NationStates Jolt Archive


I don't understand..

IL Ruffino
22-02-2006, 14:42
These damn mohammed cartoons. Maybe I'm looking at the wrong cartoons. Maybe I'm not.. First off.. it's a cartoon, how does that translate to "Lets burn down a McDonalds!" ? Second, I don't see the big "no-no" in these cartoons. So Tell me, what the hell got them mad?
Eastern Coast America
22-02-2006, 14:44
Draw a picture of black jesus and all hell would break loose in america.
Eutrusca
22-02-2006, 14:45
Draw a picture of black jesus and all hell would break loose in america.
NOT! Jeeze. Give us a LITTLE credit! :(
Schnausages
22-02-2006, 14:45
They are always mad. Perhaps they have persistant constipation. The fact is, they are always burning stuff, breaking stuff, and generally angry about something. It is sort of like suddenly getting upset about a retard doing something retarded. Why? That is what they do...
Schnausages
22-02-2006, 14:46
Draw a picture of black jesus and all hell would break loose in america.

You mean like in Madonna's like a prayer video? Hrrm... I don't remember anybody burning anything then...
Demented Hamsters
22-02-2006, 14:49
Draw a picture of black jesus and all hell would break loose in america.
I think a more apt analogy would be draw Martin Luther King jr as a happy slave to a KKK and see what happens.
IL Ruffino
22-02-2006, 14:49
You mean like in Madonna's like a prayer video? Hrrm... I don't remember anybody burning anything then...
She got booted from a Pepsi (or Coke?) ad deal, and then WakkoJakko's hair caught on fire :D
Schnausages
22-02-2006, 14:53
I think a more apt analogy would be draw Martin Luther King jr as a happy slave to a KKK and see what happens.

Absolutely. If you want to see a reactionary group of people, you don't need to look very far, I guess.
Cabra West
22-02-2006, 14:54
NOT! Jeeze. Give us a LITTLE credit! :(

Let's rephrase that : Publish an image of Jesus passionately kissing Judas, both of them half-naked, in a mainstream newspaper, preferably by a Muslim artist, and you may just end up with burning mosques in many Western countries. Think Spain, Italy, Southern USA, .... you get the picture.
Eutrusca
22-02-2006, 14:59
Let's rephrase that : Publish an image of Jesus passionately kissing Judas, both of them half-naked, in a mainstream newspaper, preferably by a Muslim artist, and you may just end up with burning mosques in many Western countries. Think Spain, Italy, Southern USA, .... you get the picture.
I still seriously doubt anyone would resort to violence over it. True, there would be protests, but they would most likely be peaceful. :p
Argesia
22-02-2006, 15:00
Let's rephrase that : Publish an image of Jesus passionately kissing Judas, both of them half-naked, in a mainstream newspaper, preferably by a Muslim artist, and you may just end up with burning mosques in many Western countries. Think Spain, Italy, Southern USA, .... you get the picture.
Actually, a Muslim would be just as outraged by such a depiction of Nabi Issa.
Gravlen
22-02-2006, 15:00
These damn mohammed cartoons. Maybe I'm looking at the wrong cartoons. Maybe I'm not.. First off.. it's a cartoon, how does that translate to "Lets burn down a McDonalds!" ? Second, I don't see the big "no-no" in these cartoons. So Tell me, what the hell got them mad?
Honestly, it's a whole of a lot of things going. It's the combination of a percieved war on Islam by the west, the first tangible evidence of that war on their religion, the prohibition on portraying the Prophet in some cultures, the fanning of the flames by the danish imams who presented worse pictures "to illustrate" the anti-islamic sentiments in Denmark, the manipulations of totalitarian governments, the possibility for the mob to went their frustrations (on targets that won't strike back), powerplays on many different arenas (even the financial one) and many more factors. It's a complex matter, but rest assured it's not "just" these cartoons.

By the way, how many of the demonstrators do you think have actually seen the cartoons?
Cabra West
22-02-2006, 15:04
I still seriously doubt anyone would resort to violence over it. True, there would be protests, but they would most likely be peaceful. :p

There's more than enough spiteful people out there just waiting for a good excuse to through Molotov cocktails. Let the media create a similar hype about it, and you will most likely end up with violence even here.

My guess is, these cartoons are not the reason for the riots, they were just the last straw. There's been more than enough tension building up for at least two decades between the traditional Arab Muslim world and the West.
Tropical Storms
22-02-2006, 15:08
They are always mad. Perhaps they have persistant constipation. The fact is, they are always burning stuff, breaking stuff, and generally angry about something. It is sort of like suddenly getting upset about a retard doing something retarded. Why? That is what they do...
They aren't just angry all the time. People in Middle Eastern countries are constantly abused by the press. The cartoon is offensive because it's basically a mortal sin to depict Mohammed. Creating an image of any god/diety is essentially placing the god/diety in question on the same level as his/her worshippers. It is the defiling and slandarizing of a people using their god/diety as a representation of ignorant generalizations (not everyone who worships Mohammad is a terrorist).
Schnausages
22-02-2006, 15:12
Let's rephrase that : Publish an image of Jesus passionately kissing Judas, both of them half-naked, in a mainstream newspaper, preferably by a Muslim artist, and you may just end up with burning mosques in many Western countries. Think Spain, Italy, Southern USA, .... you get the picture.

Naah. You wouldn't see any sort of violence at all. There are tons of Jesus bashers all around, nobody says anything. These guys in the Middle East are just wacko.
Schnausages
22-02-2006, 15:14
They aren't just angry all the time.

I agree, they are not just angry. They are out for blood.
Yurka
22-02-2006, 15:20
Pffft everyone makes fun of Jesus all over the place, even in parts of the South. Sure you could wind up beaten up by hicks, but I doubt it'd cause a riot or anything.
Gargantua City State
22-02-2006, 15:22
I still seriously doubt anyone would resort to violence over it. True, there would be protests, but they would most likely be peaceful. :p

There are peaceful protests in the Muslim world, too.
But there is a small % in any religious group that is fanatical.
I'm willing to bet you'd get some Christian fundamentalists getting out of hand.

The big issue with the cartoon is that Muslims consider it blatantly wrong to portray any prophet in any form. So, whether it's paintings, statues, or cartoons, they just don't do it. That goes for ALL people they consider prophets, including Jesus, Moses, etc.
So the previous "black Jesus" example probably wouldn't sit well with them... but I think they generally tolerate the differences between Muslims and Christians in that Christianity is all about plastering Jesus' face all over anything that has room for it...
It's a fairly significant cultural difference that I was unaware of until this whole thing started. So, if nothing else, at least we're having a renewed interest in each other, and learning a bit as we go. :)
Argesia
22-02-2006, 15:35
Naah. You wouldn't see any sort of violence at all. There are tons of Jesus bashers all around, nobody says anything. These guys in the Middle East are just wacko.
You're so right [/SARCASM]. Let's introduce random modern Christian men of peace, to see where generalizations lead:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiso - Jozef Tiso
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._C._Cuza - A. C. Cuza
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_mcveigh - Timmy McVeigh
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miroslav_Filipovi%C4%87 - Miroslav Filipović
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D._C._Stephenson - D. C. Stephenson
Gravlen
22-02-2006, 15:45
The big issue with the cartoon is that Muslims consider it blatantly wrong to portray any prophet in any form. So, whether it's paintings, statues, or cartoons, they just don't do it. That goes for ALL people they consider prophets, including Jesus, Moses, etc.
Not quite so. There are differences between sects (Shiites more liberal than Sunni, for example) and cultures. There are a lot of depictions of Muhammed in Iran, and you can buy them on the markets there without any trouble.

The issue in this case is rather the insult to Islam, not so much the depiction of Muhammed.