Open Letter: On Blasphemy, Islamophobia, and the True Enemies of Free Expression Read Online Free Page A
Another interpretation was possible, but it did not interest the media as much since it was not inflammatory, and therefore didn’t sell copy. Showing Muhammad in a bomb-hat could have been a way of condemning the exploitation of religion by terrorists. The cartoon was saying, “This is what terrorists have done to Islam. This is how the terrorists who claim to follow the prophet see him.”
It was because the media had decided that the reissue of the Muhammad cartoons could only unleash the fury of Muslims that it unleashed the ire of a few Muslim organizations. For some, their anger was just for show. Once they found themselves hemmed in by microphones and cameras, with reporters demanding their views on the blasphemous nature of the cartoons, the spokespersons of these pressure groups had no choice but to react. They had to prove to the most riled-up believers that they were true defenders of the faith.
The most radical Muslims compensate for their low numbers with intense, militant activism. Everyone falls for it, Muslim organizations and journalists alike. Because they have the biggest mouths, they become Islam—the real Islam. The truth is that there are few Muslims who observe all their religious obligations. And among those, the majority are not involved in religious groups, moderate or otherwise. That’s totally understandable. They don’t need someone telling them how they ought to believe.
Islam may very well be the second most practiced religion in France, but that doesn’t mean that all immigrants or children of immigrants from predominantly Muslim countries are Muslims themselves. I recall that in 2010, according to a report issued by the National Institute of Demographic Studies and the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies, 2.1 million persons in France called themselves Muslims, while 11.5 million called themselves Catholics and 125,000 called themselves Jews. These figures have never been cited by minority activists, who continue to claim—depending on their mood, which way the wind blows, or their own interests—that there are six, eight, ten, or even thirteen million Muslims in France!
Thankfully, faith is not transmitted genetically, as minority pressure groups and the far right would like to have us believe. But if your parents are Muslims, or assumed to be so on the basis of their origins, you will be considered a Muslim by the pressure groups and the reactionaries. Reporters, who need to inflate the “alarming” figures, are only too happy for a few minority-group leaders in search of notoriety and power to serve up those numbers on a platter.
Ever since the Muhammad cartoons affair and the notorious trial that followed, Charlie Hebdo has been under almost continuous media surveillance. Only dare to publish a cover representing the prophet or even someone who might be mistaken for him, and they’re off! The drawing in question is described as “yet another provocation from Charlie Hebdo. ” And when the TV says it’s a provocation, there’s always some group of morons out there ready to consider themselves provoked. If the press calls it a scandal, someone out there will be scandalized.
Who are these Islamophobes? They’re the ones who claim that Muslims are stupid enough to get bent out of shape over some ridiculous drawing. A drawing that was widely viewable only because it was broadcast on every channel. Islamophobia is a market not only for those who make a profession of condemning it, but also for the press that promotes it.
Politics promoting Islamophobia
Reporters are not the only ones who see Muslims where they ought to see citizens. Too many politicians also sell the Republic short by cozying up to so-called believers instead of to citizens. Special-interest advocacy, which everyone condemns in speech, is encouraged in deed.
To cite just one example—an egregious one, given that it stars a socialist President of the Republic—on February
It was because the media had decided that the reissue of the Muhammad cartoons could only unleash the fury of Muslims that it unleashed the ire of a few Muslim organizations. For some, their anger was just for show. Once they found themselves hemmed in by microphones and cameras, with reporters demanding their views on the blasphemous nature of the cartoons, the spokespersons of these pressure groups had no choice but to react. They had to prove to the most riled-up believers that they were true defenders of the faith.
The most radical Muslims compensate for their low numbers with intense, militant activism. Everyone falls for it, Muslim organizations and journalists alike. Because they have the biggest mouths, they become Islam—the real Islam. The truth is that there are few Muslims who observe all their religious obligations. And among those, the majority are not involved in religious groups, moderate or otherwise. That’s totally understandable. They don’t need someone telling them how they ought to believe.
Islam may very well be the second most practiced religion in France, but that doesn’t mean that all immigrants or children of immigrants from predominantly Muslim countries are Muslims themselves. I recall that in 2010, according to a report issued by the National Institute of Demographic Studies and the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies, 2.1 million persons in France called themselves Muslims, while 11.5 million called themselves Catholics and 125,000 called themselves Jews. These figures have never been cited by minority activists, who continue to claim—depending on their mood, which way the wind blows, or their own interests—that there are six, eight, ten, or even thirteen million Muslims in France!
Thankfully, faith is not transmitted genetically, as minority pressure groups and the far right would like to have us believe. But if your parents are Muslims, or assumed to be so on the basis of their origins, you will be considered a Muslim by the pressure groups and the reactionaries. Reporters, who need to inflate the “alarming” figures, are only too happy for a few minority-group leaders in search of notoriety and power to serve up those numbers on a platter.
Ever since the Muhammad cartoons affair and the notorious trial that followed, Charlie Hebdo has been under almost continuous media surveillance. Only dare to publish a cover representing the prophet or even someone who might be mistaken for him, and they’re off! The drawing in question is described as “yet another provocation from Charlie Hebdo. ” And when the TV says it’s a provocation, there’s always some group of morons out there ready to consider themselves provoked. If the press calls it a scandal, someone out there will be scandalized.
Who are these Islamophobes? They’re the ones who claim that Muslims are stupid enough to get bent out of shape over some ridiculous drawing. A drawing that was widely viewable only because it was broadcast on every channel. Islamophobia is a market not only for those who make a profession of condemning it, but also for the press that promotes it.
Politics promoting Islamophobia
Reporters are not the only ones who see Muslims where they ought to see citizens. Too many politicians also sell the Republic short by cozying up to so-called believers instead of to citizens. Special-interest advocacy, which everyone condemns in speech, is encouraged in deed.
To cite just one example—an egregious one, given that it stars a socialist President of the Republic—on February
Readers choose
W. D. Wetherell
Hazel Gower
D.A. Chambers
J. M. Griffin
Jordan Silver
Dale Mayer
Susan Mallery
Lisa McInerney
Francine Prose
Amy Butler Greenfield