Publishing Offensive To Islam Cartoons Is Not A Causus Belli.

Hugh Hewitt continues his criticism of the Danish newspaper's publication of the cartoons that have offended Moslems. (Here.) He believes most of the debate misses the main point and wants these questions answered.

"The debate begins with these questions: Are we at war with Islam? Do you want a war with Islam?
My answers and the answers of any sensible person ought to be "no," and "no." I'd like to see blogggers who are opining on the caroons answer these questions up front."

The answer to these questions of course is "no" and "no." Hewitt is right about that but wrong about the issue. Publication of the cartoons is not a cause for war. The people offended enough to go to war over these cartoons are the people the West is already fighting.

No reasonable moderate Moslem offended by the cartoons would want to go to war with the West over the publication. Moderate Moslem clerics agree. (Here.)

"'Regretfully, the march did more harm to the prophet than it did good,' said Sunni Sheik Ibrahim Ibrahim, who was in the crowd. He said he and others tried to stop the mob, but 'we got stones and insults.'
...
"Lebanon's most senior Shiite Muslim cleric, Grand Ayatollah Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah, issued an edict banning violence, saying it 'harms Islam and Prophet Muhammad the same as the others (the publishers of the cartoons) did.'"

According to a recent blog post at The Mesopotamian by a self-described devout Moslem in Iraq, Sistani himself has criticized the protests against the cartoons. The blogger is rightly offended by the cartoons but is not willing to side with Islamist terrorists. He comes to the same conclusion Mister Americano reached (here) that moderate Moslems would be better directing their rage at the Islamist terrorists who have hijacked their religion and made it synonymous in the mind of many Westerners with terrorism.

"In this respect I would like to draw attention to the statement issued by the venerable Al-Sistani, who while deprecating the blasphemous sacrilege, nevertheless clearly lays the blame on the extremists and Takfiris for the harm done to the image of Islam in the World, and need I remind you of the religious status of Al-Sistani. The rage of the Islamic world would be far more appropriate if it is directed against those who blow up mosques during prayer time, kidnap murder and torture innocent travelers, and all the other repertoire of atrocities committed in the name of Islam, It is this that is the real blasphemy and real affront to the name and reputation of our religion and its great founder the Prohpet (PBU), and not some silly cartoons in an obscure Danish paper that nobody would have noticed were it not for this artificial uproar of which the real agenda and purpose is all too apparent."

(Here.)

Alliances are a two-way street. The West must be allied with moderate Moslems against Islamist terrorists. The West owes moderate Moslems due regard for their feelings. But moderate Moslems owe the West due regard for the freedoms we enjoy.

-tdr

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