Cultures in Conflict? Western Free Speech vs. Muslim Religious Sensitivities OR Radical Islamic Fundamentalists' Incitement to Terrorism Michael A. Bozarth, Ph.D. Department of Psychology University at Buffalo

Copyright 2006 Michael A. Bozarth The Cultural Conflict Western Culture has a tradition of free speech that spares no target Nothing is safe from the Pope to the President, from Jesus to the Buddha Media, organizations, and individuals are permitted to express offensive material, except when it blatantly promotes hatred or incites violence “I don't agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” –Voltaire

Copyright 2006 Michael A. Bozarth Muslim culture forbids the portrayal of Mohammed in any form This is not actually proscribed in the Qur’an but is the interpretation of most Islamic scholars who believe that portrayal of the Prophets (especially Mohammed but including Jesus, Moses, and others) might lead to idolatry Mosques do not contain images of humans or any form of icon but are sometimes decorated with artistically rendered passages from the Qur’an

Copyright 2006 Michael A. Bozarth Masjid-i Shāh (Royal Mosque)

Copyright 2006 Michael A. Bozarth The Action

Copyright 2006 Michael A. Bozarth The Reaction

Copyright 2006 Michael A. Bozarth

“Muslims of the world, be reasonable... what brings more prejudice against Islam, these caricatures or pictures of a hostage-taker slashing the throat of his victim in front of the cameras or a suicide bomber who blows himself up during a wedding ceremony in Amman?” Jihad Momani, Editor-in-Chief Shihane (02 February 2006) Two Jordanian Tabloids Reproduced the Cartoons

Copyright 2006 Michael A. Bozarth Momani (Shihane) has been fired and was arrested in Jordan—all editions of the popular paper were removed from the newsstands The editor of a second Jordanian tabloid (Al-Mehwar) has also been detained (this smaller tabloid actually published the cartoons 26 January 2006 in an article renouncing them)

Copyright 2006 Michael A. Bozarth Western Counter-Reaction The U.S. State Department and the Pope denounced the cartoons as inflammatory, but Additional newspapers reprinted the offensive Danish cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammad... Austria, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Italy, Jordan, Spain, Switzerland, Hungary, New Zealand, Norway, and Poland Newspapers in other countries with a free press have published the cartoons since the outbreak of rioting as an endorsement of free speech... Australia, Japan, Ukraine, United States, and others

Copyright 2006 Michael A. Bozarth However, stories reporting the ‘story’ in the American media have generally displayed self-censorship by not reproducing the cartoons Ironically, many of the protestors in Europe and in the United States are violating Western laws by inciting violence against the West

Copyright 2006 Michael A. Bozarth London, 04 February 2006

Copyright 2006 Michael A. Bozarth The Real Conflict The conflict is deeper than just cultural conflicts It involves secular vs. Islamic law governing a nation and its people The United States and many other Western democracies have a clear separation of church and state Muslim countries are governed by secular or Islamic law, with even secular states (e.g., Egypt, Turkey) guided by Islamic law and tradition

Copyright 2006 Michael A. Bozarth In conservative Muslim countries blasphemy is a criminal offense, often severely punished In Western democracies freedom of speech is protected except when it poses a threat to safety, incites violence, or promotes hatred—religions and their icons are not spared from ridicule Most of the Muslim world views the recent portrayal of Mohammed as blasphemous and as promoting hatred, with blasphemy being the more serious offense punishable (in some views) by death The fact that Western governments allow their free press to publish such material is seen as a government condoned attack on Islam and on the Muslim world

Copyright 2006 Michael A. Bozarth The US-Israeli Alliance Many Muslims charge this is another example of differential treatment by the West which discriminates against Muslims and favors Jews

Copyright 2006 Michael A. Bozarth From al-Quds, 02 February 2006 “This is racism!”“This is anti- Semitism!” “This is freedom of speech!!” Note that the images of Mohammed are absent from the drawings in the last panel.

Copyright 2006 Michael A. Bozarth Hidden Agenda? A few Muslims and many in the West see this as another excuse by radical Islamic fundamentalists to encourage terrorist attacks against the West and to recruit increasingly widespread support for their cause

Copyright 2006 Michael A. Bozarth Focus Questions 1.What are the limitations of free speech in the United States? What can’t you say or print? Should there be more or fewer restrictions? 2.How does this compare with other countries? In the Western world? In the Muslim world?

Copyright 2006 Michael A. Bozarth Timeline—The Beginning 17 Sept. 2005: Danish newspaper Politiken published article describing the difficulty finding an illustrator for a children’s book on the life of Mohammed 30 Sept. 2005: Popular Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten published 12 cartoons of the prophet to illustrate the problem Oct. 2005: Ambassadors from 10 Muslim countries and the Palestinian representative in Denmark called the cartoons deeply offensive and demanded a meeting with the Danish Prime Minister 21 Oct. 2005: Danish Prime Minister refused to meet, indicated that this was a matter for the courts to decide 28 Oct. 2005: A coalition of Danish Muslim groups files a criminal complaint against Jyllands-Posten newspaper; after investigation no charges were filled by the Danish prosecutor

Copyright 2006 Michael A. Bozarth Timeline—The Agitation Dec. 2005: A Danish Muslim coalition visits the Middle East seeking support from religious and political leaders The Muslim clerics were radical fundamentalists who had already been active in agitating Three additional “cartoons” were allegedly to the collection These “cartoons” were much more offensive than those published by the Danish newspaper One shows Mohammed as a demonic pedophile Another portrays Mohammed with a pig face A third shows a Muslim worshipper being sexually mounted by a dog The source of the additional “cartoons” is unknown, but they were not published by the Western media and could be total fabrications by the agitators

Copyright 2006 Michael A. Bozarth Timeline—The Reaction 04 Jan. 2006: The Secretary-General of the Arab League joins the protests 10 Jan. 2006: The Norwegian newspaper Magazinet reprints the cartoons 25 Jan. 2006: Saudi Arabia’s religious leaders demand an apology and call for the Jyllands-Posten newspaper to be punished 26 Jan. 2006: Saudi ambassador is recalled from Copenhagen; Danish companies in Riyadh report a boycott of Danish goods and supermarkets remove products from the shelves; Jordanian tabloid (Al- Mehwar) publishes “cartoons” with an article condemning them

Copyright 2006 Michael A. Bozarth Timeline— Tensions Escalate Feb. 2006: The “cartoons” are reprinted in Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Hungary, Portugal, Spain, and Switzerland 02 Feb. 2006: Published by Jordanian tabloid (Shihane) calling for contained response 04 Feb. 2006: Protesters in Damascus attack the Danish and Norwegian embassies; South African court prohibits publication of “cartoons” 05 Feb. 2006: Protestors storm the Danish Embassy in Beirut 06 Feb. 2006: Violent protests and attacks spread to Afghanistan

Copyright 2006 Michael A. Bozarth Pig-Faced Mohammed? One of the three added images is actually an Associated Press photograph (14 August 2005) from an agricultural festival held in southern France.

Copyright 2006 Michael A. Bozarth Fight Against Terrorism Scoreboard RIF Agitators Free World & Progressive Muslims 1 0