hello,
i thought i should inform you about the side the media doesn't want to cover,
i will post here some of left's position on the cartoons problem.
http://www.yasaree.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=5290
We've had it!
Stop discrimination and instigation campaigns.
On the 30th September, twelve prophet Muhammad cartoons were published by the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten. The cartoons were originally published on right-wing Danish newspaper beforehand.
In the beginning the reactions were slow; however, afterwards the consequences were tremendous. Angry official and public rejections, protests, demonstrations were expanding widely amongst the Muslim and Arab communities. The strongest expression was the boycott of all Danish products, and the arson attacks on the Danish Embassies in Arab countries. These are still prominent to this day. The hatred campaign spread against the Danish people, has been spread through a phenomena of prayers against Danish people using e-mail and SMS.
The boycott is an uncompromising attack on the Danishwhose fault is that of one privately owned newspaper has published the cartoons.
These campaigns of religious & racial hatred are not for the benefit of anyone, especially Arabs and Muslims around the world. Arabs and Muslims have faced lots of discrimination and hatred over the September 11th bombings. Even in the Muslim countries they are being used like playing cards in the hands of governments. This is far & away from what they claim is defending Islam.
This is not the first time that Islamic sacred beliefs were offended, starting from the Aqsa mosque that is under occupation, then Iraq under occupation, the Qu’ran being abused at Guantanamo bay, Abu Ghreib jails, Israeli jails, etc.
According to the above mentioned.
We condemn the continued publishing of these cartoons that were used inappropriately and caused further distress. We believe this act is just unfair discrimination that some are just trying to spread. This is being used to justify the Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order which the American writer Samuel P. Huntington has urged through his book.
Also we disapprove of the way the radical right encouraged these angry groups to react incorrectly such as encouraging boycotts, riots and arson attacks. They did not, however, have the courage to boycott Israel or America. The aftermath of such inappropriate actions will surely cause harm to the image of Muslims more than anything
else.
Unfortunately, the Arab and West media both worked on encouraging anger and pride instead of trying to be peace factors.
Dictators of the Arab countries have used this situation for the benefit of radical and forceful measures against their people. Some have just used this to overshadow the internal countries problems and major issues like Iraq & Palestine.
Please forward this to all contacts, forums, websites and mailing groups.
http://www.sorrynorwaydenmark.com/
We Are Sorry
In the middle of all the mayhem surrounding the Danish cartoons controversy, a group of Arab and Muslim youth have set up this website to express their honest opinion, as a small attempt to show the world that the images shown of Arab and Muslim anger around the world are not representative of the opinions of all Arabs. We whole-heartedly apologize to the people of Denmark, Norway and all the European Union over the actions of a few, and we completely condemn all forms of vandalism and incitement to violence that the Arab and Muslim world have witnessed. We hope that this sad episode will not tarnish the great friendship that our peoples have fostered over decades.
The problem with media representation of such issues tends to be that the media only picks up the loudest voices, ignoring the rational ones that do not generate as much noise. Voices that seek tolerance, dialogue and understanding are always drowned out by the more sensationalist loud calls, giving viewers the impression that these views are representative of all the Arab public’s view. This website is a modest attempt at redressing this wrong. We would appreciate it if you could forward the word to as many of your friends as possible.
We will note that we find the cartoons to be incendiary, insulting and very abrasive. We also take issue with the general stance of the Danish Newspaper Jyllands-Posten, which has a reputation for publishing inflammatory material. Yet, it would be wrong to take away their freedom of expression, regardless of how horrid their material is. We affirm our belief in freedom of expression and people’s right to express whatever opinions they hold. However, at the same time there is a need to realize that freedom of expression is a responsibility that should not be used to gratuitously insult people’s beliefs.
When confronted with such a situation, we deplore the use of violence in all its forms, as well as threats of violence and derogatory and racist remarks being thrown in the opposite direction. We condemn the shameful actions carried out by a few Arabs and Muslims around the world that have tarnished our image, and presented us as intolerant and close-minded bigots.
Anyone offended by the content of a publication has a vast choice of democratic and respectful methods of seeking redress. The most obvious are not buying the publication, writing letters to the editor or expressing their opinions in other venues. It is also possible to use one’s free choice in a democracy to conduct a boycott of the publication, and even a boycott of firms dealing with it. Yet an indiscriminate boycott of all the country’s firms is simply uncalled for and counter-productive. We would be allowing the extremists on both sides to prevail, while punishing the government and the whole population for the actions of an unrepresentative irresponsible few.
We apologize whole-heartedly to the people of Norway and Denmark for any offense this sorry episode may have caused, to any European who has been harassed or intimidated, to the staff of the Danish, Norwegian and Swedish Embassies in Syria whose workplace has been destroyed and for any distress this whole affair may have caused to anyone.
There is a strong tradition of friendship and cooperation between the Norwegian and Danish people and Arab people. Of most note is the continued support that these governments give to the Palestinian people in their struggle for freedom and liberation, and the brave stance that these governments have often taken to defend Palestinian rights. We sincerely hope these special bonds will not be broken. We hope that our Scandinavian friends would not be convinced by the actions of a few to believe that this is how Arabs and Muslims feel about them. There are racists, bigots and criminals in all countries, and it is the duty of the respectful and reasonable to reach out to each other.
Let us hope that instead of emboldening the bigots, this sorry affair will bring all open-minded, tolerant and reasonable people from the Arab, Muslim, Norwegian, Danish and European communities together to unite in a continued struggle of reason against prejudice, open-mindedness against bigotry and humanity against racism.
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