In 2005, the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten published a series of cartoons denigrating the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). As this sparked a tremendous amount of outcry and protests from Muslims around the globe, many non-Muslims were left puzzled at the uproar over seemingly benign cartoons and many others wondered why Muslims were so offended by the caricatures. Why all the fuss? Why do Muslims feel so strongly about the Prophet Muhammad? Why is it that Christians are not fussing over their religious icons being negatively depicted? With the reprinting of the danish cartoons recently, such questions have become even more pertinent.

Unfortunately, the media did not assist in answering such questions or conveying the thoughts and views of Muslims on the issue. In fact, in many cases it compounded the problem by providing the false suggestion that Muslims were offended simply because it is religiously prohibited to draw the Prophet Muhammad. However, the truth of the matter is that (the)Muslims were offended not merely because the Prophet has been depicted, but because of the hateful manner in which he has been depicted. Depicting the Prophet Muhammad, whom Muslims revere as a preacher of peace and mercy, in a manner that portrays him as a caller to terrorism or violence would obviously be quite offensive to Muslims.

To make matters worse, we are already living in times of increased hatred, animosity and discrimination towards Muslims. Islam is being maligned continually in the media and this is often accepted uncritically by non-Muslims in the west who generally know a lot less about Islam than Christianity or Judaism. This means that Muslims are frequently confronted with negative stereotypes and misconceptions in their workplace, school, social gatherings, etc. Consequently, to compare the situation of Muslims with that of Christians is fallacious; we would not expect a similar outcry from Christians because Christianity is fairly well-known to the western population. Christians are not at the same risk of being marginalized and discriminated because of cartoons insulting Christianity.  But when people know so little about Islam, cartoons denigrating Islam are more likely to be translated into increased hostility towards Muslims. As a result, Muslims are right to be very concerned about any form of media which could further the hostility and discrimination towards Muslims.

“But it is just a cartoon! How could it possibly have a negative effect?!”

Don’t forget that anti-semitic cartoons in europe were a prelude to the holocaust. The Jewish Virtual Library documents the instrumental role that propaganda -and cartoons in particular - played in inciting hatred towards Jews.

“A major tool of the Nazis’ propaganda assault was the weekly Nazi newspaper Der Stürmer (The Attacker). At the bottom of the front page of each issue, in bold letters, the paper proclaimed, “The Jews are our misfortune!” Der Stürmer also regularly featured cartoons of Jews in which they were caricatured as hooked-nosed and ape like. The influence of the newspaper was far-reaching: by 1938 about a half million copies were distributed weekly.” [1]

This manner of demonizing a religious minority is extremely destructive and dangerous and should be not dismissed as harmless cartoons if we are to learn anything from recent history. In times of such great turmoil and animosity we need people of all backgrounds to reach out and foster understanding, tolerance and dialogue amongst each other . We can not afford to allow hatred against any segment of our community to spread unchecked under the guise of freedom of speech. Without a doubt, freedom of speech is essential, however, with freedom of speech comes the responsibility to use that speech in a manner that will not incite hatred or malign any segment of our community. Rather, we should focus our efforts on promoting meaningful and productive discussions. Let us approach problems in an academic, humane, and respectful manner of critique rather than resorting to insult and mockery.

Do not allow yourself to fall prey to ignorance and misconceptions; learn about what Islamic beliefs truly are and understand what Prophet Muhammad’s teachings were. Visit www.IslamReligion.com for more information.

REFERENCES
[1] http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/history.html