WHY ARE WE AFRAID OF ISLAM?

Every toddler is aware that there are people in our society who will say the most hateful things about Christians. During the last few decades a virtual industry has sprung up denigrating Christian symbols: “Piss Christ” and an elephant-dung smeared Mary are merely symbols two of the most memorably examples.

The Catholic League published a report of insults to Christians during 1996. One example:

The Cherry Creek Arts Festival featured the work of DeDe LaRue, who habitually abuses religious images. In her work, "Rin Tin Tin Jesus," a sculpted dog has a stigmata, a crown of thorns, and a dog tag which reads, "Rin Tin Tin Jesus--If found return to heaven." It was part of her Dogma series and she was quoted in the Rocky Mountain News as saying, "People don’t like their religion made fun of--so that’s why I do it."

“People don’t like their religion made fun of – so that’s why I do it.”

Doing something because people don’t like it strikes me as juvenile, not artistic. But let that go. Why does DeDe LaRue boldly depict Jesus as a dog? Because she can, with not a hint of feeling intimidated. In fact, as we pointed out in a previous post, she may even write a letter to the editor (under a fake name) denouncing her exhibit to insure getting civil libertarian support for blasphemy – against Christians.

Since 9/11 we have been made painfully aware of another major religion: Islam. Adherents of that faith don’t like their faith ridiculed. But unlike Christians, they go a little further than writing letters to the editor. Everyone knows what happened to Dutch film maker Theo Van Gogh after he made a film that depicted the way that Islam mistreats women. Not satisfied with shooting him to death, his faithful Muslim attacker also stabbed him and left a manifesto pinned to his chest with a knife to the heart.

Which brings me to the question: where are our bold blasphemers of Islam? Were is DeDe LaRue’s image of Mohammad as a dog? Where is Serrano’s picture “Piss Islam?” Where are the images of Mohammad using elephant dung as the medium?

I’ll tell you: they are hiding under their beds. The desperate little cowards are in deadly fear of offending a religion that takes blasphemy seriously.

Here is something that civil libertarians could protest, if they had the guts:

The Saudi Arabians have withdrawn their ambassador to Denmark. Not much of a loss, you may think, but those free-spirited open-minded 21st Century Saudis have been influential in getting other Middle Eastern countries to boycott Danish products. Again, as the main Danish exports are bacon, Danish ham and lager, not much of a loss, you may think. But Arla products (including Lurpak butter) are a big export earner and at least one Saudi supermarket has cleared its shelves of their products.

This is in response to the Jyllands-Posten having published 12 cartoons of Mohammad after a Danish writer complained that he couldn’t find anyone to illustrate a book he’d written about him. The cultural editor of the newspaper put out a call to illustrators, twelve responded and the paper published the cartoons. They were pretty tame stuff, but have rocked the Muslim world because under Islamic law – which they now seek to apply in the West – renderings of Mohammad are illegal.

The cultural editor of the Jyllands-Posen has remained unapologetic, saying he put out the call in response to a worrying trend he had observed in the Western media: self-censorship. The paper has received bomb threats and the editors and the cartoonists have received death threats from adherents of the Religion of Peace but all have stood their ground.
With great bravery, so has Denmark’s prime minister, Anders Rasmussen, who declined a requested meeting with the ambassadors from 11 Muslim countries, saying he has no control over Denmark’s press “and nor do I want such”.

This was last September and the Muslims aren’t letting this issue go away. They’ve already lodged a somewhat florid protest at the UN, where they got the sympathy of a tranzi ear or two. But their aim is an abject apology from Denmark for breaking an Islamic taboo - or else. They grow more threatening and the courageous Anders Rasmussen calmly declines to change his mind, saying publishing cartoons is not against Danish law, which is the law that applies in Denmark.

Why are our cowardly leaders letting the steadfast Mr Rasmussen and the newspaper’s editors take the heat alone? Why has not one American Congressman raised the issue in Congress? No one would expect an unequivocal response from the British prime minister, but is there not one British MP brave enough to support Mr Rasmussen and the Danish people who are, after all, defending the liberty of all of us? Is there not one newspaper editor – even a tabloid – with the strength of conviction to support the Danes? Now Danish livelihoods are being threatened for failing to condemn this infraction against Islamic law, with boycotts of their products.

Is there not one damn’ politician in the entire Anglosphere who will take a stand with Mr Rasmussen? What about John Howard, then? The newly elected Harper? God help us, where is Jesse Jackson?

We don’t have to guess where the craven cowards of the Left are on this, do we? They are too busy kissing up to Islamofascism. They have an agenda, and freedom of expression really is not on it, except as a tool to criticize Western Civilization.