ARE WE CRAZY YET?

Are we crazy yet?

According to Yahoo News, Osama bin Laden has demanded death for those involved with cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad. He stated: “Heretics and atheists, who denigrate religion and transgress against God and His Prophet will not stop their enmity toward Islam except by being killed.”

Osama (not yo mamma) expressed his views in connection with cartoons posted by Jyllands-Posten in Denmark on September 30, 2005.

Shiites take a more tolerant view of pictures of Mohammad than Sunnis. Shiites believe that pictures of Mohammad are permissible so long as done with the greatest respect. Sunnis take a more extreme view and prohibit pictures of Mohammad altogether. And, of course, Osama is a Sunni, which is the predominant group of Islam.

Denmark has refused to apologize for the cartoon saying that it respects freedom of speech.

The cartoons were reproduced in several newspapers. Riots relating to the cartoons have resulted in at least 50 deaths.

The cartoons are described by proponents of Islam as being “culturally insulting,” “islamaphobic,” and “blasphemous.”

Are you prepared to see Cartoons so terrible that they are worth the death of 50 people and so terrible that Osama thinks you should die. If you are go to this link: http://www.humaneventsonline.com/sarticle.php?id=12146

To read an article about the Danish cartoons go to the Wikipedia link which also has a picture of the cartoons : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jyllands-Posten_Muhammad_cartoons

So are we crazy yet? No? Then let’s move on.

Osama went on to say that for the Danish government to refuse to apologize take action from preventing this crime shows “ that the freedom of speech have no roots, especially when it comes to Muslims.”

Now we are crazy. In effect Osama says that there is no freedom of speech or press in Denmark because they allowed pictures to be published that offended his personal religious beliefs. Therefore freedom of speech would be NOT to allow the press to speak on things that offend Muslim sensibilities.

Yeah. That’s just the way they do it in some Islamic countries. Freedom of speech is when you shut down the newspapers and kill those who speak things you do not want to hear.
I think we are crazy now if we believe this and put up with it. Many a person in the U.S. has died defending our freedom of religion and freedom of speech. And I for one do not intend to sacrifice these freedoms in the fear that someone in another part of the world call me “Islamaphobic.”

The 50 people who died might have good reason to be Islamaphobic. Newspapers that cannot publish something that might offend someone’s religious sensibilities be they Christian or Islamic, might be Islamaphobic if they are afraid of the results of their freedom of speech.

Are we crazy yet? Yes, I think may be we are.