anti-muslim cartoons: an act of racism

The escalating controversy over provocative politically a motivated racist
cartoon of the Prophet of Islam published in European newspapers has exposed
secular pretensions and racism of Christian dominated so-called “Western” media
elite. These cartoons reveal adopts double standards and hypocrisy of the West. The protests against these cartoons are equally politically motivated and reveal sense of alienation and frustration among Muslim masses the world over and exclusivist mind-set of Muslims. It also exposes the impotence of Muslim regimes before “Christian West” in possession of WMD.

The recent cartoons are an attempt to profile Muslims as terrorists and
Islam as a problem and a deliberate attempt to offend them. Socially underdeveloped and culturally backward oil thirsty rotten Christian Right, uses "Western" media as a weapon of mass deception to demonize their oil rich "enemy." the Muslims. In possession of the most advanced weapon systems, Christian Right strives to
Subjugate the whole world and impose its hegemony over it. They teach us that
Islam is responsible for conflicts and chaos the world over. If Muslims are not deprived of their oil resources, they will make nuclear bombs and weapons of mass destruction and threaten the world peace.

In fact terrorism is against Islamic and Arab cultural traditions. It is a
modern phenomenon. Islam is not a problem, the capitalism is one. Terrorism is one of the manifestations of capitalist social relations and it has nothing to do with Islam. The so-called civilized West has shared bed with forces of political Islam long before. The whole world knows that it is
American imperialism and occupation of Iraq that should be called terrorism and
U.N.O a club of international terrorists gangsters. The Muslims the worlds
over are victims of international terrorism, which no so-called "Western"
free press talks about.

These cartoons are a part of a psychological war against Muslims. It is what
they did with Jews, before roasting them alive. They held them responsible for
every problem European societies faced at that time. Jews were demonized,
ostracized, humiliated and alienated from their own countrymen. The Christian
Right wants to do the same with Asian
and African immigrants’ particularly Arabs living in Europe. It is here that we
seek support of all peace loving people in favour of Asian and African
immigrants in America and Europe.

I do not have any problem with any anti-Islam stuff as such. As an apostate
of Islam, while condemning the cartoons, I defend right to blasphemy as the
part of the right to freedom of speech and expression. This right includes
tiring apart all religious symbols and icons with ruthless criticism and
analysis. The need of the hour is to scrap all anti-blasphemous laws instead of covering Islam under these.

The atheists do not have scared cows, do not have taboos, and do not
respect any one’s sentiments when it is a question of facts about a religious
faith. The atheists do not treat any prophet or apostle as touch-me-not--above
criticism. But these cartoons are not an artistic expression but an act of
racism and an crude attempt to insult Islam and offend Muslims. By mocking Mohammed -- a brown Arab and an Asian, these cartoons insult
not only Muslims but also all brown Asians.

Mohammed and mythical Jesus Christ are not a living persons, hence he does not have any rights and no
one has locus standii to speak on his behalf. Mohammed is a historical person
and history does not belong to any particular sect, community or race. Anyone
can write whatever he wants about any prophet.
But character assassination of any historical figure that cannot defend
himself and present his own views is
hate mongering and unethical.

Quran, Muslims holy book, is not Muslims’ intellectual property. Whole
humanity is claimed to be its audience. Hence all of us have right to analyze
and criticize Quran or any other so-called holy book. It is being said that
Islam does not believe anyone having monopoly over the interpretation of
Quranic scared text. The Quranic revelation was open to all and part of Arab
oral cultural traditions, guiding and governing social relations of Arabs at
that time. Taking ones own interpretation of Quranic
scriptures as real Islam leads to sectarianism and confusion.

Islam as a religion was initially non-elitists as its prophet was a
non-literate. Islam does not recognize any expert in the realm of religion.
There was no social space for professional or political Muslim under Mohammed’s
rule. There was no standing Islamic army. Mohammed nourished folk Islam. He
established a " primitive direct democracy" in Arab world. For Arabs
he was one among equals. As a
trans-tribal leader he used mosque as a trans-tribal parliament first time in
Arab world. He made himself accountable to the common people who usually
questioned him and sought explanations and clarification. This made
decision-making process in Arab worlds civil not political to a large extent.

The arrogant and ignorant white racist media elite does not understand
ethnic, racial and cultural diversity of Islam and composite nature of Muslim
culture. They equate traditional folk Islam with political Islam( that might
have not more than 1% adherents among Muslims). Blinded by their lust of
political power and hegemony, they fail to appreciate how multi-cultural,
multi-ethnic and composite is so-called Western culture. These racists do not
differentiate between capitalist West and so-called western civilization. They
seek parity with socially underdeveloped feudal/tribal Muslim world to attain a moral high ground and fake sense
of pride. Also to cover up their own moral degradation, rabid racism and
capitalist barbarism.

I have seen the cartoons. I found these neither funny nor satirical but bad
in taste. Instead of poking fun on Mohammed, these cartoons convey nothing but
reveal racist psyche of the cartoonist. One cartoon offended me the most.
Depicting Mohammed with a turban-shaped bomb on his head is nothing but
profiling of Muslims as terrorists. That needs to be condemned by all peace
loving people of the world. These cartoons are not an artistic express but a
part of psychological war being unleashed on developing Muslim countries
particular oil rich Arab world.

These cartoons are purported to humiliate Arab and African immigrant living
in America and European countries and to alienate them from rest of their
countrymen and to breed intolerance among /Christians against Muslims. It is an attempt to derail the world public opinion against
American barbarism in Iraq and to win over the European public option in favor
of America’s terroristic war on terrorism. These provocative cartoons are also
attempts to convince non-Muslim “Western” masses of their fake moral
superiority, social values and the freedom they are enjoying under so-called
secular and corporate West. After acts of shame in Abu Gharib prison and
Guantonamobay faceless West sill deem to have moral high ground in its conflict with developing Muslim
countries.

The West is stooping too low by seeking parity with feudal/tribal Muslims.
It is shameful that the regimes, which talk of freedom of press, killed
journalists not in bed with them and bombed them from air. This spineless media
does everything to hide American war crimes against innocent Iraqis and Arab
and Muslim the world over for no fault of their’s re except that oil is running
beneath their feet. It is senseless to
style this cartoon controversy as a
value conflict between capitalist West and feudal/tribal Muslim world, between
freedom of press and Islamic fundamentalism.

The violent protests against these cartoons by fundamentalist Muslims are
being used to convince Muslims masses that demanding freedom of press and free
speech is blasphemy and anti-Islam. They want to tell Muslim masses that
everything "Western" is evil and anti-Islam and every
"Western" is enemy of Islam hence slaughterable. Thus these cartoons
served Christian Right as well as Muslim fundamentalists. The Christian West, that practices ex-communication as a religious tradition, is celebrating the occasion as freedom of press and expression and Muslims are celebrating their impotence and powerlessness by burning flags and attacking emabssies.

M.A.Hussain is Delhi based a freelance writer and convener
of Save Kashmir Movement.