Heads In The Clouds
"Stop complaining, Mohammad ... we've all been caricatured, here."
According to this March 22, 2006 posting over at GM's Corner, a Welsh clergyman got into trouble for publishing the above. In fact, the priest, the editor of a church magazine, resigned over this matter.
The purpose of the article was to encourage tolerance among the Abrahamic faiths—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
[Read the Guardian article here]
posted by Always On Watch @ 4/02/2006 06:40:00 AM
59 comments
59 Comments:
I don't know how to resize the picture, so readers here will just have to bear with what I've got here.
This caricature was too good not to post. LOL.
If anybody knows the HTML to resize this PhotoBucket image, please email me.
Disregard previous comment. GM helped me out.
Thanks, GM!
two words: "tits up"
AOW:
It might be better for me to say "thumbs up!" You are doing humanity a great service by showing the guts our government and intelligentsia won't.
That Welsh clergyman obviously doesn't understand the nature of Islam. Islam is beyond tolerance of other "Abrahamic" faiths! Tolerance there will never be. Annihilation, more like!
In truth, islam cannot truely be Abrahamic! In Genesis, G*D said HE would bless those who bless Abraham(and his people) and curse those who curse them. Also G*D literally curses Ishmael by saying that his hand would be against everyman and everyman's hand will be raised against him! When Abraham waffled about kicking him out, G*D agreed with Sarah that the child of the bondwoman would not inherit with the son of the wife! Ishmael was cast out, disowned and cursed. Sounds like islam has no part of Abraham and his decendents(blood or spirit!)
That is why any excuse to rage is taken! They have to raise thier hands against!
tmw
Perhaps a religion that refuses to be critisized just doesn't stand up to critisism.
you're all over that kevin.
AOW is spot on again. Good job, my friend.
AOW..thats actually quite mellow and in good humor..if thats offensive, Heaven forfend any cartoonist who is a bit more overt!
AOW..thats actually quite mellow and in good humor..if thats offensive, Heaven forfend any cartoonist who is a bit more overt!
Muslims will decide what is offensive and what is not.
Let's not forget our place here.
This may change of course if we submit.
After all isn't Allah all merciful and all that jazz?
inquiring minds want to know if aow is going to share her fatwa?
Nanc,
Too funny! Of course I will share my fatwa! But any outspoken infidel can qualify. It's easy!
George Mason has given me credit for guts. I thank him for that compliment, but outrage is probably more of a motivator for me.
Due to my mannerly upbringing (according to the Golden Rule, not present in Islam, BTW), I've "kept a lid on" for nearly four years. I'm done with that now. I think my avatar inspired me. Gotta live up to Rosie's reputation! LOL.
This past Friday, even before I got my fatwa, one of my clients had a look at my blog and asked, "What book can I read so that I can get a handle on what's going on at your blog? I've got to understand." Immediately I recommended Mark's book. I hope that she gets a copy right away!
As Missing Link pointed out, fatwa terms change. What is inoffensive today may be offensive tomorrow. Dhimmitude is accomplished in stages.
well with an avatar to die for, perhaps we should start calling you "aow rushdie" or "aow fallaci"! you are in good company.
I never paid any attention to cartoons until I found out some people found them offensive. I'm still trying to figure out what it is that has everyone saying I'm sorry.
God Bless America, God Save The Republic.
Thanks to all for your comments.
Two thoughts on a personal, not on a national or global level:
1. These cave-in-to-the-demands-of-Muslims stories have to be ferreted out. The msm will simply not cover them. And plenty of similar stories are out there.
2. What is defined as blasphemy in Islam contradicts the freedoms we hold dear. While certain caricatures of Jesus Christ might offend me, I wouldn't go around proclaiming, "You're going to hell for that!" In fact, I personally have never objected to any caricatures of my faith; I just look the other way or, at the most, write a mild letter of objection. Of course, as far as taking violent action or urging anyone else to do so goes, that option is out.
In the Old Testament, the prophets of Baal were constantly defending their false god. They cut themselves with knives in an attempt to get Baal to answer their prayers. Hmmmm.....Why is something else in our modern day come to mind right now.
I stress, once again, that anyone is free to believe or not to believe, as far as I'm concerned. But objecting to the mild caricature pictured here, a caricature published in an Anglican Church magazine and for the purpose of promoting tolerance, is extreme, especially in light of some of the comics published in Muslim publications, specifically, in the Middle East.
Final thought....Long ago, a friend of mine said something very like this when his son was whining about something unfair (probably at school): "Bad things happen to everyone. Life isn't always fair. But it is YOUR REACTION to life's ups and downs that matters." Cliched? Maybe. Yet I believe that our reactions in the face of adversity really do matter and speak volumes about our characters and our convictions. Anyone can react reasonably and rationally during good times. The true test of character comes when life is tough or when someone expresses disagreement.
Off on blog rounds now, then to work this afternoon.
truer words never spoken, aow.
mussolini - there will be no unbelievers in hell, that much i do know. the old adage that i'd rather believe and have it not be true than to believe not and have it all be true. faith is where we bank.
It's Monday, springtime in Tennesee, and I refuse to be negative. So here's my take. When Islam finally attacks the West, the lily-livers on the left won't have the guts or knowledge to fight, so when it's over the only ones standing will be the conservatives. All we'll have to do is remove the bodies from California and the Northeast and we'll have more land for 4-wheelin'. Have a great week, y'all!
AOW,
The whole business of restricting criticism (criticism is the verbalization of an unspoken intellectual evaluation or judgment about something) by saying something is "offensive," is the last step before thought control.
If we allow the expression of our evaluations to be limited because someone else finds it "offensive," then we will be frozen, unable to change, to move in any direction, make course corrections, make improvements, find problems, discover errors, because if we do any of those things, there's bound to be someone "out there" who disagrees and therefore finds what we think or say to be "offensive."
We have a fundamental right to think, to evaluate, to make judgments, and, if we disagree with someone, to debate or try to persuade.
No one has a right to stop us - me, you, Ducky - from thinking, making evaluations, and expressing those evaluations. If someone else (Islam included) finds our disagreements and our debates "offensive," that's just too damned bad.
Now, don't make the mistake of confusing "offensive" when it means "I dislike what you said because I don't share that evaluation" with nasty rudeness, which, while it may contain a grain of truth, goes over the top. If someone comes into your home or blogsite and is just plain nasty or nuts or off-topic, you have every right, as owner of that property, to kick him out. In fact, as owner of that property you have a right to kick him out for any reason whatsoever.
Your right to express yourself is not violated under the conditions listed above; it's only when the government, with the force of law, prevents it that your rights are violated. You do not have to supply a podium for anything you don't like, so long as the person you disagree with is free to supply his own podium without fear of legal prosecution.
There are only two ways to violate rights: 1) The initiation of the use of physical force and 2) the use of the intellectual equivalent of physical force, fraud or deceit. Another quick way to remember 1) above is, "Your rights stop at my skin."
By thinking, evaluating, and expressing our thoughts, we are not violating anyone's rights, but when someone tries to intimidate or threaten us in order to prevent us from criticizing, that comes very close to a violation.
If we submit to that kind of intimidation or threat, we come very close to permitting it.
When an accusation of "being offensive" influences us so strongly that it approaches, in our own minds, the force of law, and shuts us down, then the noose the PC Crowd and Islam have already put around our necks continues to tighten.
As it tightens more and more, we must make a decision: Do we submit, or do we preserve one of our fundamental rights?
Go ye forth and collect fatwas! The more the merrier! It's literally an issue of Us or Them!
Every time you have an honest criticism, and you express it, you vote for your rights as a free and thinking human being.
Cubed,
Your comment is eloquent, as usual. But I admit it, I had to ROFL with joy when I read this portion:
Go ye forth and collect fatwas!
That's what I'm doing. LOL.
Maybe I should change my blog motto; right now, I have a Mark Twain quote. I like it, but not as well as your "Great Commission."
I'm still laughing, and all four cats are now on alert. Hehehe.
After reading the article, it seems that the controversy was over the depiction of Mohammed and not Jesus, God or Buddha. Have we really fallen so far in such a short time?
AOW..thanks for the comments. I am feeling 100%. Thank God for antibiotics, most of which still wouldn't exist in Islamic lands without Western medicine.
Thank God for antibiotics, most of which still wouldn't exist in Islamic lands without Western medicine.
Sort of like numerals, eh?
Just think - without them stoooooopid Ayrabs teaching white people how to count, none of this would make any sense: "Three US marines and a sailor were killed in combat in the restive western Iraqi province of Al Anbar, the US military reported Monday.
"The servicemen died in action Sunday while serving with the Army's 2nd Brigade Combat Team, based in Anbar's province's capital Ramadi.
"The US military on Sunday announced the deaths of six of its troops across Iraq, including two pilots of an Apache helicopter that was shot down by insurgents."
But, thanks to the raggety towel-heads, we can see that it means HEAD COFFINS!
Getting serious, I agree it is a silent invasion and going on right now. Unfortunately, it's being aided and abetted by a bunch of liberals who seem tho think Islam will be all ready to link arms and sing songs with them when the invasion is over. The rude awakening for them will be a knife in the throat. Thank God there are still folks like us around who aren't asleep at the wheel.
ducky said...
3. So what does that mean...they don't serve ham, pork and alcohol? Do they serve fried clams? If you get my drift.
Attribution please...not that it's a big deal.
lol...if they are serving alcohol beverages in their public schools, maybe they aren't so bad after all.
Benito,
Don't fool yourself into believing you're 'dangerous'. You don't have the power to do a damn thing - you can't slow down the flow of Head Coffins in Iraq. You can't stop Comrade Hugo.
You're a chickenhawk - an ignorant propagandist for the thugs and brigands overseeing the last days of a dying empire.
That's it.
Liberals sure love ze Volksvagen huh??? Very funny...
Numerals..so-called Arabic, were actually developed in India John Brown.
But hey, let's not confuse people with the facts when misinformation works so much better.
JoBro's a leftist. You didn't actaully expect him to say something intelligent, did you?
Tsk tsk.
Well, Ducky, with dialectical materialism as my guide I can put a turd in a Hershey wrapper and call it a "candy bar" (or, in your case, "art"), but I'm not a dialectical materialist. There are no appreciable differences in result between all of the class-based and caste-based left-wingnut economic philosophies. Leftism in a candy wrapper is still a turd.
Ducky,
I can understand that you would wish to distance yourself from brownie.
No offense was meant...
p.s. mussolini - you are missing out on NOTHING - i'm nearly fifty and have recently been made to carry a cell phone by my family! like i'm going to answer it!
btw - i visited your site and it is exquisite. thank you for sharing. we all have our stories.
My fiancee wants me to get a cell phone but so far I have successfully refused. That cell phone that can surf the internet for $600 a minute seems kinda cool though.
If God didn't want Americans to exploit cheap labor, he wouldn't have made other countries' people stupid and susceptible to leftist economic theories.
oh beamish - last week - all our cell phones started going off with the text message thingy - mind you, we're all in the same house and texting each other "love you's" and "goodnights" - ridiculous - you bet - especially since a half hour before we'd said our goodnights! my husband has two. i could have gone the rest of my life without one...probably...i don't know, i'll call you later on that!
Nanc & Mussolini,
My father got a cell phone at the ripe old age of 80. He was still an excellent driver, even at that advanced age (I, on the other hand, have to be very careful not to run into the carport poles). The cell phone gave Dad the confidence to keep doing his daily tasks which were out of range of the landline. His having the cell phone gave me some piece of mind as well.
Dad made a total of two calls with that cell phone: (1) to test it and (2) to call me to tell me that he had passed his eye exam for his driver's license. Otherwise, it remained fully charged and never used.
He wasn't much fond of the landline either. He felt that the telephone interfered with getting things done. His mother categorically refused to answer a phone. "Interferes with tending the sick" was her comment.
Mark Twain said that the phone was the instrument of the devil and kept his locked in a closet. Wonder what he'd have said about the computer? I think I know!
Duck,
many plasma TVs , iPods and $200 sneakers
Don't have any of those.
I did have to buy some expensive shoes, though--bunions need pampering.
In this house, we buy the necessities first, then see what we might want to do with the little remaining.
I guess that some would say we live a very anti-materialistic existence. But we do have the Mustang and our computers. I'd say that the Mustang is the only nod to status, which never has much mattered to us.
I see today's problems with capitalism as evidence that moral conviction is absent. This is the logical outcome of the me-me culture. The me-me culture poisons socialism as well.
Freedom Now,
My husband turns VW's into dune buggies.
oh, now you've got me going mussolini, here's mine, only orange and i call it the "great pumpkin":
http://4wheeldrive.about.com/library/uc/ucgraphics/79%20fordThumb.gif
and, a gift from my husband's employer:
http://legeros.com/ralwake/galleryw/apparatus/wwfd-1997-chevy.jpg
total cost $1800. God is so good. i won't tell you what our 47 acres cost. life is good in arkansas.
I have never bought a brand-new vehicle. It galls me to see the depreciation which ensues as soon as one drives out of the dealer's lot.
But I just may have to treat myself one day.
i was never happier than the day we paid off our LAST brand new vehicle. don't do it aow - there are plenty of gently used vehicles out there that need a good home! well, unless you get it free or pay cash, the payments and insurance alone can support a family of two for five years.
Nanc,
I won't go the payments route.
If I do buy a brand new car, I'll pay cash from a windfall I am waiting to hear about. The windfall may not come, of course. I should know within a few weeks.
i'll pray good things for you. did you get the photos i forwarded? i don't usually go for all that "good stuff will happen if you send these along" but i figured everybody needed to see them. good things happen to me when i least expect them.
AOW,
If you buy new, you'll want a quality, American made car that has never been touched by a union laborer.
Try Toyota.
Ok, I'm guilty of the Ipod, but it was a tax-return treat...
Ducky, if I pay for my own insurance, buy my own food and put a roof over my own head, all of this without the help of a government hand-out, why can I not have a few expensive toys?
Socialism doesn't work because it breeds lazy, spoiled and demanding people who won't even attempt to care for themselves.
After awhile it's going to collapse. After all, who's going to be left to pay for such a fiasco; if you'd like a more modern example of the failure of socialism, you can point your view towards France.
plucky - i don't think brownie would last a hotflash at fpm. honestly.
Now that is an intelligent response. Brownie would be proud except you didnt include any Zionist or Christian plot in your arguments.
However, Bush has nothing to do with this situation. Rusdie was under sentence of death decades before my shrub became president. This is a problem that has existed for some time and needs to be confronted, not appeased.
Support for Palestinian terrorism has been the catalyst for Islamists. They have built and industry of intolerance and a ready justification for terrorism as a political tool.
Nanc,
I haven't check that account yet. When did you send those pics?
Mussolini,
We usually drive our vehicles until rust claims the frame--or an accident renders the vehicle not repairable.
When my father had his garage (complete with hoist and grease pit), we were able to keep our vehicles in great mechanical shape. Many an engine rebuild there. But that property is long gone now. Too bad!
Dad was once consulted by Mercedes. My father was a master mechanic, not one of those r&r guys.
All of our vehicles, with the exception of the Mustang, are 10-20 years old. We have "spare" vehicles so that if one is under repair, we still have a way to get to work.
Freedom Now,
Nothing spontaneous happens in the Muslim world. Most orchestrations occur following Friday prayers.
Brooke,
if I pay for my own insurance, buy my own food and put a roof over my own head, all of this without the help of a government hand-out, why can I not have a few expensive toys?
My husband and I live on a shoestring budget. I'm not complaining. We appreciate the few toys we are able to afford.
Most people have so many toys that they don't appreciate them. Children are the same, and we see that fairly readily, but many adults don't see that same phenomenon in themselves.
Duck,
In today's WaPo, I saw Mitt Romney's proposal about MA health-insurance-for-all. I don't see how that proposal would work effectively and fairly; then again, I've had time to merely skim the article.
One of the biggest drains on our budget is our health insurance coverage. My husband is high-risk: diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cholesterolemia. And even with the coverage, the meds are outrageously expensive.
But my experience has been that any health care provided by the government comes at a high price, both in terms of dollars and quality.
Mussolini,
Yes, Duck has his bases covered.
aow - i believe it was last night.
Duck,
The rest of the developed world uses single payer.
Those whom I personally know in other countries aren't very happy with the quality of care, however.
Ducky,
I can give a rats ass about family values, but I am curious about how you think that the Republicans are getting beat in that department. No one is as mushy as Republicans on that issue.
Anyways, you mock Bush because abortion is legal. Well guess what? That is proof positive that Bush is not the fascist that the Left makes him out to be. All this B.S. about the Christian right trying to take over is nothing but the intolerance of Christianity. It is sickening and its all lies. The Left actually trys to appeal to anti-Christian bigotry to discredit the Republicans.
Remember how the Left said he destroyed our relationship with our allies? Well, how much friction between us is there now? Do you know why? Because Bush is a top notch diplomat.
The Vatican, France, Germany and all of Europe are on our side. They may have been pissed that we liberated Iraq and imprisoned a dictator but we got them to forgive alot of IRaq's debt. Their troops are in Afghanistan and they are on our side. Our fences are mended.
I cant believe that you would rag on the economy. Are you serious? Things are so good that the issues are inflation and a full employment market. Get real and take off the clown wig.
Since the 2004 election you guys have had a huge anti-Bush movement.
The Democrats, the environmentalists, Communists, Socialists, the Islamists, the press, hollywood, university activists, "anti-war"/human rights activists, musicians, poets, writers, artists, Soros and other billionaire philanthropists - are all doing their best to impeach and defeat Bush.
And what do you have to show for it? Cry me a river because there is nothing you can do to stop Bush power.
If this economy is very shaky then I'd hate to see a bad economy under your definition. Even during the 90s economic boom you would always hear doomsayers with their dire predictions. Ho hummm...
I am going to drop the sarcasm in our conversation and speak frankly to you Ducky. You said "I am interested in why you feel "everyone" is behind us"
I never said "everyone" is behind you. What I am saying is that you have a large base of support for your anti-Bush activism. Not everyone in Hollywood is against Bush. Bruce Willis and Gary Sinise come to mind when thinking about Bush supporters there, but let’s be realistic. There are vast amounts of anti-Republican propaganda coming from Hollywood. V is for Vendetta, Syriana, Fahrenheit 9/11, etc... How many movies show America in a good light dealing with these issues?
You have preconceived notions about my views and only read what you want to read from my comments. I know because I have the same problem. You have to recognize how your ideology colors your perception.
Another example of how you assume to know what I am thinking is the following statement, “If you are trying to take solace that Europe is getting behind you and hating muslims I have to say that it is an immigration problem there not a holy war, much as we are trying to figure out our immigration issues.”
As evidence for my position I clearly stated that Europe has their troops in Afghanistan and that our relationships with our Europe have weathered the storm of disagreements. I never mentioned the immigration problem or even alluded to it. It is obvious that was something that you were thinking about that disturbed you.
Maybe you brought up a good point. With the Muslim riots in Europe and the Cartoon riots in Islamic countries perhaps Europe is warming to the US. I had considered that Europe is beginning to see that Islamic intolerance is at a pathological level, but haven’t really considered the implications of that sentiment towards the relationship between the US and Europe…so I will drop the serious talk and end with a note of sarcasm.
Thanks for the heads up, G!!!
Freedom Now,
With the Muslim riots in Europe and the Cartoon riots in Islamic countries perhaps Europe is warming to the US.
I think you have a point there.
We don't hear much in the msm about Spain these days. However, I read a few weeks back that Muslims recently had fits about Los Reyes Catolicos celebrations, which have been held in portions of Spain since the 16th Century. Those objections have angered a great many of those indigenous to Spain.
I just heard, first hand, that all is not quiet there; law enforcement is starting to use some of the techniques employed by Franco's Guardia Civil. Plenty of wilderness in Spain to bury the bodies of nabbed immigrants flooding in from the south. I haven't yet heard about any problems in the northern part, which borders France.
From this source, with many internal links:
Mauritania, a country in West Africa far from Europe, has become the latest boundary for desperate would-be immigrants. They travel by boat for three days and nights to cover the 500 miles from Mauritania's long coastline to the Canary Islands, which is Spanish soil. Once in the Canaries, the whole of Europe lies before them....
In the US we assimilate our immigrants after one generation. Europe just cant get it together.
Our racist slave owner past doesnt get in the way because every country has a racist slave owner past.
Including Africa, Asia and America. I mean you got the Aztecs, Aryans, Caliphs, imperial Chinese, etc...
Despite all of their economic success at the height of their power they didnt have immigration problems. In most cases immigrants werent welcome at all.
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