Sunday, February 26, 2006

Museum images of Mohammad

LA Times reports:
While lethal riots persist in the Middle East and American cartoonists and editors wring their hands over what it means to publish pictures of Muhammad, the Western world's curators of Islamic art whisper and wonder.

As they understand it, the Koran does not forbid representations of Muhammad, though other revered texts have led millions of Muslims to scorn the idea. They know that many Islamic artists have taken on the subject. And they know that pictures of Muhammad -- not caricatures, but respectful representations, executed by and for Muslims, sometimes with the prophet's face shrouded by a veil, sometimes not -- can be found in museums throughout Europe and North America. ... The largest collection of such images, experts say, is probably that of the Topkapi Museum in Istanbul.
This is more evidence that Islam does not forbid images of Mohammad.

George writes, "So why are they rioting?"

They are rioting because they believe in forcing infidels to submit, and they will not tolerate disrespect.

Thomas L. Friedman writes:
People across the world still look to our example of pluralism, like no other. If we go Dark Ages, if we go down the road of pitch-fork-wielding xenophobes, then the whole world will go Dark Ages.
Only Mohammedans want to go back to the Dark Ages.

No comments: