WHEN THE Cavalier Daily published a cartoon last semester that offended African-American students, the paper was met by vocal protests and demands for a discussion with the editor-in-chief. When European newspapers recently published cartoons offensive to Muslims, they were met by violence, arson, and death threats. What gives?
Kowtowing apologists in Western society have chalked up the disparate response as a difference in culture. Be that as it may, now would be a good time to point out that, while all men are created equal, all cultures are not.
Westerners of good conscience do not turn a blind eye to female genital mutilation in Africa, oppression of women in the Middle East and gender- selective abortions in Asia simply because that is part of their culture. Similarly, we must drag those cultures, kicking and screaming as it may be, out of the Stone Age when it comes to the freedoms of religion, speech and the press.
The recent mayhem in the Middle East directed at European targets was touched off by a series of Danish newspaper cartoons that depicted the Muslim prophet Muhammad in a negative light. One showed his turban as a bomb. While unfair and offensive, these cartoons could not, under any Western theory of justice, excuse the vengeful reaction that followed.
Cultural relativism is not a cover for Islamic fundamentalist violence when their response is objectively inefficient and counterproductive, not to mention morally wrong. The best way to change hearts and minds is through dialogue and discussion. When that doesn't work, the next step is peaceful demonstrations and civil disobedience. However, civil disorder is rarely effective, especially when it is so disproportional to the alleged wrong (in this case, obnoxious newspaper cartoons). By acting in conformity with Western stereotypes about Muslims, the only thing Islamic radicals have succeeded in doing over the past two weeks is to harden Western attitudes.
One might argue that the Danish cartoons should be treated differently because they violate Muslims' deeply rooted religious prohibition against pictorial depictions of Muhammad. However, this application of an Islamic tenet is highly tenuous. The prohibition stems from the prophet's command against idolatry by followers. However, by using this command to justify widespread violence, fundamentalists have perverted Islam in the same way they have hijacked it to commit terrorism. To wit, using violence to protect the prophet against insult is the very epitome of idolatry.
But even if Muslims are reasonable to follow this belief, they have no right whatsoever to demand that non-Muslims adhere to it, too -- especially not in secular Western countries. Otherwise, every religion would become a law unto itself. Deeply observant Jews could prohibit gentiles from writing out the word "God" because they believe it is sacrilegious. Native Americans could demand the unfettered right to use hallucinogens because that is part of their religion.
While Western government officials have been falling all over themselves to apologize for the Danes, they seem to have forgotten that we have a culture, too. In our culture, we cherish the rights of free speech and free press so dearly that we will "defend [it] to our death," as the French philosopher Voltaire vowed. We will fight for our right to freely depict any public figure -- even religious ones -- no matter how offensive it may be. In our culture, we treat as taboo any political violence in response to disagreeable speech. If Muslim fundamentalists want us to respect their culture, they should respect ours, too.
On the subject of Islamic doctrine, the Koran also commands against hypocrisy. However, the radical reaction to the Danish cartoons takes hypocrisy to the heights of heaven, or the depths of hell as it may be. After all, when Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called for the destruction of Israel and denied the Holocaust, Jews didn't go berserk at Muslim targets. When the al Jazeera network broadcasts its anti-Western vitriol, we don't go around burning Arab embassies.
If Muslim fundamentalists want a clash of civilizations, then we must not wave the white flag. We must not capitulate to their demands to impose their cultural and religious taboos on our secular societies. We must secure the right of every individual to freely practice his religion and to espouse his views about other religions. What's more, we must do so decisively and globally, so that no one in this world, whether Christian, Jew, Muslim or Hindu, is intimidated into acceding to the cultural and religious practices of another.
Eric Wang's column appears Mondays in The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at ewang@cavalierdaily.com.
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