Personal Comments on the Muslim Rioting
Greetings,
I have been keeping an eye on the Muslim response to the Danish Cartoon depicting the Prophet Muhammad wearing a bomb on his head instead of a turban. Ultimately, to me, the entire situation boils down to the fact that some Danish cartoonists created this cartoon, ignorant of how the nation of Islam would take offense to it. Now, according to this article, a prominent Iranian newspaper has offered to run a cartoon making fun of the Holocaust.
I see one very big problem with both sides of this. Ignorance of other cultures. The Danish cartoonists exhibited their ignorance of the Islamic culture by publishing the cartoon and then going into hiding, rather than asking for forgiveness for their faux pas. Many Muslims blamed the Danish government for insulting their religion, and demanded that the government punish the guilty Danes, despite the provisions that protect freedom of the press. This seems nearly as ignorant as the initial offense. Attacking a government that is not legally allowed to do is not going to produce any results other than inspiring the ire and wrath of other people who don’t particularly have any influence over the matter.
Finally the Iranian Newspaper’s plan to show the west’s error of its ways will do little to correct the situation. As planned, the west will experience uproar due to the holocaust cartoon. However, the uproar will not be because of the reasons that the governments intend it to be. The uproar will not only be because of the issues dealt with in the cartoon, but also with the government support and instigation of the cartoon’s creation.
Although we, as teachers and citizens, cannot truly affect the current situations, we, as teachers, can, at least in part, can possibly affect future misunderstandings. We can do this by teaching our students not only about other cultures, but how to investigate them to understand the motives of other cultures. To do this, we can use the Olympics, in the way described in this article. Essentially, it states that the Olympics can be used as a cultural and social training tool. Teachers could assign students to do reports on the cultures of select countries being represented in the Olympics, or the different sports and their origins. Socially the Olympics can teach students about good sportsmanship, dedication, endurance, and the spirit of competition.
Overall, I believe that we as teachers cannot entirely prevent episodes like this from erupting, but if we could ameliorate the circumstances by limiting those who engage in these destructive events, or even by teaching those who might one day find the solutions to these dilemmas, we would have succeeded (in part) in our jobs.
Websites:
In Olympics, A Golden Opportunity. Hacker, Jeffrey S. Washington Post. 9 February, 2006. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/08/AR2006020801379.html?nav=rss_education>
Iran invites cartoons on Holocaust. Associated Press. CNN. 8, February, 2006. http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/02/07/iran.cartoon.ap/index.html>
