
Repel (evil) with something that is better.
Then you will see that he with whom you had enmity
will become your close friend.
And no one will be granted such goodness
except those who exercise patience and self-restraint.’
(Holy Qur’an: 41:34-35)

Probably all of you know already the story about the offensive cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) in the Danish ‘Jyllands-Posten’ newspaper and the huge wave of protest that has struck the Muslim world. The story that was almost about to be over, restarted thanks to other European mass-media that disagreed with the apologizes of the ‘Jyllands-Posten’ editor and published these cartoons again. Debates are going on and radicals from both sides make hostile statements and acts. ‘Daily Tar Heel’ also decided to contribute to this ‘clash of civilizations’ making a cartoon of its own. It looks like making fun of Mohammad (pbuh) has become very fashionable this season and every one want to be cool.
Probably, common sense of rational people tells them that it is impossible to put out the fire by pouring some gasoline on it. Unless one has some other plans (which is also might be the case). However, that is what is happening.

Publishing offensive cartoons of the Prophet (pbuh) can not be justified by the ‘freedom of expression’. There is no absolute freedom and each freedom ends when it infringes on freedoms of others. You don’t have to take course in political science in order to understand this. Let’s be honest. There are always some taboos in every society, including European and American. I don’t want to elaborate on what are these topics, but there are some that I can not imagine having cartoons about n American and European press. It happens for Muslims that this taboo is making fun of the Prophet, Holy Qur’an, etc.

Every one has a right to do whatever she wants to do in a free society, some say. Let’s assume I have the right to have party in my house. Then my neighbor has the right to call police if my party disturbs him (her). However, if my neighbor is cool about it and does not bother, then party goes on. So when others do not protest actively and massively when their religion is offended they, like that neighbor, just let the party go on. However, if it violates my right to be who I am without being offended, then I also have right to protest and make a violator of my rights to “stop the party”.

Even if we assume it is not legally forbidden, publication of these cartoons is unacceptable from ethical point of view and absolutely irresponsible. Every right assumes certain responsibility, otherwise, why non-adults do not enjoy all the rights that adults do? Why mentally incompetent persons are not held responsible for their acts? Let’s then provide everybody with absolute and unlimited rights. Can you imagine this kind of “free society”?

Why some of European media and partially general public went to this confrontation? In my humble opinion there are several explanations:
Due to the increase of immigrant population (mainly Muslim) and a lot of cultural and ideological differences, there is a rise in hostility (both hidden and open) on the part of European society towards Muslims. This event just tore off the curtain of political correctness and revealed its hidden fears and complexes. After centuries of religious wars, Europe is afraid of any impact of religion and new challenges that come from Muslim understanding of the role of religion in everyday life. What is happening now is that there is a certain threat to “European values” from outside. It is like saying “you see, they want to impose on us their laws”, “we do not have to follow your rules” and “go home, if you do not like us”.
An Eurocentric approach to other non-European worldviews, which makes it hard to change from inside and absorb something that comes from “barbaric” people and cultures. Partly, it is connected to the previous explanation.

At the same time, riots, burning flags and embassies, death threats and declaration of war, drawing cartoons in response and showing all kind of disrespect is absolutely inappropriate reaction. Why? See the epigraph. If we care about the symbols of our religion, we should pay attention to what it teaches us. Doing what we have been doing for centuries as Muslims we have showed even greater disrespect to our Prophet (pbuh). And after all, we should practice what we preach. Now everything just turned upside down and ‘Muslims world’ in a way lost its initial international moral support on this issue. Why we use fists, if we can use arguments, “repelling with something that is better.” Again and again, many people in the ‘Muslim world’ rise to all kinds of blatant provocations and fully meet the expectation of those who stand behind them. “Wanna see crazy Muslims? Here you go”. Why it happened in this particular case? In my opinion there might be several explanations:
Only a small minority of people participates in these violent actions and most of Muslims despite the same feeling of humiliation and offense protest peacefully. Unfortunately, you do not see these people on TV. Usually, you see those who burn flags, destroy and burn property, scream and shout. As we know from Mancur Olson’s theory of group behavior usually small groups are more organized and flexible in their activities. This makes their collective actions more effective. In the meantime, huge and dispersed group remains unheard due to its dispersion and lack of coordination. This is the case now. Small radical religious groups have mobilized their resources and followers and are on the front line now. It is easy for them, especially, if it is what other not less radical but secular group just expects them to do. It was the time for radicals on both sides to tell: “You see, I was right. They hate us.”
This event has turned into the tool of political fight. Lebanon accuses Syria, US accuses Syria and Iran, Syria accuses US, Iran accuses “global Zionism” and so on. “Taliban” gets another carte-blanche and speaks out gaining supporters. Many interest groups just take advantage of this conflict and try to increase their political capitals through keeping the “fire of hatred” burning.
For some people, it is just another manifestation of the “clash of civilizations”. Imagine a poor, uneducated person, who lives in worse economic and political conditions than people in the West do, “local authorities” on the street tell him that it is the “infidel West” that is responsible for all problems. And now they “stab at our Prophet (pbuh)”. Again there is a great deal of psychological fears and complexes that just need a shock to come out. And when you know that there is no way your voice of protest will be heard if you do not raise hell, you raise hell and make it to the news, letting your emotions out at the same time. It is like Raskolnikov in Dostoevsky’s “Crime and Punishment”, who commits a crime in order to prove to himself and everybody that “I am not a trembling wight, I also have a right.”

What to do? Finally, understand that we live in the globalized world, where everything is closely interconnected; that there are a lot of differences and being different does not necessarily mean being wrong or inferior. People on both sides should forget about arrogance and start listening. If you want to use cartoons to stress certain problems of the ‘Muslim world’ there are many other figures to make fun of and, verily, the Prophet Mohammad (phuh) is not among them.

The demography of Europe is dramatically changing. It means that significant social changes are on the way. How to deal with this process? Well, you can use Adolf Hitler’s approach and place all those who are different and not of a “higher race” to concentration camps. You can also be more generous and force them into ghettos and reservations and get segregated from them.

But you may also try to ‘include’ them and respect their values. If you look at the ‘Muslim world’ you will see how it has got westernized for the last 200 years and is still changing. Like in Europe, in many ‘Muslim countries’ people are afraid of loosing their own identity and get absorbed by external ‘mass culture’. In this context, offense of the Prophet (pbuh) has much broader implications.

We should forget about ‘East’ and ‘West’, there is one world, which is like a living organism. If one part hurts the whole organism feels this pain. It is always easy to judge others, but it is not what should be done now. Anger and enmity is not the answer. We can not do anything about the world becoming smaller but try to make use of this process through mutual understanding instead of mutual enmity.

Fuad Aliyev
Hubert H. Humphrey fellow
Public Policy
University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill