Mohammed is not a funny man

I just read this on Boston.com:

"Iran daily holds contest for Holocaust cartoons

Iran's best-selling newspaper has launched a competition to find the best cartoon about the Holocaust in retaliation for the publication in many European countries of caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad."

When I was a teen, I remember seeing and believing some wacky little infotainment flicks about Nostradamus. Aren't we now living in the time frame that he estimated would be the beginning of WW3? Are we about to head off into Armageddon over a freakin' CARTOON?!

Now, being a self-centered American, I'll admit I don't know that much about the rest of the world. I had to stop and think for a moment. Is Denmark really a country with a large Jewish population? I mean, why else would the Iranian papers target Jews over something the Danes started? So I did a little poking around and this is what I found:

Denmark's Ethnic groups:
Scandinavian, Inuit, Faroese, German, Turkish, Iranian, Somali
Denmark's Religions:
Evangelical Lutheran 95%, other Protestant and Roman Catholic 3%, Muslims 2%

Denmark has a larger Muslim population that Jewish! Do the countries that have been reprinting the cartoon comprise a large Jewish population? Are the papers themselves owned or edited by Jews? There is no logic I can follow in the competition sponsored by the Iranian newspapers. Just a big "Huh? Ok, so your point is, you really want to piss people off, regardless of who is responsible?"

When AIDS Activists protested in St. Patrick's Cathedral in December 1989 and the Eucharist was thrown to the floor by a former Catholic, could we not by the same logic blame Muslims? Both seem blatantly unrelated. Surely I must be missing something. But then again, I know what it's like dealing with the Religious Right & other fanatics in this country. Rationale doesn't matter. (See Pat Robertson re: Venezuela for instance.)

I just hate the idea of these cartoons fanning the flames of hatred that exist in this world. It's already bad enough.

Since I know very little about Islam, all I can conclude is that Mohammed is not a funny man and cartoons are not his venue. He's one pissed-off Prophet. Being an atheist, I hate making the comparison, but it's the best I can reach for... he wouldn't turn the other cheek when cultural gaffes are made by non-believers, regardless of whether or not the intention was malicious. From what I've read, the intent of the cartoon was NOT malicious, but their exercise in free speech vs. self censorship was disrespectful. I could have saved them the time and the world the tension by telling them, "Yes, you can find people willing to engage in tactless, distasteful, hurtful things for very little reason just about anywhere without exerting too much energy in your search. I'll admit, sadly, that I easily fall in this category from time to time. It's human nature. Just ask Pat Robertson or any of his buddies. (OMG, did I just compare myself to Pat Robertson?)

Thinking back to Nostradamus and the infotainment's interpretations of his predictions, I remember him saying something to the effect of "Beware the man in the blue turban." So, um... were the Danish cartoons printed in color?