We Want Media

Last September, the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten published several cartoons caricaturing the Prophet Muhammad in various ways. Wikipedia has created the ubiquitous post.

Looking at these cartoons, it is easy to see why they are so inflamatory. They depict a man who is regarded by over a billion people as God's last prophet. Let me break this down for my Christian readers; imagine if an Iranian newspaper published caricatures of Jesus as a terrorist, bafoon, or as stick figure inspired by a man getting hit on the head by a coconut. These are just but a few of the ways the cartoons depict Muhammad. Actually the Iranians chose the Holocaust. to caricature.

The cartoons appear in an article about free speech. But they miss the point entirely, your freedom of speech ends where another persons' freedom of speech begins. By imposing insulting speech on another person you are persecuting them. Does this mean you should go set that persons embassy on fire? Absolutely not. By going out and committing violent acts of terror is only perpetuating the very stereotypes that you are protesting against. That many western newspapers have reprinted the cartoons has only fanned the flames.

Ignorance is to blame for both sides of this controversy. There are Muslim. organizations in the West that urge peaceful demonstrations and nonviolent protests. Just as there are Western newspapers that don't use religously insensitive cartoons to discuss free speech. The only way to prevent these types of conflicts in the future is through a mindset of tolerance and understanding. Bridging this gap of ignorance between Western media and the worldwide Muslim community is a difficult task, but for the future stability of our world it must be done.

I was watching a segment on BBC World News called BBC News Extra, where an anchor and spokespersons from both sides of the debate were discussing viewer opinions on the controversy. This format allowed for genuine discussion without devolving into a shouting match as American political debates often do. The anchor stayed as neutral as possible, serving mostly to read the viewers comments and keep the debaters on topic. More programming like this would help to increase understanding between Muslims and non-Muslims and would also serve as a non-violent way of venting frustrations.

This controversy over Muhammad will die down eventually. We, as the future of the media, should learn from this, so that we can make informed and culturally sensitive decisions in the future.