Polytix

I'll break from the overall theme of this blog for just this once.. only because this whole situation has been making me chuckle every morning for the past week.

Its like one of those bush fires.. someone lit a campfire during dry season and the whole forest just went up in flames. Started out with a little bit of smoke, but there's nothing better than a little overzealousness coupled with some dry leaves to spread the fire of hatred at such velocity. Being far away from the situation is giving me a more detached view of the whole affair, but I don't doubt that if I was back home then my opinions would have been slightly skewed by the general bad vibes in the air.

I've never seen anything like it before. The Muslims of the world have united together. They've actually set aside their differences and banded together to face an issue. What's terribly disappointing is that its all happened over a bunch of... cartoons. Honestly now..

Let me make this clear from the outset: I don't condone the cartoons. I don't find them funny, I don't find them true, and I certainly don't agree with the messages that they convey. I also find them insulting and extremely ignorant. So please, don't question my faith and don't declare Jihad on my ass because I've already got enough things to worry about.

Looking at pictures of all those people in Pakistan, Indonesia, Egypt, Iraq and a few other countries was just astounding. You can almost see the thirst for blood in their eyes, but I'm convinced that the photographers go around looking for the most crazed bunch to come out with the most sensational possible picture (hey, its their job.. can't blame 'em). Pictures of flag burnings, flags being placed as doormats to stores and homes. If it were my flag I'd be pretty damn pissed off about the whole thing, to tell you the truth.

And we have to remember, amid all the calls for apologies and demands for respect, that THE DANES as a nation didn't draw or publish the cartoons. It was the actions of a few cartoonists and a handful of newspaper staff. The Danish people as a collective might not agree with what was printed at all, yet they recognize the fact that their country gives them the right for freedom of expression. I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that the Danish people are NOT on a mission to degrade Islam and humiliate Muslims, therefore we have no right whatsoever to show such little respect for an entire nation of people based on the actions of a few of its citizens.

Setting aside the question of who to blame and what to do to gain revenge for the tarnishing of our great prophet's image and reputation (which honestly cannot be touched by a bunch of silly little drawings anyway), I think it is our duty to sit down and figure out why some people out there interpret our religion in such a manner. It is my understanding that the cartoonists were initially asked to draw their understanding of Islam as they see it, and they came up with a few provocative (and inaccurate) drawings. But where does the inacurracy stem from? Isn't it from the unfortunate way that Islamic fundamentalism has made world news in such a fashion that it had sullied the image of the religion as a whole? And I'm not just talking about the terrorists with their distorted views on life and all things spiritual.. I'm talking about the rigid, inflexible and illogical way that a sizeable portion of the Islamic world interprets the Holy Quran and other religous teachings.

Instead of boycotting Danish products and trying to "hurt" them financially, we should call for greater communication between our countries and an exchange of culture and ideas that enrich both sets of people. Its with mutual understanding that we can get them to respect our culture and religion (not by beating them with sticks and calling them infidels), and that means that we should also make an effort to understand why exactly a few of them see our great prophet in the light that they do. Progress will only come with an honest effort to solve the issue in a civilized manner, and not by further antagonizing the Danes and the rest of the world by calling for boycotts, blood and martyrdom.

Besides, this whole deal is hurting the Bahraini Danish Dairy Company (100% Bahraini since 1993) and I really love their strawberry milk. It reminds me of my childhood.

Alright, that's that. No more of this now, let's just move on.