The row over Muhammad cartoons....I am alarmed and suprised

This is scary. Normally I do not discuss politics or serious societal issues but after watching the events the past few days over I feel compelled to. These photographs are in lieu of a few cartoons. What? Did I read this correctly?

Deaths in Afghanistan, destruction of multiple Danish consulates, burning of flags, calling for extermination of those who insult Islam…all over a few cartoons? Now, unless I am way off target, I think this is utterly ridiculous. I do not have a vast knowledge of Islam, and since my background is vastly different than theirs, it would be unfair to try to see this from their perspective. I was raised in a small, predominantly Baptist, Kentucky town yet I never really attended church until I decided to go on my own around 14 years of age. After that, I went to Catholic and Lutheran churches off and on, mainly settling on Lutheran, where my wife and I attend pretty regularly. I am from America, the country who is the world’s only superpower; the country who is the world’s largest playground bully; the country who the majority of the world loves, hates, and cannot live without all at the same time. I am not Muslim. I did not grow up Muslim. I did not grow up in a Muslim country. I have read some of the Koran, simply out of curiosity, yet I am not a scholar by any means. All these things are true, yet I can see why these cartoons are offensive to Muslims. It is offensive to them mainly because according to Islamic law there should be no depictions of Muhammad, not to mention it is insulting to Muslims. But to me, the calling for “Massacre those who insult Islam” over a cartoon is even more offensive, not to mention downright scary. Condemn the cartoons, call them blasphemous, ridiculous, abhorrent (which they are), but your point is lost when you kill innocent people, or call for the deaths of those insulting your religion, or destroy buildings. It merely exposes the lunatics you are.

I realize these people are on the Islamic fringe, but whether it is the West’s fault, the Middle East’s fault, or an amalgam of both, the fringe is ever-increasing. Protesters over the weekend weren’t a couple Muslims doing a peaceful protest on their lunch break – there were THOUSANDS of them, mad as hornets, destroying property and killing people. Those holding those massacre, exterminate and annihilate signs don’t live in a warring Middle East country, either; they live in England. Here is a quote from an angry female protester:

"We have to defend our prophet otherwise Allah will punish us. We will not accept this ridicule." Wow.

Here are a few more posters from the London mob on Friday:

“Behead the one who insults the prophet”

“Freedom go to hell” (shown above)

“Europe: Your 9/11 will come”

I am not doing any Muslim bashing here, but I do have to ask a question: Do they really think Allah will punish them if they don’t defend Muhammad? In order to avoid potential death they in turn request the deaths of those who create controversial cartoons? Religiously insensitive or offensive cartoons do not warrant the deaths of innocent people, the vandalizing of government offices, and the calling for massacres of infidels. Robert Mapplethorpe created a piece of art once which involved a crucifix in a mason jar of urine, and, while thoroughly offensive and ridiculous to most people, mainly Christians, art lovers, and those with good taste, from what I recall no riots ensued at any art galleries.*** I have also seen offensive cartoons and heard offensive speech toward Christians yet have not heard of any mobs rioting in the streets because of it. Personally, I have been offended by things I have seen in the papers or on TV, but I use self-restraint and choose to ignore it. They believe differently than I and more power to them. I do not feel the need to burn down buildings or threaten decapitation to show how strongly I feel about something. In my opinion, there is something very sinister behind such behavior.

The mentality they possess over their religion is scary. I give a lot of these people credit for trying to stick to tradition (i.e., Iran banning Western music), but enough already. I find it hard to listen to people who ban Ashley Simpson because she is purporting the work of the devil yet have grandfathers order their sons to put their sons to death for having sex prior to marriage. Believe me, it happens.

Now, I know this may seem like a generalization on my part, but trust me when I say it is not. I know a few Muslims and they are very nice people. I also believe there are millions of Muslims who are embarrassed to say these protesters are enveloped under the same religion. This argument is directed to the Islamic fringe discussed earlier.

These are some sick, sick people. The world is becoming even more unstable with each passing day and I don’t like it. It makes me glad to live in America and yet it makes me feel targeted at the same time. Europe: Your 9/11 will come? And they wonder why so many people consider them the enemy.

*** Sorry, my mistake, it was actually Andres Serrano who did the controversial "art" and I don't think it was a mason jar, either. My memory on this topic was a little off.

Mapplethorpe was a weirdo as well, though.