One cartoon tells it all!
Click to see in full sizeI received this cartoon in an email from one of my friends. After looking once, twice and thrice... I found out that this cartoon just sums up the whole controversy. I believe my review of this cartoon might differ from what the cartoonist Mohammed Sami wanted it to deliver. However, still it tells it all.
As it appears in this cartoon both Muslims and the Western people share the responsibility over this crisis. Muslims as depicted in this cartoon, live in their own closed world, only a very small opening in their world allows them a contact with the outside world. Muslims want to keep their religious values and traditions and protect them from the outside world that seems to be crossing out any meaning of values and traditions. Actually this closed world in which Muslims live, whether in western or eastern societies, gives birth to extremists who are spotted by the outside world and seen as representatives of Muslims: "They are terrorists, followers of bloody Bin Laden"
At the same time the west sees the Muslim world from a very narrow angle, the western media never tries to explore the truth about this world. It rather keeps voicing stereotypical false ideas about this world, its people and their values, religions and traditions. This widens the cultural gap between Muslims and the west, till it reaches is peak with the cartoons offending the Muslims' feelings and beliefs and cultures clash. And now Muslims make it out of their world angry but with half of their body in. Muslims should start introducing themselves to the world to show the world that they are not followers of bloody Bin Laden, but rather they are his victims.
It is high time for dialogue to start, for understanding and respect to be found. I am happy that news about high rank Muslim leaders call people to calm and work on intiating a dialogue with the west and introducing their realities to those who barely do not know Islam.
This cartoon tells it all.
Good news:
- A new independant satellite channel will be launched in foreign languages aimed at showing the reality of Islam. It will not be under any governmental authority and will be funded by business men's donations. Finally a dream is to come true.
- One of my friends in Al Azhar University told me that there is an Arab business man in Europe is willing to take researches about the reality of Islam from the well known Islamic university to publish them in Europe. Not 100% sure, but that would be great news.
- My friend in Saudi Arabia told me this morning some supermarkets started selling Danish again and boycott is starting to end after the Jyllands-Posten's last apology and news about the anotherdenmark.com started to spread.
Sounds like Egypt won and the world is becoming better :)
