Thread: go to prison for insulting someone?

Originally Posted by Rawaz

Now I haven't followed this thread very closely and I haven't read all posts and opinions but I thought I had to jump in to the discussion after having read some of the posts here.

First of all I saw there was a lot of talk about muslims..when we say muslim what do we mean?
"Muslims" are as diverse as "Christians" if not even more. There are sunnis and shias and even different sunnis and shias. There are also sufis (islamic mysticism) of different kinds and of different lodges. There are also culturall differences that makes a muslim from one place different fom another, even within one culture there are differences. "Mulslims" is not a term that can or should be used to desegnate people in the kind of discussion we have here.

For example in kurdistan most people are muslims, though 1/3 belong to the different kurdish religions and there are also kurdish jews and christians. But kurdish muslims are mostly sufis, in fact there are more sufi shrines and lodges than there are mosques that in fact are quite rare. The kurdish form of islam is very different from the orthodox islam or the islam we read about in textbooks, and an othodox muslim would probably not say kurdish muslims are muslims at all.

Now I'm not a muslim myself but we cannot say that muslims are this or that. They are people too and there are good people and bad people. And we should not here talk about "muslims" but rather Islamists who do not constitute a majority of muslims, far from, but they are more visible. Most people, at least kurds, think these people are nuts and very dangerous. We must also remember that most targets from islamists are not "westeners" but other muslims.

As for the Muhammed-caricatures in denmark and the films made in the netherlands etc. In my opinion they have the legal right to publish and make these things, thats freedom of speach which is a good thing. However I don't think that makes them appropriate, I think that they were largely tasteless and provocative. But the reactions by "Muslims" around the world was not appropriate either, but we have to remember here that most muslims did not burn flags or were violent, this is politics linked with islamists.
We must also have in mind the caricatures from the 1930's about jews, I'm not saying it is the same thing but there is a degree of linkage. Muhammed being the symbol of islam being drawn as a caricature as a crazy terrorist..

Your points are well made and taken. However, I think many of us would like to see these "mainstream" Muslims come forward and actually criticize their extremist cousins for giving them all a bad name. We have wacky extremist Christians too, and when they step out of line, we straighten them out or at least keep them out of power. I don't see anything like that with Muslims. Just a perspective.

Jordan