where is the christian voice and outrage in the midst of the danish cartoon mess?
where is the christian voice that condemns the actions of the danish press?
why aren't christians protesting the cartoon images made of mohammed?
why aren't christians standing up for the oppressed? the marginalized?
yes, even for the muslim?
blessed is the peacemaker (Matt. 5:9)
is 'silence' the voice of a peacemaker?
have we fallen prey to the 'us-them' mentality?
we have become numb and desensitized to the pain inflicted on others. it doesn't matter if it's a comment, a cartoon, a crime....
"as long as i can speak and act in ways that promote my self-preservation and rights..."
"as long as i can do as i want..."
"as long as my right to speak and act as i want is not being challenged or taken away...."
how often have you heard that? maybe even thought it?
when will i realize that my actions have consequences?
when will i realize that my actions have an effect on someone else?
when will i take other people into consideration?
will i always insist on my rights? on my voice?
what am i afraid of?
where is my voice?
when will north american christians finally wake up and speak out against the injustices of this world? when will we look beyond our north american border and actually confront the oppressors (even if it is recognizing that we may be the oppressor)? when will we find our voice?
sometimes i think we (as christians) buy into the scare/fear tactics of the religious right.... are we afraid of another 9/11? how can we believe the lie that all muslims/arabs are terrorists? is that why the patriot act has so much support in christian conservative circles? jennie's friend is right.... the laws we write into effect now will only come back to haunt us - and we will be on the receiving end....
the US is not any more blessed by God than any other nation or people.... how dare we think so arrogantly?
we are a secular, relativistic nation.
i'll get off my soapbox now.... but i'm interested in any thoughts you may have..... these are rumblings in my mind.... things to mull over and process.... to sort through.... i dont have all the answers.... and you may disagree with me... much of this seems accusatory..... but it's time.... it's really time to start being followers of jesus and not followers of man-made doctrines and laws....
...one tomato at a time...
About Me
Blog Archive
-
▼
2006
(58)
-
▼
February
(16)
- No title
- thoughts....
- An: Andreas Horeld
- should i be concerned?
- another virus of sorts....
- there is just something very peaceful about this p...
- for those of you wondering....
- my other side....
- No title
- decisions, decisions....
- henno, you are in big, big trouble.....
- No title
- red
- that special place....
- red
- food for thought....
-
▼
February
(16)
(anticipatd) Summer Reads 2010
- INVICTUS by John Carlin
- MENNONITE IN A LITTLE BLACK DRESS by Rhoda Janzen
- MONKEY HUNTING by Christina Garcia
- HUNGER AND HAPPINESS by Shannon Jung
- THE 1ST BORN ADVANTAGE by Kevin Leman
- TEA WITH HEZBOLLAH by Dekker & Medearis
Spring Reads 2010
- FORGOTTEN GOD by Francis Chan
- RASHI'S DAUGHTER'S: I-III by Maggie Anton
- THE SHORT SWEET DREAM OF EDUARDO GUTIERREZ by Jimmy Breslin
- ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF SOLITUDE by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Winter Reads 2009/10
- LA'S ORCHESTRA SAVES THE WORLD by Alexander McCall Smith
- THE MISSING ROSE by Serdar Ozkan
- THE GUERNSEY LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL PIE SOCIETY by Annie Barrows
- PEOPLE OF THE BOOK by Geraldine Brooks
- THE ELEGANCE OF A HEDGEHOG by Muriel Barbery
Summer Reads 2009
- WHY ARE ALL THE BLACK KIDS SITTING TOGETHER IN THE CAFETERIA? by Beverly Tatum
- DREAMS FROM MY FATHER by Barack Obama
- THREE CUPS OF TEA by Greg Mortenson
- MY NAME IS ASHER LEV by Chaim Potock
- BIRDS WITHOUT WINGS by Louis de Bernières
- SARAH'S KEY by Tatiana de Rosnay
- SKIN by Ted Dekker
- THE BOOK THIEF by Markus Zusak
Fellow Bloggers
5 comments:
For some reason, I have a hard time considering the comics in the Danish newspaper an "injustice". They weren't even meant as an insult, but much rather as a social criticism. However, this kind of criticism has no place in the Muslim world ... as Muhammad Iqbal wrote about Pakistan, so it goes for the whole Islamic world: "Love for the Prophet runs like blood in the veins of the faithful". There can be no questioning. Not to mention criticism ...
Compared to rumours about Christians among ordinary Muslims, as well as stuff printed in Arab newspapers, these cartoons were nothing ...
More than anything, Europeans finally got a taste of the world as it is in reality. It is not one big happy family waiting to happen. Turkey might as well dig a grave for its EU hopes ...
ryan b
interesting points, brasher. this incident of 'social criticsm' perhaps doesn't stack up to much of the global 'injustices' spread around the world... but are we making any more noise about the oppression of indigenous people in chiapas; over global poverty which grows exponentially with the 'liberalization' of economies; over the human rights abuses in guantanamo, abu graib, and now in afghanistan; the destruction of our environment and indigenous communities as we look at unequal distribution of resources; the living conditions in palestinian refugee camps?
the other thought that has been milling around in my head is the concept of relativism and that is where the danish cartoons come in... if it is indeed 'social criticism'... what is being criticized? did anyone think what consequences might be attached with printing the provocative cartoons? was it truly in the name of 'freedom of speech'?
our world has become polarized along religious identities.... muslim protests/riots over the cartoons have affected neighboring christian communities. what did these communities do wrong? as christian communities they are associated with the west... (my indonesian friend says that for many ordinary muslims, the west is seen as christian).... but the newspaper isn't christian, denmark isn't necessarily a christian nation, nor is europe a christian continent... they are secular. and in the name of relativism in a secular society, people will print what they want to print... regardless of the consequences.
argh... it's late...anyway... more thoughts... again... just more ramblings....
Hey,
i don't really mean to interfere...but the Danish cartoons made me think, too...
I totally agree with what you are saying about us needing to think about the consequences certain deeds may have, Amy, and out of a "European point of view", I also agree with what you are saying about the US needing to, let's say "think outside of the box" (Tellerrand). Over here, the US and especially Bush is oftentimes
seen as a country/politician interfering all the time without thinking about potential consequences but thinking to act in the name of freedom. Well, back to the cartoons: I also agree with Ryan saying criticism or questioning isn't allowed in Islam (by the way, I think the same is partly true among certain Christians, but that's another subject). What scares me is the fact that a few cartoons cause so much riot, violence and even death.
The question I'm wondering about is the following:
Is it wrong to print these cartoons or is it wrong to react the way the "Orient"/Muslim world reacted?
I'm still wondering about the answer to this question but I think the Muslim world "overreacted". In my opinion, we live in a free world with freedom of speech. on the one hand, we shouldn't abuse this right. But who, on the other hand, would give us or (in this case) anyone else whose feelings have been hurt the right to react in such a violent way?
And, going a bit further, I wonder what will happen next. I kind of wonder about the straw that will break the camel's back. There is a difference between not hurting somebody else's feelings and shuting up because somebody could get angry.
Well, these are just a few thoughts and I hope you are getting my point (I mean language- wise).
mel
hey mel....
yeah, i totally hear you.... i've talked with numerous muslim students about the situation.... several have indicated that by studying cross-cultural communication (like they do here) they have appreciated the opportunity to talk about this incident with people from all over the world... that they realize the importance of dialogue... one said that many muslims back home don't have the opportunities or education to talk with non-muslims about it. one indonesian friend said that the villages that he is from and works in has many people protesting even without understanding the full situation. they just heard that islam has been once again been 'attacked' by the west. one muslim said yesterday that he will not look at the cartoons because there are supposed to be no images of mohammed. that is a 'rule/law' that he abides by....
religious identity is the powderkey of the 21st century...
the violence and riots have shocked me as well... yeah, i too wonder what straw will break the camel's back... in my western mindset, i want to see it as 'social criticsm'... but what does 'social criticsm' mean for many muslims? how does it differ culturally from the western, secular understanding? in a sense, cross-cultural miscommunication stands at the meeting point of this conflict. when you write that we live in a free world with freedom of speech, i wonder how many people in the world will agree with you.... will the student movement in east timor agree with you? what about the chinese (think about tianamen square)? or burmese nationals? what about women throughout the world? what about the turkish voice in germany? the african voices in france? maybe sometimes conflict is the only way to bring the world's eye to somebody else's reality.... don't get me wrong... violent conflict (killing, rape, genocide, torture, destruction) is not beneficial to any party.... but there is also non-violent conflict.... and sometimes it's needed to bring about change....
hmmmm.... topics for another paper?? :)
Hm. Stuff to think about, that's for sure.
When saying that we live in a free world with freedom of speech I was mainly thinkin gbaout Europe, I guess. Of course I'm aware of the fact that there are too many areas of the world were people are persecuted for expressing their opinions...
...whether the violence caused by the cartoons can be seen as social criticism, I don't know. And I guess you're right in saying that there are a whole lot of people protesting who don't even know what happened. But then I wonder where the people leading them to protest want to go?
I totally agree with you saying that this might be a cross-cultural problem and/or misunderstanding.
But then I wonder if people (and by this I also mean political leaders) really want to communicate, if they really have a desire to solve these problems. At the moment, all I see is a lot of turmoil...
And another thing that comes to mind is: This is not only a religious thing (even though you're right when saying that one of the key issues of the 21st century is religious identity), it's more than that. It's a culural and a political thing, too...I wonder what WE could do to contribute to a more positive relationship between the "West" and the "Orient"/Muslim world?
I guess there's a lot to do for us but it's also up to politicians to really go the way of non-violent conflict. I hear you there, Amy, conflict is sometimes needed to change things. But it's also important to go ahead and get away from status quo.
Well, just more thoughts...I'm not trying to say I know it all...I hope it doesn't sound as if...
...oh, one other thing...talking about all these areas of the world where people are oppressed...isn't it interesting how we oftentimes forget about those because there's a hotspot of instability somewhere else?
Post a Comment