Monday, February 06, 2006
So I'm Supposed to Believe This Tripe?
Spare Me Your Faux Anger O'Muslim World
Ok, events seem to be progressing rapidly in the 'Muslim World' with the ongoing "outrage" over the "offensive" cartoon depictions of the prophet Mohammed in a Danish paper. Excuse me if I have a few follow up questions.
Am I to believe for a minute that the burning of the Danish and Norwegian embassy is a spontaneous reaction from an offended Syrian populace? Syria is governed by the same party that used to govern Iraq..the Baathists. They tolerate no dissent, restrict mass assembly and run a police state. But oh yes, this spontaneous anger manifested itself into a mob scene and the police were unable to stop the destruction of the embassies. (Most likely because they were directed the government chartered buses full of protestors to pre-arranged parking spaces.)
Also, I mentioned yesterday and Virginia Postrel (she's soo dreamy) expands upon.
Any doubts I had the elements of fundamentalist Islam are seeking a confrontation with the West have been dashed. They are testing us, hoping like other totalitarian philosophies of the past, to use our own freedoms against us...(insert trite Nazi analogy here). They are pushing here, prodding there to test their theories about us, and how our decadent lives have made us soft and ripe for conquest. They are highly organized, yet have limited structure and do not reside within a traditional nation state. All very Cylon-ish (except with less sexy outfits and certainly a lot less kissing). Of course the U.S. takes a strong stand and says that Freedom of Press/Expression shouldn't apply to religion. (Indonesia, please take note...attack someone else's consulate..) But they are pushing, analyzing, studying and preparing. Too bad we're viewing this through a lens of cultural sensitivity and a quest for mutual understanding, because what they are looking for is capitulation.
Ok, events seem to be progressing rapidly in the 'Muslim World' with the ongoing "outrage" over the "offensive" cartoon depictions of the prophet Mohammed in a Danish paper. Excuse me if I have a few follow up questions.
Am I to believe for a minute that the burning of the Danish and Norwegian embassy is a spontaneous reaction from an offended Syrian populace? Syria is governed by the same party that used to govern Iraq..the Baathists. They tolerate no dissent, restrict mass assembly and run a police state. But oh yes, this spontaneous anger manifested itself into a mob scene and the police were unable to stop the destruction of the embassies. (Most likely because they were directed the government chartered buses full of protestors to pre-arranged parking spaces.)
Also, I mentioned yesterday and Virginia Postrel (she's soo dreamy) expands upon.
My response to this nonsense is to wonder why Muslims don't grow up. If your co-religionists are going to take political stands, and blow up innocent people in the name of Islam, political cartoonists are going to occasionally take satirical swipes at your religion. Those swipes may not be nuanced, but they're what you can expect when you live in a free society, where you, too, can hold views others find offensive. If you don't like it, move to Saudi Arabia. Or just try to peacefully convert people to Islam. As Fred Barnes points out, the current cover of Rolling Stone is offensive to (hypersensitive, paranoid, publicity-seeking) Christians, but they aren't threatening anyone with physical violence.
Any doubts I had the elements of fundamentalist Islam are seeking a confrontation with the West have been dashed. They are testing us, hoping like other totalitarian philosophies of the past, to use our own freedoms against us...(insert trite Nazi analogy here). They are pushing here, prodding there to test their theories about us, and how our decadent lives have made us soft and ripe for conquest. They are highly organized, yet have limited structure and do not reside within a traditional nation state. All very Cylon-ish (except with less sexy outfits and certainly a lot less kissing). Of course the U.S. takes a strong stand and says that Freedom of Press/Expression shouldn't apply to religion. (Indonesia, please take note...attack someone else's consulate..) But they are pushing, analyzing, studying and preparing. Too bad we're viewing this through a lens of cultural sensitivity and a quest for mutual understanding, because what they are looking for is capitulation.
