Denmark boycott.
A newspaper in Denmark started an uproar in the Muslim world by publishing 12 cartoons of the Prophet Muhammed(saw) a few weeks back which has triggered a huge backlash against anything made in Denmark. Before I go any further, I would like to state to my non-Muslim readers that to make an image of any of the prophets of Allah(swt) is considered blasphemous and a possible route to idolatry. One example I can easily cite is with the Christians, who have taken Prophet Jesus(as) and raised him to the the rank of Allah(swt) and the son of Allah(swt) [astaghfirulah].
One of the worst cartoons shows the Prophet(saw) with a turban in the shape of a bomb. Not only are these cartoons blasphemous, which most non-Muslims would not care about, but they are disrespectful as well. When it comes to religion I try very hard not to disrespect others religions or lack of religion, due to the simple fact that it may cause them emotional disstress or another form of discomfort. Besides these two reasons it is, as I stated before, disrespectful to attack someones beliefs in such a manner. If the people of Denmark don’t want to like the Prophet(saw) that is fine, but at least respect the beliefs of others. Denmark and Norway (second nation to publish the cartoons) are both now facing and feeling a worldwide Islamic boycott of any and all goods from the two nations. Denmark has now threatened Saudi Arabia with the threat of going to the WTO to try to get monetary compensation if the government has in anyway supported this boycott. I find it kind of funny, since when US Republicans Senators and Representatives called for a boycott of Frence products, no such move was made by France.
The Denmark paper that published the cartoons has finally come out and made an empty apology concerning the cartoons. I say empty because with the apology they stated that they don’t regret running the cartoons, and would not have made a different choice if they could take the publishing back. Weak. Allah willing the Musilms will not stop their boycott, but only increase it. Speaking of increasing it, the Frence and the Germans have now made the move to re-publish the cartoons in their papers. Therefore the Muslims of the world have a duty to further boycott any and all products from these two nations. I find it particularlly interesting that France was stupid enough to publish these cartoons as the Muslims in France are still boiling over poor treatment and services they recieve in their own nation. I would not be surprised to see riots re-erupt in France.
What this all comes down to is respect for others. I do not know of any decent Muslim that makes fun of other people’s belief systems such as Christianity, Judiasm, Wicca, Atheist, or the Hindu’s. If someone were to publish something about the Prophet Moses(as) it would immediatly and relentlessly be condemned as anti-semitism. So why is it ok to treat us with disrespect?
One thing that many people fail to realize, is that we as Muslims take our deen (faith) very, very seriously. So any of the non-Muslims can attempt to have an understanding of what I mean by this, if I were to ever hear a family member or friend slander the Prophet Muhammed(saw), I would likely never speak to them again in this life, and may even become so angry by the remark that I would not hold back on them. We love our faith and are proud to be Muslims and we will not hesitate to defend Islam.
Back to respect. I wish to give an example. A good friend of mine is a Wiccan. I have known him since before I was a Muslim and lost contact with him for about four years. Even though we are very opposite now, we still show each other the respect that is deserved. Even if he is opposed to aspects of Islam, he does not attack them out of respect for me, and I do not attack aspects of Wicca out of respect for him. This is how it should be, even if we didn’t know each other. We don’t as humans have to like everything about one another, but we do need to show a minimal level of respect.
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=1565688
