Blasphemous Cartoons

I spent most of the time during two-day Muharram holiday (9th and 10th) surfing the net especially the blogs. In the form of blogs I have found a treasure. I went through many blogs but enjoyed Uncut India very much. The recent posts on the blog are on the writer’s ongoing trip of Pakistan with Indian Cricket team. I enjoyed the postings on Peshawar and Karachi very much.At the same time I want to write on different topics. To beging with here I post my thoughts on the cartoon controversy. I have read several articles on net about it. I felt that the western media should have condemned the blasphemous cartoons but they didn't. The obvious reason for not doing so is the wide gulf that exists between the western and Islamic world in understanding the place of religion in each other's society. The church and its domination during the middle ages led to the rovolt against it and gave birth to enlightenment and therefore the media in west see religion as against the progress and development. The Church had played the role of a bigot against new thinking and science. On the contrary Islam has been instrumental in unlocking the human potential and challenging the status quo. Therefore the attitude towards religion is totally poles apart in these two worlds. Religion plays central role in the Islamic societies whereas it plays a very limited role in the western societies.Although the Muslim world needs renaissance but the initiative should come from within. In my opinion even Voltaire would not approve of what has been published in the Danish newspaper in the name of freedom of expression. It was sheer nonsense. Muslims have a chance to show they are mature enough to deal with such blatant provocations without being carried away. The debate is going on and campaign against the cartoons is on a rise. I am following the developments keenly. Lets see where they will lead.