A sad day indeed.....

It breaks my heart to hear about what is happening as a result of cartoons that were done of the Prophet Muhammad in Denmark in the papers. It was done by the newspaper and NOT something that the whole Danish population took a vote and decided to do as a country. What got me upset was hearing on the news today that there were threats by some extremist Muslims to blow up or gun down selected Europeans if no apology made for publishing the cartoons.

Who do we blame for this? It is so simple to point fingers but it doesn't really solve the root of the problem. In the first place, could all this have been avoided? Most definitely!

Firstly, the Danish newspaper should have been more sensitive in printing such materials in the papers. Mind you, it's not one 'kuching kurap' (i.e. small) newspaper agency but rather, it's 'Denmark's largest selling broadsheet newspaper'. And why was it done, it was seen as an exercise in 'self-censorship'.

The Danish newspaper, Jyllands-Posten, had asked 40 cartoonists to draw images of the prophet. The purpose, its chief editor said, was “to examine whether people would succumb to self-censorship, as we have seen in other cases when it comes to Muslim issues.”

Carsten Juste said: "The 12 cartoons ... were not intended to be offensive, nor were they at variance with Danish law, but they have indisputably offended many Muslims, for which we apologise."

To the folks in the paper, it's just good fun or what was referred to as a little 'exercise' but I am pretty sure there are Muslims in Denmark that they could have consulted before publishing such cartoons. And if it's a publicity stunt, it was sure done in bad taste. Maybe it's something new to non-muslims but it is wrong for a face (or any face) to be given to any of the prophets. I have a movie made about the life of Prophet Muhammad but it was done such that only the back shot was taken so no face was shown. And what is the fuss about putting a face to a prophet you may be asking?

Islamic law, based on clerics’ interpretation of the Quran and the sayings of the prophet, forbids depictions of the Prophet Muhammad and other major religious figures — even positive ones — to prevent idolatry.

Critics say the drawings were particularly insulting because some appeared to ridicule Muhammad. One cartoon showed the prophet wearing a turban shaped as a bomb.

It may seem silly but to Muslims it's not. Maybe we don't have a great sense of humour to not appreciate such cartoons. But honestly, what is so funny about insulting somebody who is so important to us Muslims. Why is there even a NEED to ridicule anyone. As Muslims, we don't expect non-muslims to agree with the rationale or reason why we don't do it. You don't have to like the reason. But all we ask is that you respect that we have such beliefs. And as Muslims, it is our responsibility to explain such things to other non-mulims in a civil manner to promote better understanding among different religions.

I think living in a multi-religious and multi-racial country like Singapore, it makes you more aware about the need to be sensitive about such issues, to respect the religious beliefs of others and all this can only come about by knowing and understanding the differences.

Are we humans so dumb that we need to constantly make such mistakes to realise how grave the consequences can be? Can't we learn from history and see how such actions can lead to horrible consequences of people getting hurt or killed unneccesarily?

I was also disappointed to hear about the threats made by extremists Muslims, threatening to hurt people if no apologies were made. It is these same people that we need to protect Islam from because they are doing more harm to Islam than good. Why is there a need to resort to violence? Yes, we can make a stand but must it always be violent? There are ways to make our views known in a more peaceful manner. Sign petitions, have peaceful demonstrations where you make your views be known without hurting or harming anyone...be creative to put our views across. it may take longer but why the need to hurt others.

It is so important for us to educate our young about such things. It is so important that we use this as a teachable moment. It is important that we teach our young to think about our actions, think about the consequences of our actions. It is important that we teach our young to be responsible in ensure peace and harmony in our country.

Sounds like I am preaching but this is something that I feel so strongly about. I am not one to go on and on about religion because I believe that it's a personal thing. But this is one of those rare moments where I feel that I just need to vent some and hope that we all can learn from this incident.

Update:
The Jyllands Posten has apologised. Some extremists might have taken the opportunity to use the incident as an excuse to blow a few things up or gun down some people. But let's just stop all this. Apology has been made. They are trying to make good. Mistake was made and lesson learnt. And in Islam (and in all other religious faith), we are to forgive and try to forget :o) Group hug!!!