Today I googled just for one thing. To see exactly what was in the controversy, which has taken (is taking) a lot of human lives!Got it? Yea!Its the Danish Cartoon Controversy. I didnt expect to see the original cartoon, which caused so much of unrest among all Islamic countries. But finally I saw it. My opinion before seeing the original cartoon changed very much after seeing it. Though I couldnt understand, the dialogues in it (as it was Danish), I could understand, "why did it hurt others" after seeing it.
The EU news papers say its their "freedom of speech". But do they have the responsibility to realize the "thin red line" that separates "freedom of speech" from "respecting others religious beliefs" ???
I am so shocked to see that this "freedom of speech" has taken so much of human lives , since September 30, 2005, till now! (even today, I saw fierce riots in its name!)
I wonder if that newspaper had published cartoons on Jesus Christ also, like this?
Today I came to know, that an Iranian newspaper had invited cartoons on "Jewish Holocaust"(which took lives of 6 millions Jews!), in return, for their hurt..as part of their revenge!
Is this the right way, to respond??? Mocking at sensitive issues, when we know, that it will hurt others? Media are supposed to be with people, respect their beliefs, and bring out truth!
Why we are unable to respect others religions?? Why? Why we are like this?
Note: I am not posting the cartoon, cos it sure does hurt others. But this link shows it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jyllands-Posten_Muhammad_cartoons
Totally with that View... I have always believed the thought that media talks the truth but not the WHOLE truth .. check out this link too.. shares a similar perspective on a broader perspective
ReplyDeletehttp://alternativeperspective.blogspot.com/2006/02/freedom-of-speech-vs-being-civilized.html
i wonder y people make fun or criticize other religions..... some people(atheist) totally condemn religion...
ReplyDeleteI mean... do they feel heroic when they do taht... does it give them some kind of sadistic please when they indulge in such behavior..... or some false sense of superiority....
My take...... People make fun of others only when they have something lacking in them... Making fun of others is a shield people use to vent their own feelings of jealousy or insecurity....
Freedom of talk is a very dangerous wepon - "vaa vitta vaakum kai vitta aayudhavum orupoleyanu; thirichedukkanavilla".
ReplyDeletetrue still we dont understand why people don't like other religion...ok thats fine if u dont like y do they disturb. something to be thought deeply. like a accounts guy and techinical guy they may not like each other becoz of thier profession, this is as simple as that. religions to be thought as professions. "u do ur work i do my work,thats all"
ReplyDeleteSwathi, I partly agree to what you say -- the original cartoons were of bad taste -- but I can't help notice that the violent reactions are even worser, atleast by a few orders of magintude.
ReplyDeleteWhat makes followers of Islam (or for that matter, any relegion) think they have a right to hurt (not just the emotional one, _physical_ hurt) anyone who criticises their relegion? Remember that the people who kick up a row now aren't exactly saints -- see http://www.evz.ro/images/?image_name=20060207caricatura for a nice depiction of what I mean.
Also, see http://www.slate.com/id/2135499/nav/tap2/ for a take on the issue -- one which I agree with mostly.
Lastly, what exactly did you mean by: "I wonder if that newspaper had published cartoons on Jesus Christ also, like this?"? My guess is that a bunch of righ-wing-Christian-extremists (the same folks who now cry foul against abortions, gay marriages, evolution etc) will kick up a row and violence! Is it just me, or does your rhetoric indicate any signs of "taking sides"? :-) Oh BTW, I did read some (unconfirmed) reports earlier today that the Danish newspaper _did_ decline to print caricatures of Jesus.
Oh, BTW, I wish that the girl mentioned in http://www.faithfreedom.org/Announcement/601081013.htm gets justice afterall. Oh who cares .. they are all busy burning embassies, aren't they?! :(
nice one
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot... It's comments like yours that DO make me want to keep writing here. :-)
ReplyDeleteI don't know much about this issue you're writing about, but I did check out the link and it's a sad state of affairs when people stand behind these basic rights to blatantly hurt others in any manner that they wish. Some people should garner their rights to common sense, which many seem to loose when they get their "holier than thou" ideas in their head.
Thanks for link swathi and u know same thing happen with Bharat mata picture..i mean to say that famous painter M.F Hussian has created painting of Bharat Mata in awful way that now a days its a big issue for religious belif in India too...i don't know u r aware of that or not....He before also try to make such pic of God Shiva....Durga...etc...
ReplyDeletejust want to say that stop criticizing other religion and their belif...Give respect and have respect....
I am completely with the issue. The media, the society and especially the "WE" should always be cautious towards this religious faiths and beliefs. To avoid the 1940's Jewish issue or to avoid the 1947's hindu-muslim issue or to avoid prote-catholic issue, all we need is respect to each other.
ReplyDeleteBiswa Dharma ki Jai (Let the World religion win)
RAGHUNADAN---yea, u r rite, media seems o be using its rights, for "selfish" purposes, it seems...
ReplyDeleteROSHAN---u r rite, in u opinion abt making fun of others...its actually a cover to hide one's own flaws...
ANOOP---u r correct...think twice b4 u say something, really matters (even thrice, can help!).
KRISHNA---u r rite...respecting others eventually earn us respect..what i dont understand is when the so-called "responsible" media do like this....
BINIL---i didnt say that ppl who kick up row r saints. i also didnt say, that ppl who made the "cause" were demons either. The diff is one is masses, which may consists of angels and demons while other , ie editor of a newspaper is "supposed-to-be" resposible and "supposed-to-know-consequences"(it was an editorial column). Abt taking sides, i wonder why you fail to see the result and condemn the cause, rather than condemn the result?
ReplyDeleteSREENIVASAN---thanks!
LISA---even i didnt know much...i wrote i when i got fed up seeing riots.
ANU---yea, i know abt Hussain issue. i also know abt "the-pictures-of-Hindu-Gods-in-undergarments" issue and the "ban-of-Sikh-turbans-in-France", issue. But mocking others religion, in any form, be it come from anyone, is it right? then what is called "religious-tolerance"?
PIYUSH---thanks, alot...wish if everybpdy thot like this, may be the earth would have been heaven. (i hope thats the diff b/w earth and heaven)
this is very sensitive issue swathi one has to understand the reason behind all this controversies is two things one is politics and other one is the economy of the developed nations.only the public people get affect by this and die.one has to understand the politics or else economics to know why wars happen around.
ReplyDeletebut for now everybody here watch rang de basanti to see whos the common enemy to everyone here :)
Swathi, cause and effect happen in cycles.
ReplyDeleteThe Danish editor, who should have known better, published the cartoons. You deem his actions as irresponsible. But spare a minute and think why many other papers published those same cartoons again - after the protests began? Those cartoon definitely don't have any great artistic values, and those other editors have mostly said that they published those cartoon on thier papers as a form of protest - a protest against the practice of threatening and intimidating anyone who publicly critices a relegion.
Why did they need such a protest? What is the _cause_ of that?
I don't like the present violence any more than you; yet I can't help agree that the sentiments involved need to imbibe a bit more resilence - at the first sign disagreement you cant simply go burning consulates! And those actions need to be condemned, as per my book.
As a minor example, British journalist Polly Toynbee, who was nominated for the title of "Most Islamophobic Media Personality of the Year" at the Annual Islamophobia Awards overseen by the Islamic Human Rights Commission in May 2003. The nomination was based on her comments in an article she had written for the London-based liberal newspaper The Guardian:
Religious politics scar India, Kashmir, Northern Ireland, Sri Lanka, Sudan ... the list of countries wrecked by religion is long. But the present danger is caused by Islamist theocracy … There is no point in pretending it is not so. Wherever Islam either is the government or bears down upon the government, it imposes harsh regimes that deny the most basic human rights.
Toynbee has rejected the label of "Islamophobe" and argued that her comments must be judged on their truth or falsity, not on the offence they might give to most members of the Muslim community.
(From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamophobic)
Why is such a furoe raised every time someone critices a relegion? Sure you are allowed to practise whatever relegion you choose, but why shut others opinions on it? Worser, why intimidate people when they point out obvious issues - like the case of that unfortunate girl I mentioned yeterday.
hmmm
ReplyDeletesome media are sucks and selfish they dont think if others will get hurt as long as they can post their new articles...that's why we cant blame pipol prostesting co'z they are only figthing on what they think was ryte...
krizz
tht wasnt fair...seriously...its not appropriate..to make fun of other's religion..
ReplyDeletehey am soo sorry...but i was oblivious to all this!!!As i always say...i donno how ppl bcome such prize idiots in religious issues!!
ReplyDeletePoll results: In the UAE a top newspaper had a poll, Whether Danish product to be Boygotted?? You know what happend? A company dealing with lot of Danish product asked their employees to participate in the poll and vote for "NO". Seeing a almost closer YES and NO votes, the newspaper invistigated and found this. How is it?
ReplyDeleteThe media just wants controversy....controversy sells! They do not care who they hurt. If they have their facts wrong, they never apologize,,,unless some celebrity is going to sue them for a false story......But then if you look back to a time in the Scandanavian countries up to near and around the 1900's places like Norway, it was illegal to be Catholic, and you must belong to the gov't's church...and so on. So I think the people who are Muslim must know and tolerate the differences of their cultures if they are too move and belong there. Would I tell you how to live if I moved in with you...no I would not,,,,, I would respect you and adapt to your way of life, unless of course I just take over your home...if you can see the point...anyway hope it helps.
ReplyDelete