There are places in the world, Ethiopia I believe, where mosques are routinely desecrated. Do we hear any complaints? No. In fact, isn't the Arab League supposed to hold a summit there?
Then there was the statues if the Buddha being blown up by the Taliban extremists. Protests, anyone? Nary.
(And I'm only talking official protests, I don't expect the man-in-the-street to get it, considering their lack of information.)
Let's not even dredge up the Salman Rushdie fatwah.
The most intolerant religion in the world gets kicked in the groin. Good.
All religions should enjoy the same fate.
Ethiopia is neither an Arab country nor a member of the Arab League. You are probably thinking of Sudan, where the desecration of mosques has been reported in Darfur.
Since this isn't a Darfur thread, I'll keep my comments on that to a minimum and just say that of all the abuses in Darfur, desecration of mosques is not top of my list of things to worry about, nor is it the top of anyone else's list, including the people whose mosques have been desecrated, who are more concerned about, oh, stuff like death and rape.
The Arab League is a political organization like any other, and we don't know what its members say to each other behind closed doors. The African Union (AU) also had a summit in Khartoum recently and, although it has a (rather anemic) peacekeeping force in Darfur, it could also be accused of not doing enough. So could the United Nations. I suspect the AU used the summit to increase pressure on Khartoum, because the location of the summit focused attention on that issue in a way that a summit in Bangui would not have. It is possible that the AL summit will do the same, we don't know yet.
As for the Buddha statues in Afghanistan, you are wrong, there was a lot of criticism from the Muslim world, including appeals from the governments of all 22 members of the Arab League.
My new proverb: If you try to kick someone in the groin, make sure you aim well, because if you miss, you're in trouble.
Yes I was thinking of Sudan. There, I believe that nothing in what you said (and thank you for correcting and expanding my point) has changed my views: the desecration of mosques is, or should be, a more pressing issue than infidel cartoons.
I think the kick in the groin was well aimed, and frankly from the very start I supported cultural, not military, war against radical islam.
Of all the issues that plague the Muslim world today, are our priorities cartoons published in a newspaper in a country inhabited by less than 6 million people? If we really want to pick a fight with the West, have we forgotten that 500 Muslim men continue to be detained without charge at the makeshift prison run by the United States at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, which last week marked its fourth anniversary?
The problem with this particular situation is that it is being seen in the Muslim world not as a battle against radical Islam, but as a battle against Islam, full stop. Our Western self-righteousness on this issue is alienating moderate and liberal Muslims who, as others have pointed out here, should be forming the bridge between our cultures.
Personally, I wish everyone would just get over it already. It's giving me headaches.
