Yemeni lawyers have called for a newspaper editor to be sentenced to death for showing cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad, his paper says. Muhammad al-Asadi was arrested after his publication, the Yemen Observer, showed the Danish cartoons in February. He denies the charges of offending Islam, under which he is being tried. The English-language newspaper has had its license to publish suspended, although its staff have continued to produce material on-line. Lawyers leading a civil case against publishers of the cartoons — in addition to the public case — cited precedents from Muslim history when the prophet was insulted by a woman and then praised her killer. Source: [BBC]
The death penalty! Geez! This is just out of control. There is an interview with him from jail right after his arrest that suggests he is at least somewhat prepared. Meanwhile, as expected, the cartoon row seems to have played an integral part in a new survey highlighting the growing negative image of Muslims and Arabs. Her are some excerpts from the Washington Post’s front page story:
As the war in Iraq grinds into its fourth year, a growing proportion of Americans are expressing unfavorable views of Islam, and a majority now say that Muslims are disproportionately prone to violence, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. The poll found that nearly half of Americans — 46 percent — have a negative view of Islam, seven percentage points higher than in the tense months after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, when Muslims were often targeted for violence.
The survey comes at a time of increasing tension; the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq show little sign of ending, and members of Congress are seeking to block the Bush administration’s attempt to hire an Arab company to manage operations at six of the nation’s ports. Also, Americans are reading news of deadly protests by Muslims over Danish cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad.
As a school bus driver in Chicago, Gary McCord, 65, dealt with many children of Arab descent. "Some of the best families I’ve ever had were some of my Muslim families," he said in a follow-up interview. "They were so nice to me." He now works for a Palestinian Christian family, whose members he says are "really marvelous." But his good feelings do not extend to Islam. "I don’t mean to sound harsh or anything, but I don’t like what the Muslim people believe in, according to the Koran. Because I think they preach hate," he said. As for the controversial cartoons of Muhammad, he said Arabs seem hypersensitive about religion. "I think it’s been blown out of proportion," he said. Source: [Washington Post]
Thanks Fadi,
I’ll definitely check out your blog.
Skye
Thanks Skye: Visit my blog sometime, its a non political blog:) The address is: http://africanparadise.blogspot.com/
Cheers, Fadi
Fadi,
I’m sorry to hear about what your parents went through. And I can’t imagine what it must have been like to now go back to where your parents were born.
I admire you for not being bitter and for instead trying to spread peace.
Sky: No problem. As you can see I am Palestinian. And sadly my own parents were forced out of their homes with guns pointed to their head and their homes were demolished.
I’ve been to Palestine and saw the exact land where my own parents were born and lived. I saw a different house that sits ther with a Jewish family that lives on thier land. That was not easy. Fortunatly for me my parents were able to make it in life and provide me with a very good life. Unfortunatly for many Palestinian that dind’t happen, especially the ones that still live under occupation and face so many challenges.
Palestinian resistance to occupation takes place at many different levels. I choose to do it through being a good Palestinian through my education through educating others about the situation in Palestine and trying to spread peace for my people. While I don’t agree with how Israel came to existance, I am secure enough to say that for the sake of peace, for the sake of those suffering, I accept for the two people to co exist in the same land and live sided by side but all that has to be based on Justice, not by one being superior to the other.
Cheers, Fadi
Thanks for your answer. I agree, it’s easy to sit back and condemn the actions of people when we haven’t really lived or been in their sitution. I’m not a Palestinian so I don’t really know what I would do if I were in their shoes. I’d like to think I wouldn’t resort to suicide bombing but the truth is I don’t know for sure what I’d do
I don’t think you’re naive in believing that msot of the people in the world are good. I believe that as well. I think the one thing that holds us all together is the desire for peace. At least I hope that.
BTW, this is a really interesting site. Thanks Natasha.
Skye, As you can see in my messages above, I said no violence is ever justified, weather its committed by Arabs, Israelis, Americans, Chinese, Moslem, Christian, Jew, etc…
But please understand that it is very easy to sit back and say suicide bomings are wrong or violence is wrong. However, how many people stop and say why is this happening. You know I’ve ran into so many people that say I can’t believe these people in Palestine are doing this, and they would say to me would you do it if you were in their shoes. The answer I like to give is no I wouldn’t do it. But how could you say I would do this or that unless you are truly in that situation. I have been to Gaza, my goodness what a mess.
Currently I live in Africa. There are expats being taken hostage so often here, some from our own company. Same thing, I would like to say that if I were in the shoes of those poor Africans I wouldn’t do what they are doing. But who knows. Instead I stop and say why are they doing this.
These poor people here live in so much poverty, they have no schools, no medical treatment, nothing. I much prefer addressing problems, and find common points between people to help improve peoples lives. I personally believe that the vast majority of people in the world regardless of race or relegion are good people. Maybe I’m just naive, who knows.
Cheers, Fadi