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Time for Danish newspaper to be responsible
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American authorities have reportedly charged two men in a plot to blow up Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten, the Danish newspaper that published cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad that were deemed offensive to Muslims worldwide.
CBC reports that U.S. authorities charged David Coleman Headley, 49, and Canadian Tahawwur Hussain Rana, 48, both originally from Pakistan, with one count each of conspiracy to provide material support to an overseas terrorism conspiracy.
Law enforcement and intelligence agencies deserve all the credit for thwarting a potentially heinous and socially destabilizing attack on a newspaper. An attack such as this would further alienate Muslims in Europe and confirm the flawed notion that Muslims are against freedom of speech. The West would see such actions as counter to its democratic ideals and launch further provocations aimed not at a handful of extremists, but Islam as a whole. Muslims would then retaliate thereby continuing the vicious cycle of hate and misunderstanding.
With this terrorist plot foiled, Jyllands-Posten should aim towards bridge-building reconciliation rather than defiant provocation.
The Danish newspaper published unflattering cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad in 2005 that resulted in attacks against Danish embassies in the Muslim world. Those supporting the cartoons said that the publication was merely an exercise in freedom of speech.
They have a point.
The same freedom that allows Muslims to practice their faith in western societies is the same freedom that allows free media to exercise their democratic right to free speech - even if it offends a particular group.
At the same time, however, it is important to note that the "right" to do something does not necessarily make it incumbent. It would be naive to assume that Jyllands-Posten was totally unaware of the consequences of its actions . Obviously, those who feel they have been wronged have the same "right" to dissent under the same democratic principles. Unfortunately, sometimes that dissent turns violent in a region where illiteracy and poverty runs deep.
Cartoons depicting black people as monkeys or images implying denial of the Holocaust would constitute hate speech in the western world. Why then are Muslims fair game?
The answer lies in the fact that Muslims are increasingly being seen as the "other" of western society that allows right-wing nationalists to emphasize their own national identity. This provides Islamic fundamentalists greater ammunition with which to pursue their murderous objectives.
Eric Margolis, foreign correspondent and author writes, "As I traveled over the decades, I encountered a growing tide of bitterness and anger directed against the western world, and one that was equally mirrored in North America, where Islamophobia became the modern version of 1930s anti-Semitism and a basic tenet of right-wing parties from Washington to Ottawa to Canberra" (American Raj, p. 21).
Reza Aslan, religious scholar and author writes, "It seems that the Muslim has replaced the Jew as Europe's new "negative pole" (How to Win a Cosmic War, p. 128)
Claiming to defend democracy and salvaging national identity at the expense of one group is not democracy at all - it is against the very character of democracy that preaches fairness and equality.
This time, Jyllands-Posten should act responsibly rather than respond with provocation. To quote Spider-man creator Stan Lee,
"With great power comes great responsibility."
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