Islam

Isaac Hayes has quit “South Park”–no more appearances from Chef, at least not with Hayes’ voice. His reason, however, is bogus: “There is a place in this world for satire, but there is a time when satire ends and intolerance and bigotry towards religious beliefs of others begins,” the 63-year-old soul singer and outspoken Scientologist said. “Religious beliefs are sacred to people, and at all times should be respected and honored,” he continued. “As a civil rights activist of the past 40 years, I cannot support a show that disrespects those beliefs and practices." ...

The Phoenix New Times, one of the country’s oldest free “alternative” weekly newspapers which has won numerous awards for its investigative reporting, has published the Mohammed cartoons that have stirred up so many protests. The cartoons appear in conjunction with an article titled “The Chosen One,” about local feminist Muslim Deedra Abboud, the director of the Arizona chapter of the Muslim American Society’s Freedom Foundation, a civil rights group headquartered in D.C., and former director of the Arizona chapter of the Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). She left CAIR after growing tired of responding to Ann Coulter, whom she feels doesn’t deserve the attention. (I agree.) Abboud is a recent Muslim convert, a former Southern Baptist business major at the University of Arkansas. She converted after a period of arguing against Muslims, then reading the Koran. Apparently she found Islam more sensible than Christianity, as she questioned the Trinity and how the notion of Jesus dying for the sins of mankind could possibly make any sense. It’s too bad she jumped out of the frying pan into the fire, dropping one bogus religion only to adopt another. Regarding the cartoon controversy, she is quoted saying “I don’t think Americans have been given the full context of those cartoons,” Abboud tells Uncle Nasty, her voice becoming louder as she tries to speak over the one on the other end of the phone. “I’m not defending the violence. But the editor of the Danish paper wasn’t trying to make a point; he was clearly trying to offend people."Actually, the editor of the Danish paper, Jyllands-Posten, solicited the cartoons because Danish author Kare Bluitgen had written a children’s book about Mohammed and was unable to find an illustrator. The editor wanted to see if there was really such a chilling effect against artists that they were afraid to illustrate the book, and solicited artists’ renditions of Mohammed, without specifying that they take any particular position. The instruction was to “draw the Prophet as they saw him." That children’s book, The Koran and the Life of Mohammed, is now a best-seller in Denmark, by the way–though its illustrator remains anonymous. The controversy arose four months after the Danish paper published the cartoons, and was heightened by Muslim imams who circulated the cartoons along with other, more offensive cartoons which were not published by the paper. Abboud claims she has been following the controversy since the original publication, and is aware of these other cartoons not being published by the Danish paper. Zuhdi Jasser, another prominent local Muslim (a politically conservative doctor who previously worked as a doctor at the U.S. Capitol and often writes op-ed pieces in the Arizona Republic) is described in the New Times piece as not trusting Abboud or the organizations she represents. Jasser organized a “Muslims Against Terrorism” rally at which CAIR representatives were not permitted to speak, because of what Jasser describes as their promotion of victimhood within the Muslim-American community.

From your cousin Vito by way of jwz. Solan (2006-12-09): Some relevant linx:http://forum.newspaperindex.comhttp://www.filibustercartoons.com/archive.php?id=20060204http://www.zombietime.com/mohammed_image_archive/http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=5&article_id=21654http://www.muslimrefusenik.comhttp://www.iranian.com/Azizi/2006/February/Cartoons/index.htmlhttp://tinyurl.com/dl2dmhttp://suralikeit.comhttp://www.apostatesofislam.com/http://www.faithfreedom.org/http://www.secularislam.orghttp://www.infidels.org/library/modern/theism/islam/http://islamreview.org/http://www.geocities.com/freethoughtmecca/islam.html Lippard (2006-12-09): Nice set of links--thanks, Solan!

The Danish cartoons of Mohammed have been reprinted in both Norway and France (and may be seen at the link at left). These cartoons have led to hostages being taken, death threats against the cartoonists, and the withdrawal of ambassadors to Denmark by Libya and Saudi Arabia. The reprinting has led to further Muslim outrage, apologies from the publishers, and some firings. Norway has given a state apology and made noises about restricting freedom of speech regarding anti-religious statements. France and Denmark have refused to make state apologies and have defended freedom of speech. The EU and UN have come out against freedom of speech, which are good reasons to oppose UN control of the Internet. By the way, here are some other cartoons about Mohammed and Islam (thanks to Einzige for the reference). UPDATE: A magazine in Lebanon, Shihan, has reprinted the cartoons, and in an article with the subheading “World’s Muslims, be logical,” Jihad Momani (a pseudonym?) asks, “Which one do you think damages Islam more? These cartoons or the scene of a suicide bomber who blows himself up outside a wedding ceremony in Amman, or the kidnappers that slaughters their victims before the cameras?” (Hat tip: Catallarchy, which I inexplicably failed to credit for their posting which first led me to this subject.) ...

Just saw this cartoon at This Blog Is Full of Crap. Let’s see, depicting Mohammed, depicting Mohammed in hell, putting words in Mohammed’s mouth. I don’t think Muslims will be very happy about this, considering their unreasonable reaction to cartoons of Mohammed in Denmark (previously referred to in my posting on the “Sexy Bin Laden”). Historical Comments Einzige (2006-12-09): All I can say is, I hope to see more of it.Here's a suggestion to get off to a good start:Extremely graphic (I'd suggest Manga as a style, to start out with) orgy scenes with Mohammed, Jesus, Mary, Joseph, the baby Jesus, The Father, The Holy Spirit, Santa Claus, Buddha, the Pope, Krshna, and anyone else you'd care to throw in there... Make sure there's plenty of sodomy, and definitely some taking of THE LORD's name in vain, some dishonoring of father and mother. Some spilling of seed. Oh, and some bestiality and necrophilia, too (I guess the Holy Spirit kinda fits that definition already).Any takers? ...

Wafah Dufour, formerly known as Wafah bin Laden, is Osama bin Laden’s niece (daughter of Yeslam bin Ladin, half-brother of Osama, and Carmen bin Ladin, author of Inside the Kingdom: My Life in Saudi Arabia) is featured in the December GQ. She wants to be a pop star in the U.S. She hasn’t lived in Saudi Arabia since she was 10. She is a fan of The Cure, Seal, and The Beatles, and plays guitar. It seems to me that in her position, it could be dangerous to become an American pop star, since there seems to be no shortage of Muslim fundamentalists who reject the principle of free speech even while living in countries that endorse it.