Posted on 02/05/2006 11:46:47 AM PST by lancer
WASHINGTON: Tempered reaction among US Muslims to the row over cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) can be partly attributed to their integration into American society, community leaders say.
Fear of reprisals and the fact that the offending cartoons have not been reprinted in any major US newspapers may also have contributed to the lack of street protests and violence, they add. “There is better integration here of communities into the general society than in Europe where integration has not been very effective,” Kareem Shora, of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), said.
“This (controversy) echoes the historical problems that Europeans had with anti-Semitism,” he added. “Now Islamophobia seems to be an acceptable form of public discourse in Europe.”
Osama Siblani, publisher of The Arab American News in the state of Michigan, which has the largest concentration of Arabs outside the Middle East, said he believes the country’s 6-7mn Muslims had not taken to the streets to express outrage in part because of fear of retaliation by authorities.
“People are scared,” he said. “We have a government saying it is spying on us and it’s scaring the living daylights out of people.
“But they still feel the same about this issue and are very angry.” Siblani blasted the cartoons as proof of Western insensitivity to Islam and double standards in dealing with the Muslim world. “The other day the president of Iran made a statement about the Holocaust and the whole world condemned him,” he said. “Here you have a statement offending 1.3bn people around the world. Why don’t we see condemnation?”
“There is one set of rules for the West and another set for everyone else,” he added. “Where do we draw the line on your freedom of speech and hurting my feelings and principles and irritating the hell out of me?”
Several community leaders warned that the crisis could easily escalate if the West fails to fully grasp the reasons behind the uproar over the cartoons, which have been printed in several European newspapers and which Muslims regard as blasphemous.
Islamic tradition bans depictions of the Prophet (pbuh). “Instead of encouraging constructive integration, this (cartoon controversy) does nothing but add to the divide and perception that there is an us-versus-them mentality,” Shora said.
He said ADC planned to meet next week with members of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCRIF), a government body that promotes religious tolerance, to discuss the uproar.
Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), said he hoped the controversy would not escalate any further and that reason would win over violence.
“We hope and pray that cool heads will prevail in the next few days and weeks as this controversy comes to our shores,” he said. “That extremism and bigotry will not be allowed to shape the debate between America and the Muslim world.”
The United States backed Muslims on Friday against European newspapers that printed the blasphemous cartoons in a move that could help America’s battered image in the Islamic world.
Inserting itself into a dispute that has become a lightning rod for anti-European sentiment across the Muslim world, the United States sided with Muslims outraged that the publications put press freedom over respect for religion.
“These cartoons are indeed offensive to the belief of Muslims,” State Department spokesman Kurtis Cooper said in answer to a question.
“We all fully recognise and respect freedom of the press and expression, but it must be coupled with press responsibility. Inciting religious or ethnic hatreds in this manner is not acceptable.”
The United States stopped short of urging US media not to republish the cartoons.
American Muslims welcomed the position despite some misgivings that unpopular US policies such as the Iraq war and perceived pro-Israeli stances in the Palestinian conflict meant there was little America could do to repair its image.
Let us know when you are leaving and we'll know where to draw the line.
By the way, reading this article, it dawned on me where the expression "poobah" might have come from: pbuh....?
no, poop be upon him.
For rioting, arson, assault, murder, threat-making, destruction of property, et al?
You betcha.
For writing non-threatening letters to the editor, cancelling your newspaper subscription, peaceful demonstration, et al?
Nope.
Every time I see "Peace Be Upon Him" or PBUM I want to puke.
Any US muslims condemn the violence? Didn't think so.
Integration, eh? Is that why muslims in Detroit (or "Mecca in Michigan" as I call it) were celebrating in their localities after 9/11?
"Fear of reprisals and the fact that the offending cartoons have not been reprinted in any major US newspapers may also have contributed to the lack of street protests and violence..."
You bet the fear of American citizens wielding superior firepower and burning their mosques to ground cause them to be restrained.
Tempered reaction comes from the fact that we are armed and willing to defend our freedoms.
"“People are scared,” he said."
Good.
Try being a Christian in a Mooslim country for a while, then talk to us about fear.
"“People are scared,” he said.
Good."
That's what I want them to be.
Is this rationalist wh*&^ comparing the murder of six million citizens of European countries with a cartoon?
my second amendment rights, which I am not afraid to use.
I prefer "The False-Prophet Mohammed, may he burn in hell (MHBIH)".
.....and the fear of being lynched. Using a rope is cheaper and funner to watch.
"Consider the following. If you say something negative about Joseph Smith or Brigham Young, the Mormons won’t threaten to kill you. If you malign Moses, Orthodox rabbis won’t issue a fatwah against you. If you insult Jesus, in a painting or play, you’re likely to get a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. It’s only the apostles of the Religion of Peace who are ready to whack you for looking cross-eyed at their beloved prophet."
—Don Feder, RELIGION OF PEACE WATCH, October 28, 2002
I thought PBUM was "pigs be upon him"...
State Department spokesman Kurtis Cooper said in answer to a question.
“We all fully recognise and respect freedom of the press and expression, but it must be coupled with press responsibility. Inciting religious or ethnic hatreds in this manner is not acceptable.”
HOW, is telling the truth..unacceptable?
Madison, where are you now?
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