I plead illness for not knowing what happened with the editor in Jordan.
Juan Cole (if you read what he wrote) has a selection of Muslim religious leaders who have come out and condemned the violence.
Sunni religious leaders in Beirut did attempt to stop the crowd from engaging in violence but (surprise, surprise) were drowned out by the hotheads and gunfire from government forces.
Syria's Grand Mufti (the country's chief authority on Islamic law) outright condemned the violence and said rioters hurt their own cause and the country as a result of their actions.
Not surprising Afganistan called for calm and there were protests pretty much confined to one town. In Pakistan there was a call for protests, but the local population fell into the "don't care" category. Iran has done practically zip one way or the other (again, another population that just doesn't care).
What I'm trying to say is, there have been Middle Eastern Muslim voices raised in protest and evidence that the outrage is nowhere near as overwhelming as the U.S. and European press has been playing it. That is a completely different thing than brushing it off (which I most certainly am not; what is happening is horrifying). All I'm saying is that we do need to step back, do a reality check, and not just think about what is happening, but why it's happening.
Maybe a slightly different and off-kilter way to look at it, but, as I said, I think there's a hell of a lot more at play here than an argument over a bunch of cartoons and freedom of the press.
I'm also not terribly convinced that we'd even read/hear it in the press if, say, Muslim religious leaders in say, Indonesia, came out and condemned the riots, just like we didn't hear their statement of condemnation against suicide bombers that target civilians back in December as "contrary to the teachings of Islam."
no subject
Juan Cole (if you read what he wrote) has a selection of Muslim religious leaders who have come out and condemned the violence.
Sunni religious leaders in Beirut did attempt to stop the crowd from engaging in violence but (surprise, surprise) were drowned out by the hotheads and gunfire from government forces.
Syria's Grand Mufti (the country's chief authority on Islamic law) outright condemned the violence and said rioters hurt their own cause and the country as a result of their actions.
Not surprising Afganistan called for calm and there were protests pretty much confined to one town. In Pakistan there was a call for protests, but the local population fell into the "don't care" category. Iran has done practically zip one way or the other (again, another population that just doesn't care).
What I'm trying to say is, there have been Middle Eastern Muslim voices raised in protest and evidence that the outrage is nowhere near as overwhelming as the U.S. and European press has been playing it. That is a completely different thing than brushing it off (which I most certainly am not; what is happening is horrifying). All I'm saying is that we do need to step back, do a reality check, and not just think about what is happening, but why it's happening.
Maybe a slightly different and off-kilter way to look at it, but, as I said, I think there's a hell of a lot more at play here than an argument over a bunch of cartoons and freedom of the press.
I'm also not terribly convinced that we'd even read/hear it in the press if, say, Muslim religious leaders in say, Indonesia, came out and condemned the riots, just like we didn't hear their statement of condemnation against suicide bombers that target civilians back in December as "contrary to the teachings of Islam."