A Joke Gone Awry
© Sarah Sayeed

Hey, wait a minute. Aren’t cartoons supposed to make people laugh? Isn’t political satire supposed to make people think? Don’t we want to explore the boundaries of free speech? All of this did start with a noble idea: to promote better integration and cross-cultural awareness, the author Bluitgen wanted to write a children’s book on our beloved Prophet, peace be upon him. He could not understand why some cartoonists refused the job. He discussed his problem with a local newspaper editor, who wanted to challenge the self-censorship of Danes. Indeed it may have all started as an intellectual exercise to promote tolerance and free speech, as some European newspapers are reporting.

Yet, there is no laughter and no integration- only disintegration. An intellectual debate is out of the question- debate assumes some shared understanding of core premises across the two sides. But it is actually our core premise, love and respect for the Prophet that is now under attack. Ironically, the cartoons were originally published by a newspaper with a rather meager circulation of 150,000. But in our global village, its contents have reached well beyond the borders of this Scandinavian nation. Not only the offensive cartoons have been widely broadcast; Muslims’ reactionary torching of embassies, calls for jihad, and the violently angry placards continue to dominate the air waves. Some have labeled these cartoons “the straw that broke the camel’s back.” Muslims, here and abroad feel they are routinely and purposely humiliated. Evelin Lindner, a researcher of human dignity, calls humiliation the “nuclear bomb of emotions.” Is it this nuclear bomb that has now fallen?

More than 15 years ago, I stood in the office of my college professor, discussing the injuries delivered by Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses. I was just a student, he was a figure of authority, and it was a difficult conversation. I attempted to convey the pain that Muslims feel when our beloved Prophet is insulted, and the deepening mistrust of Muslims towards “the West.” I was shocked by his point blank response: Muslims’ opinions did not matter! It became painfully clear to me then just how deep the divide truly was—if someone who is a teacher, carrying the title of “expert” in subjects related to Islam and Muslims could say that Muslims’ opinions did not matter, the work of building understanding was indeed monumental.

Thinking now about the European newspapers that re-published the cartoons and Muslims’ angry protests, it seems as if little has changed over the past decade or more. When cast within the debate over free speech, Muslims appear to be over-reacting, unable to “take a joke.” Media across the world duplicate and disseminate images of our anger, and we appear irrational. But, in the words of Coretta Scott King, the widow of Martin Luther King, Jr., who recently passed away: “Struggle is a never ending process. Freedom is never really won; you earn it and win it every generation.”
My vision is not perfect, but I do see some rays of hope. Relative to where we were in my college days, U.S. Muslims are organized and more proficient at cross-cultural dialogue. We have gotten better at using web and email technology to broadcast peaceful alternatives, an important strategy when our own mass media (particularly our national media) fail repeatedly to publicize our proactive approach. When life gives us lemons, we have learned to make lemonade: we see these controversies as opportunities to educate others about the core principles of our faith.

Responding to the cartoons, their publicists, and the violent protestors, one email advised us to reflect on and circulate widely the prayer of our Prophet in Taif. Reading it eased my own agitation, perhaps it will yours. Weary from being aggressively chased out of Taif and wounded by stones thrown at him, our Prophet, peace be upon him, spoke these words: "O Allah! I complain to You of my weakness, my scarcity of resources and my humiliation before the people. O Most Merciful of those who are merciful. O Lord of the weak, and my Lord too. To whom have You entrusted me? To a distant person who receives me with hostility? Or to an enemy to whom You have granted authority over my affair? So long as You are not angry with me, I do not care. Your favor is of more abundance to me. I seek refuge in the light of Your Face by which all darkness is dispelled and every affair of this world and the next is set right, lest Your anger or Your displeasure descend upon me. I desire Your pleasure and satisfaction until You are pleased. There is no power and no might except by You."

Dear Muslims, isn’t our call to win over hearts, to reach together for the Divine? We know that expressions of outrage are headline grabbers, and at worst, they reinforce all the negative stereotypes about Muslims. Yes, our protests, when they are peaceful, can convey a message of how much we care about these negative images. But the real work is not about defending our image. It is rather about projecting positive and strong character. It is this daily work of reaching inwards, and from that inwards to the outwards, on which we must remember to focus. May Allah guide us towards what is better, now, and in the days ahead.