A series of cartoons published in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, and republished throughout Europe, have sparked a series of major worldwide protests. Danish embassies were destroyed in Syria and Lebanon. European leaders are calling the issue the gravest cultural clash with the Muslim world since the publication of Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie. Muslims consider visual depictions of their holy prophet a grave sin. The Danish newspaper published not one, not two, but ten cartoons–each depicting Muhammad in some silly way. One of the cartoons shows Muhammad wearing a bomb-shaped turban. Did the newspaper not expect a serious reaction?
The American government response to the controversy has been admirable: criticizing the cartoons as offensive while supporting the right to draw them. This response demonstrates the uniquely American respect for both free speech and religion. Most American television pundits, however, are stoking greater division by condemning Muslims first, without questioning the ethics of the cartoonists. On Monday morning’s The Today Show, Matt Lauer–that bastion of great journalism–immediately asked why Muslims didn’t protest on 9-11 or when suicide bombers strike in Israel.
Certainly the European newspapers have the right to publish these cartoons, but it was not a good decision. As Muslims clash with Europeans in the Middle East, in Europe and in America, both sides must make efforts at accommodation. The West must understand that Muslims feel their region of the world is under occupation; Muslims must understand that the rest of the world is more secular. Somehow, I don’t either side will get it.
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