by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright February 8, 2006
All Rights Reserved.

orching the Danish and Norwegian embassies in Damascus, the Syrian government gave the green light to angry protestors seeking any excuse to riot over distasteful cartoons published in Danish newspapers about the Prophet Mohammad. Syrian President Bashar Assad gave his blessings, fueling an angry mob to lash out at Western influence, including the Danish and Norwegian consulates. Protestors received text messages from Islamic study centers, urging restive youths to aggregate into crowds. “The sheikhs told us to send five text messages to every Muslim we knew urging them to participate,” said a Damascus-based Abu Nour Islamic Institute student, choosing to remain anonymous. Anti-American and anti-Western sentiment runs deep in the Muslim world, but current unrest reflects a carefully orchestrated attempt by Islamic regimes to strike back.

      Western governments can't fathom the mass hysteria caused by what seems like innocuous, though insensitive, cartoons depicting Mohammad as a garden-variety terrorist, wearing a bomb in his turban. When rioting broke out in Paris suburbs last October, French authorities couldn't understand the extent of the rage that poured out of low-income residents, largely Arab and North African. What triggered the riots was the accidental electrocution of two minority teenagers. Rioting spread like wildfires from Paris around the country, burning more than 10,000 cars and destroying schools and apartment buildings. Unlike recent rioting in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Afghanistan, French authorities had nothing to do with stoking the violence. If anything French President Jacques Chirac and Prime Minister Dominque de Villepin bent over backwards to placate rioters.

      Unlike the West, religion plays an all-encompassing influence in Islamic societies, frequently compensating for inadequate government support. Mosques provide impoverished citizens welcomed relief from otherwise harsh conditions, including hunger, unemployment and poor medical care. It's no accident that Palestinians picked Hamas, a fundamentalist group, to replace the secular Palestinian Authority to provide needed social services, including schools, recreation centers and medical clinics. “This is an organized attempt to take advantage of Muslim anger for the purposes that do not serve the interests of other Muslims and Lebanon, but those of others beyond the border,” said Lebanese Social Affairs Minister Nayal Mouawad, a Phalangist Christian, hinting that Al Qaeda and other radical groups might be fomenting problems. It's doubtful that cartoons alone triggered the mayhem.

      Since the Iraq war started March 20, 2003, Iran, Syria and Saudi Arabia have supplied arms and foreign terrorists to fight U.S. occupation. Harnessing Arab discontent to oppose Iraq war, both in the press and through violent protests, represents a carefully planned strategy by Islamist groups seeking to upend the U.S. “Syria is a country where the protests don't just occur spontaneously, certainly not of this sort, and not without the knowledge and support of the government,” said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack, filing a formal protest with the Syrian ambassador. Middle East media outlets, including Al Jazeera and Al Arabyia, have been replaying non-stop inflammatory images of the Danish cartoons. Hyping the cartoons invites the same mass hysteria witnessed annually, when Muslim pilgrims routinely die in stampedes during the Haj pilgrimage to Mecca.

      Given the seismographic nature of current Western-Islamic relations, printing inflammatory images serve no purpose other than incitement. In Western culture where there's a high premium placed on autonomy and rational thinking, Arab culture equally emphasizes obedience and emotionality. It doesn't take much to generate the kind of humiliation and disgrace, leading to a violent defense of a besieged religion. “Those who published those cartoons must be hanged to death,” said Aagha Zia, a 35-year old Afghan security guard, responding to waves of riots in Kabul. Publishing controversial images defaming Mohammad plays into the hand of extremists seeking any excuse for rioting and anarchy. In Islam, there's no greater article of faith than martyrdom, something Westerners have difficulty comprehending when trying to understand the dynamics of suicide bombing.

      Before publishing inflammatory images, editors must weigh the benefits of free speech against possible repercussions from real cultural issues and geopolitical trends. Even the most rabid free speech advocates know there are limits, especially in today's highly charged politically correct environment. Denmark should take a lesson in political correctness from the U.S—most ethnically mixed country on the planet, where sensitivities run wild. Yesterday's humor becomes today's insults and unforgivable speech, forcing public figures—politicians, journalists and celebrities—to exercise extraordinary caution before making public remarks. Whether at home or abroad, double standards make it virtually impossible to poke fun at anyone's religion or tribe. In today's volatile world, incendiary remarks or images hand extremists the perfect excuse for violence and unlawful behavior.

About the Author

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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