[lit-ideas] Re: Muhammed and the Giant Peach
- From: Judith Evans <judithevans001@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 5 Feb 2006 17:06:45 +0000 (GMT)
--- Veronica Caley <vcaley@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Judy:Incidentally "pluralism" has many meanings but
> presumably in this context it implies a certain
> sensitivity to the possible feelings of others
>
> Yes, this is true. However, about two years ago, I
> read that scholars of
> any religion, including Muslim, must publish their
> findings re the Koran
> anonymously as they fear being murdered.
(etc.)
I'm not saying people should not (e.g.) tell Muslims
that they believe in freedom of speech. *Muslims* are
themselves telling Muslims that right now. about 700
Muslims have demonstrated here against the cartoons:
1. our police are investigating those among them who
"called for the massacre of those who insult Islam"
2. Muslim organizations here have condemned them and
called for calm.
But continually publishing the cartoons and further
cartoons (which are I am told fake and whose aim can
only be inflammatory) and calling that a defence of
free speech, seems to be both absurd and -- in this
instance -- wrong. One defends free speech by
defending it.
> A year or so ago the City of Detroit prohibited a
> performance by Eminem.
> He sued and won a couple of hundred thousand
> dollars for the city's
> violation of his freedom of expression. The local
> imam wrote a letter to
> the editor of the Detroit Free Press bemoaning that
> the city can't censor
> the obscene performance and that it had to pay for
> violating someone's
> freedom of expression.
I trust you blame the City of Detroit more than you
blame the imam.
> I find this whole thing extremely frightening. It
> seems like our freedoms
> are being attacked from all quarters. The wimpy
> Bush administration is
> giving in to this at the same time as they are
> spying on us.
> The Christian right is busily working on doing away
> with birth control and
> women working. The New York Times waits a year and
> censors itself before
> revealing the internal spying.
OK I understand -- but it is not like that here, I'm
writing from my perspective, in a country where till
Charles Kennedy resigned, one major party leader of
three was Roman Catholic, another is probably really a
Roman Catholic (Blair), but religion was not admitted
into politics. (And the Lords and then the Commons
bashed Blair's anti-terrorism and religious hate
laws.)
>The whole world is slipping into fundamentalism of
>one kind or another.
>The victims of this are people of liberal religion
>or no religion.
again not here and that probably explains some of my
reaction (though I know US liberals who feel somewhat
as I do)
>>>>>
And where is the outrage in the world about the
virulent anti-Semitism in the Arab world and on Arab
television. I
understand there is even one story line about cannibal
rabbis consuming
Muslim children.
>>>>
I think you mean Jewish people -- and others -- don't
voice their outrage in the way that Muslims are doing
now. I hope that continues to be the case. Here's
how a Jewish group here handled an instance of
anti-semitism:
>>>>>>>>>
In January 2002 the New Statesman published a front
page displaying a shimmering golden Star of David
impaling a union flag, with the words "A kosher
conspiracy?" The cover was widely and rightly
condemned as anti-semitic. It's not difficult to see
why. It played into vile stereotypes of money-grabbing
Jewish cabals out to undermine the country they live
in. Some put it down to a lapse of editorial judgment.
But many saw it not as an aberration but part of a
trend - one more broadside in an attack on Jews from
the liberal left.
A group calling itself Action Against Anti-Semitism
marched into the Statesman's offices, demanding a
printed apology. One eventually followed. The then
editor, Peter Wilby, later confessed that he had not
appreciated "the historic sensitivities" of Britain's
Jews. I do not remember talk of a clash of
civilisations in which Jewish values were inconsistent
with the western traditions of freedom of speech or
democracy. Nor do I recall editors across Europe
rushing to reprint the cover in solidarity.
<<<<<<<<<<<<
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Columnists/Column/0,,1701986,00.html
Judy Evans, Cardiff
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