Moscow museum to exhibit Mohammed cartoons

UPI ^

[annalex]

My problem is with insult, and even more specifically, blasphemy, against any established religion. I have absolutely no problem with humor, criticism, and use of just force against Islam, especially in Europe where they operate on foreign to them territory and parasitize the culture they had no hand in building.

As a Christian I know that persecution, -- and public blasphemy is a form of persecution, make no mistake about it, -- makes a religion stronger. I do not want to make Islam stronger.

Why is blasphemy different from other forms of verbal pressure? Two reasons.

First, blasphemy is often insults not just a specific religion but is directed against God in general, father of us all. I understand that this aspect is missing in the Mohammed cartoon case since as far as I can tell, they ridiculed Mohammed alone. But it needs to be recognized as a danger inherent in blasphemy. If, for example, an atheist publication goes overboard in their mockery of religion, Jews, Christians, Dalai Lama and Muslems are all insulted. The same cartoonists, and their enablers, demostrated their readiness to insult Jesus; only the memory of the persecution of the Jews a few decades ago would prevent them from insulting the Jews.

Second, it does not differentiate between Muslims. It is therefore wrong measured against our own tradition of classic liberalism, which insists on individual responsibility. The Muslim world is filled with devout Muslims who would not hurt a fly, are appalled by the mad bombers, and in fact flock to the West because they rejoice in the promise of tolerance and individual security. Mohammed is their prophet too, the crescent is their symbol. They rightly view this as persecution of Muslims regardless of what they do or think. It is unjust to inflict the insult on them, and it is stupid.

Freedom of speech is not hurt by censorship in a democratic open society like ours. Censorship has been a feature of both American and European jurisprudence for centuries, yet Voltaire, H.D. Lawrence and Henry Miller were able to put their message across (yes, some of their output was banned at one time or another). It is an atmosphere of insults that lowers the culture of intellectual exchange and so prevents free speech.

Multiculturalism, or other forms of political correctness being at work here in my person is another red herring. Insults to religion ARE politically correct when directed at orthodox/fundamentalist Christianity and Islam. To suggest that a society built on Western values should protect religious minorities against witch hunting dates back to the Middle Ages. You can just as easily dismiss the Constitution as an exercise in multiculturalism.