Of the West's hypocrisy, by Salaheddin Mustafa, Bergen Record,
2/10/2006
Regarding "Cartoon uproar" (Editorial, Feb 5), on the publication of an
editorial cartoon depicting the Prophet Muhammad in a way that offended Muslims:
We have news outlets throughout the world rightly decrying the violent reaction
of some Muslims. The Prophet Muhammad himself was subject to worse treatment,
from silly actions like garbage being thrown at him to attempts to kill him. He
responded with love and forgiveness.
These demonstrators forget his actions and again violate the principles of
Islam. Muslims believe that God chose Muhammad as his final messenger because he
was the most kind and righteous of men. Shame on the demonstrators for not
following his guidance.
European newspapers say they printed the cartoons to protest the perceived
self-censorship on issues controversial to Muslims. But the West's cries for
freedom of the press and expression reek of hypocrisy. In the West, many
expressions of anti-Semitism are considered crimes. In some countries, written
denial of the Holocaust is a crime. So freedoms of the press and expression
apparently do have limits.
In the United States, the hypocrisy is just as prevalent. Prominent clergy who
minister to our nation's leaders disparage Arabs and Muslims. Rep. Peter King,
R-N.Y., declares that 85 percent of American Muslims are potential terrorists.
Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., states that police officers should guard state
lines and arrest every Muslim. The Muslim reaction to these comments was
peaceful and dignified. The press ignored that response.
But the grandest form of hypocrisy in the United States stares us right in the
face. Most news outlets conducted their own disastrous self-censorship by not
challenging the Bush administration's overblown pronouncements on Iraq. The
press served as the primary vehicle of deceiving the public.
It is hypocrisy of the highest degree to cry for press freedom, to denounce
self-censorship as anathema to freedom, and then to turn around and do these
very things to serve one's own self-interests.
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