Monday, February 06, 2006
Turkish FM Can't Help Seeing One Hatred Replacing Another
In the wake of protests, violent threats, boycotts and now deaths over the ongoing cartoon kerfuffle, the Jerusalem Post reports on a statement by the Turkish Foreign Minister:
But actually, that would be insensitive of me. So let me correct that.
"No please, bring back the anti-Semitism. It's not proper that anyone should feel hostile to a Muslim. Please, I beg you, persecute us instead! It's ok, we're used to it!"
How many tolerance points did I win?
Honestly, I can't see why this should be a problem. When some Muslims destroy the Twin Towers and exult over the three thousand dead while others complain more about the reaction to the act than the act itself, people feel a little hostile.
When others blow holes in US ships and embassies and destroy discos and train stations while others prefer to imply the victims earned their fate rather than oppose those who attack in their name, people feel a little hostile.
When many Imams and their followers eagerly anticipate the imposition of a global caliphate and all that stands for, people feel a little hostile.
When leaders of Islamic nations threaten the West and Israel with pre-emptive nuclear annihilation while other Muslims swear support and promise mutual defense in the quest for the tools to carry out that threat, I'm sorry, but people feel just a tad peeved.
However...
When Muslims laid the foundation for modern pharmacology? Thumbs up all around. Great stuff.
Strong commitment to monotheism? No problem here.
Charity for the poor? Warm fuzzies.
When Muslims invented Algebra? Well -- let's not push it. A lot of people feel kind of hostile about that one too. But not me. I liked algebra.
So please. I beg Muslims, moderate and otherwise, do not view hostility to Islam as the inevitable successor to anti-Semitism. That's a success I don't especially recommend. It's not really all it's cracked up to be.
Technorati Tags: anti-Semitism, hostility to Islam, protests, cartoons
If you really, really liked this -- or even really, really hated it -- there's lots more:
Speaking as a Jew, I think I'm supposed to say, "What a relief! It was great being number one for so many centuries, but we're happy to pass the baton. Good luck fellows."
But Turkey's foreign minister said media freedoms cannot be limitless and that hostility against Muslims was replacing anti-Semitism in the West.
But actually, that would be insensitive of me. So let me correct that.
"No please, bring back the anti-Semitism. It's not proper that anyone should feel hostile to a Muslim. Please, I beg you, persecute us instead! It's ok, we're used to it!"
How many tolerance points did I win?
Honestly, I can't see why this should be a problem. When some Muslims destroy the Twin Towers and exult over the three thousand dead while others complain more about the reaction to the act than the act itself, people feel a little hostile.
When others blow holes in US ships and embassies and destroy discos and train stations while others prefer to imply the victims earned their fate rather than oppose those who attack in their name, people feel a little hostile.
When many Imams and their followers eagerly anticipate the imposition of a global caliphate and all that stands for, people feel a little hostile.
When leaders of Islamic nations threaten the West and Israel with pre-emptive nuclear annihilation while other Muslims swear support and promise mutual defense in the quest for the tools to carry out that threat, I'm sorry, but people feel just a tad peeved.
However...
When Muslims laid the foundation for modern pharmacology? Thumbs up all around. Great stuff.
Strong commitment to monotheism? No problem here.
Charity for the poor? Warm fuzzies.
When Muslims invented Algebra? Well -- let's not push it. A lot of people feel kind of hostile about that one too. But not me. I liked algebra.
So please. I beg Muslims, moderate and otherwise, do not view hostility to Islam as the inevitable successor to anti-Semitism. That's a success I don't especially recommend. It's not really all it's cracked up to be.
Technorati Tags: anti-Semitism, hostility to Islam, protests, cartoons
