March, 2006

The Cartoon Controversy: A Matter of Respect and Understanding

Rose Wu

The controversy over the cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed published in Danish papers a few months ago has angered Islamic believers around the world. Some of the demonstrations have even turned violent and caused many deaths.

The response from Europe and the West has been to frame the question as a matter of free speech. The chairman of the Danish Union of Journalists, Mogens Blicher Bjerregard—from the country that first published the cartoons—has warned against repression of press freedom, saying, "It is critical for us that a solution to the newspaper cartoon affair does not result in any limitation on the freedom of the press." At the same time, the Danish government has also taken the identical position, stating that it is a matter of press freedom and that it is not right for the government to interfere with any publication printing such cartoons. Since their original publication in Denmark, the series of 12 cartoons has appeared in many newspapers in the West with editors defending their publication by invoking the same rationale.

Looking at the cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed, a non-Muslim might wonder how such cartoons could create a global conflict? Is it only a matter of freedom of the press, however, or something deeper?

The first fundamental issue is our ignorance about Islam. One major reason why Muslims around the world have been deeply offended by these cartoons is because Islam prohibits anyone from making any image of the Prophet Mohammed. There is also a prohibition against ridiculing the Prophet. Thus, a cartoon that ridicules the Prophet violates two fundamental rules in Islam simultaneously. In addition, the caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed wearing a bomb-shaped turban in the present global climate call attention to the stereotype of Muslims as being only terrorists. This view though only serves to deepen the suspicions of Muslims and reinforce Islamophobia.

In fact, it is not too difficult for us to understand why Muslim communities throughout the world have been outraged over the cartoons if we review the tension between the West and the Islamic world from the pain of Muslims' history as well as the present global environment. In a speech at a conference on Islam and the West in Malaysia, one speaker blamed the conflicts between the West and Islam on a series of historical events—the Crusades, Western colonisation and the present Islamophobia of certain "arrogant Western powers." Especially under the present anti-terrorism campaign, Muslims are frequently portrayed as threats to the Western world.

Asghar Ali Engineer in his article "Danish Cartoons and Muslims" commented that in many European countries Muslims are seen as not only outsiders but also as a menace, a threat, to their values and their culture. The reason, he notes, is because, for the Western world, pluralism is a new phenomenon, and they are finding it very hard to adapt. Moreover, Western democracy and its development of freedom of expression have taken place in a monolingual, monoreligious and monocultural context. As for Asians, pluralism has always been the way of life. We have lived and coexisted with different religions in a relatively harmonious manner.

Asghar Ali Engineer also reminds his fellow Muslims to seriously reflect on, if Islam is a religion of peace, why their demonstrations have tended to be violent? Are they not playing into the hands of those leaders who have their own political agenda?

Certainly, the response to cartoons should not be violent and generate bomb threats. When these threats are directed at journalists—whether reporters, editors or cartoonists—they threaten people's right to life as well as freedom of the press.

Thus, what can we learn from this incident?

First of all, from a historical point of view, we must not forget that the West has gone through a stage of secularisation in the past which liberates people from the dogma of religion that can be used for political purposes and can be oppressive toward others. Since then, people in the West have upheld individual rights, including freedom of expression and the press, as one of the highest values in society, and yet, this secular emphasis also can dilute the centrality of religion and spirituality in people's lives.

On the other hand, predominantly Islamic societies are largely the opposite. Religion is not separate from their daily lives. The intensity of their religious beliefs is much deeper. Unless we identify, value and respect these differences, misunderstanding, prejudice and conflict will most likely continue to occur.

Secondly, we must not allow ourselves to abuse others or insult other religions in the name of freedom of opinion since freedom of speech is not absolute. Moreover, a role of the media is to promote better communication and understanding. We must instead develop a sense of respect and tolerance for all communities and for their religious beliefs and practices.

Thirdly, we must consider humankind as one family and learn to respect and understand other religions, not only as our neighbour, but as "echoes" of sacred voices; we must engage in dialogue and solidarity to enhance the well-being of our individual and communal contexts.

The more I have come to know and appreciate the rich multiplicity of the Asian cultural and religious contexts the more I realise the danger of using religion as the absolute truth to attack other religions. To counter the current global anti-terrorism campaign, we must learn to embrace our differences and enter into genuine dialogue with those who do not share our identity.

Lastly, I believe that the heart of the cartoon controversy is not about freedom of the press; rather, it is about how we respect and understand other people who are members of different cultures and religions. The real challenge in today's globalised context is how to live together with our diverse identities in the one world we all share. I believe to respect the otherness in the other and to understand each other's differences is a step towards true peace and justice.