Don’t shoot the messenger
Philippe Douste-Blazy, the French foreign minister, said: “It is not normal to caricature a whole religion as an extremist or terrorist movement.” But the extreme reaction to the cartoons “would suggest the caricaturists were right,” he added.
news.telegraph
But here is what the US State Department had to offer.
America sided with tens of thousands of Muslims who protested worldwide yesterday about cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed published in European newspapers.
In its first comment on the furore, the State Department said: “These cartoons are indeed offensive to the belief of Muslims.”
Answering a reporter’s question, its spokesman, Kurtis Cooper, said: “We all fully respect freedom of the press and expression but it must be coupled with press responsibility. Inciting religious or ethnic hatred in this manner is not acceptable.”
I have no idea why the State Department felt the need to comment on cartoons published in European newspapers. Someone missed a fine opportunity to shut up. In any case, Mr. Cooper has it all wrong. The cartoons do not incite religious hatred. They reveal it.
Posted on February 3rd, 2006 by pwyll
Filed under: politics, religion
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Hate is also present in the Christian culture. In any form, it is very disturbing.
Hate is present in every culture. The question is whether that hate is the inevitable reaction of a minority and something to be fought, or the expression of an underlying policy, sanctioned and deliberately cultivated.