Poverty and Religious Fanaticism
Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.
We tend to think of Denmark as a peaceful, democratic, progressive, prosperous, good place to live. For the past week, however, there have been riots, vandalism, fires set to cars and buildings in Copenhagen and across Denmark, following the re-publication of the infamous Mohammad cartoon. Then when the cartoonist's life was threatened, more than a dozen newspapers printed the cartoon in a gesture of solidarity, only to worsen the situation. Whether it was wise or provocative to print the cartoon is debatable and perhaps beside the point.
Mass migrations have occurred throughout history, voluntary or not. Today the movement is south to north on both sides of the Atlantic. While neither strictly voluntary nor forced, economic conditions are a powerful incentive. Such is the case with the Danish immigrants, a great many of whom are Muslim. Feeling poverty and perhaps discrimination, the cartoon lit the fuse and the anger was fueled by religious zealots.
Religion again. As a small child I believed that non-Catholics could not enter heaven. I hadn't figured this out on my own; I was taught. Non-baptized infants could not enter heaven; they went to Limbo. (Catholic theology seems to offer no hope for these innocents, although Limbo is relatively benign.) I worried about passing a Protestant church at night; I would cross the street or take an alternate route. You mustn't trust Jews because they killed Jesus, one of history's more notorious lies which was fostered by the Roman Church for centuries. Early saints said they should be killed, but Augustine was more tolerant: they should live, but with "bent backs", so they could testify to their guilt. In light of this, you can just imagine what some young Muslim children are taught.
Something is rotten in the state of the world.
We tend to think of Denmark as a peaceful, democratic, progressive, prosperous, good place to live. For the past week, however, there have been riots, vandalism, fires set to cars and buildings in Copenhagen and across Denmark, following the re-publication of the infamous Mohammad cartoon. Then when the cartoonist's life was threatened, more than a dozen newspapers printed the cartoon in a gesture of solidarity, only to worsen the situation. Whether it was wise or provocative to print the cartoon is debatable and perhaps beside the point.
Mass migrations have occurred throughout history, voluntary or not. Today the movement is south to north on both sides of the Atlantic. While neither strictly voluntary nor forced, economic conditions are a powerful incentive. Such is the case with the Danish immigrants, a great many of whom are Muslim. Feeling poverty and perhaps discrimination, the cartoon lit the fuse and the anger was fueled by religious zealots.
Religion again. As a small child I believed that non-Catholics could not enter heaven. I hadn't figured this out on my own; I was taught. Non-baptized infants could not enter heaven; they went to Limbo. (Catholic theology seems to offer no hope for these innocents, although Limbo is relatively benign.) I worried about passing a Protestant church at night; I would cross the street or take an alternate route. You mustn't trust Jews because they killed Jesus, one of history's more notorious lies which was fostered by the Roman Church for centuries. Early saints said they should be killed, but Augustine was more tolerant: they should live, but with "bent backs", so they could testify to their guilt. In light of this, you can just imagine what some young Muslim children are taught.
Something is rotten in the state of the world.
posted by puzzled @ 8:15 AM
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