FFS: I normally avoid religious topics but I woke up to this...

"Omer el-Hamdoon, president of the Muslim Association of Britain, said:

“My reaction to the cartoon is disgust, but tending more to annoyance as well because I feel that what’s happening here is not that different from what we witnessed back in 2005 with the Danish cartoons when media outlets went into a cycle of just publishing the cartoons just to show defiance. And what that caused is more offence.”

This after a surviving columnist at the launch of this week's edition of Charlie Hebdo stated when asked to explain the magazine’s front cover, which features a cartoon of a crying Muhammad wearing a “Je suis Charlie” badge under the heading “All is forgiven”, Rhazoui said:

“We feel that we have to forgive what happened. I think those who have been killed, if they would have been able to have a coffee today with the terrorists and just talk to ask them why have they done this … We feel at the Charlie Hebdo team that we need to forgive.”

I have always believed in 'live and let live' provided beliefs and values are not imposed on others and provided they do not endanger or threaten the way others choose to live their lives.


However, when an influential figure like the president of the Muslim Association of Great Britain is disgusted and annoyed by a cartoon on a magazine cover and reads the word "forgiveness" and interprets the cartoon as "defiance" it speaks volumes. Defiance? Does that mean non-Muslims should cower before the mighty Mohammed?

We are constantly told that these are acts of a radical minority and the mainstream Muslim communities are peace loving law abiding i.e. harmless but here we have a spokesman for the mainstream Muslim population, in our midst, spouting the same rhetoric.


Am I overreacting or when a supposed moderate's mask slips and he exposes his true views i.e. that the Journalists are partly to blame for the events, are the apologists for this soul-less, humourless religion, sleepwalking towards a world overrun with Caliphates?


Damn all religions and nationalism.

 

It annoys me that the British media have all back down and not published examples of the cartoons of last week, nor today's front cover of Charlie Hebdo.

Obviously not wanting to incite violence against their employees by outraged Muslims. Or is it a plea by the heads of the security services?

In which case the bullies have won.

 

Read first line and didn't bother with rest, you're talking about people who are offended by drawings, ha ha ha who cares what that lot say ?, listening to idiots like them is like listening to the noises coming out of a toddler, just smile/laugh and get on with your day.

 

I agree with you 100%

It's about time the human race stopped all this superstitious ********. We have science which explains pretty well how the universe works, we don't need to make up some all powerful beardy bloke in the sky to make sense of the world.

This is the 21st century, unless you're a Muslim, in which case you are still in the dark ages.

 

Re: I agree with you 100%

If that lot walked in asda and someone said to them, give me a grand, I'll give you five fish and a loaf, you'll get 5000 meals out of it, you'll save thousands, they'd report them to the store manager and police for trying to scam people.

 

Some of the wording of his statement troubles me. "We feel that we have to forgive what happened" rather than simply "we forgive what happened." It suggests he really doesn't want to forgive what happened and is only saying this because he knows he has to really. That might not be his opinion but that's how it comes across from the wording. Which is mental when what we're talking about is people publishing a cartoon and being murdered as a result.

I'm not saying that Muslims are secretly wanting to kill people over this, the Muslims I've spoken to couldn't really give a toss about a cartoon and rightly so. I'm just saying that this is the 21st century and this bloke should have issued a less reserved statement. Tolerance and understanding is bilateral and a statement which suggests that he might still harbour resentment over the matter isn't particularly helpful in bridging any cultural divides that exist or are perceived to exist.

I understand Muhammed is incredibly serious to the Muslim faith, but it's the 21st century and everyone needs to have a sense of perspective. At the end of the day it's a cartoon. It might have been offensive to some people, and not particularly funny, but it's still just a fcking cartoon.

 

I don't know about other media outlets but the BBC did actually publish the cover relatively clearly on their web site as part of this article, albeit in the form of a picture of Liberation and with warnings that some people may be offended: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-30794973.

 

You realise this quote is from a surviving columnist at Charlie Hebdo, right? I think it's reasonable that their forgiveness might take a little time. All credit to them for trying.

 

No, I misread and thought it was a continuation of the other bloke speaking. Ignore my post - it's too early for my brain to work

 

Fair enough. I did wonder. More coffee!!!

 

There are no words to describe 'people' who think a satirical cartoon is justification for murder, they are pure evil and a cancer that the world needs to destroy. Those that support these radical maniacs and those who refuse to condem them are a big part of the problem too.

 

Ok, how about a different perspective, just to play devils advocate.

If you know a whole race/religion of people get offended by someone, and those particular people are in your country, why would you publish something so blatantly offensive? The freedom of speech is as ridiculous as the American Second Amendment. Without responsibility for what you do, you don't deserve freedom.

People bang on about how Muslims are in the dark ages, but we expect to be able to say anything we want, no matter how offensive to people, without any comeback. Surely that's less modern-day than anything else. If I stood in a pub and told someone they were a lovely person*, I could hardly get pissed off if they hit me. We'd both be in the wrong. Now imagine I did it again the next time I saw them.

The killings should never have happened, but jihadists don't represent the average Muslim person, and going to a high-profile Muslim person every time something happens anywhere for a quote is ridiculous. I mean, what is he supposed to say? The average Muslim is probably more repulsed by last week's actions than anyone else because again they have to defend the faith of their majority because of some despots who don't represent them.

I just feel like the whole American/European media is setting up for an us-and-them scenario between the Muslims and the 'rest of us'. And we're falling for it.

 

Personally I think the decision to deliberately use the cartoon to insult Muslims after the Paris massacre was unnecessary and offensive. Just because you can do something doesn't mean you have to.

 

Re: I agree with you 100%

Im guessing you actually dont know ANY Muslims. I do and most of them are pretty much of the *shrug shoulders* and move one with things. They might not agree with it, but they dont care that much.

I really resent idiots like yourself making these comments.

 

Re: I agree with you 100%

Actually I do.

I'll admit it was a bit of a generalisation.

 

Re: I agree with you 100%

Have you read the UN reports on human rights in countries like Syria, Iran, Iraq, etc. Those countries that have Sharia law where they stone people to death for nothing, murder people for 'alleged blasphemy', behead people, the list goes on. Nobody thinks that all Muslims live in the dark ages but there are some counties where Islamic law does represent values that many countries left behind hundreds of years ago. Your comments are out of order.

 

Re: I agree with you 100%

I wonder what the UN human rights team would make of American police murdering their citizens.

Muslims probably see TV shows like Geordie Shore, TOWIE and whatnot and think we're backwards.

Get drunk and **** who you want, bit like Ancient Greece/Rome.

 

Re: I agree with you 100%

His comments were not out of order at all, the original ones were. It stated that ALL,not some , Muslims live in the Dark Ages.
There are many radical Christians out there that are just as bad as these radical Muslims. Remember the massacre in Norway ? I cannot remember people saying all Christians were like Anders Breivik.

 

Re: I agree with you 100%

Anyone who believes ANY religious hogwash as the literal truth and tries to force it on other people (particularly by violent means) are living in the dark ages.

In fact that's not fair of me, it insults many people who did live in the dark ages.