perfidy

You may have heard about the whole Muhammad cartoon contretemps. Some Danish newspaper printed some cartoons which featured the visage of the Prophet. Apparently, that alone is offensive, considering the iconoclastic tradition of Islam. But those evil Danes went further. They drew pictures mocking the Prophet. So, a Danish newspaper prints the evil images. And the whole Islamic world breaks out in rioting and shit, Islamic nations recall their ambassadors from Denmark whose government had nothing whatever to do with the original cartoons, and the faithful stop buying legos.

So I found a website that has all the cartoons. The one that was on Drudge and elsewhere was cool, with 'ol Muhammad as Bakunin wearing an lit anarchist's bomb as a turban. Here's a picture:

For some reason, though, this is my favorite:

I don't know exactly what that reason is, but I dig it.

Now, I realize that posting these images on Perfidy could very well result in a Jihad being declared on the Ministry. These images are offensive to Islam, and all the faithful. Well, I had to look at endless pictures and video and stories about things like "piss christ" which is rather offensive to my religion. I did not declare war on anyone, or even get out of my chair. I might have blasphemed and uttered some profane statements. That's about it. See, I'm tolerant. It is my central political belief that everyone has a right to be a completely retarded offensive loonytune. All of our rights derive from this profound insight. It's easy to argue that someone making a serious political statement is entitled to, uh, make it. Without getting shot, imprisoned, or beat up too much. Extending that protection to the soi disant artist responsible for the potty-humor abomination we know as "Piss Christ" is a challenge.

I know the Islamic world has no tradition of tolerance or forgiveness, either politically, religiously or culturally. But still, really, fuck off. Get a life. Pictures of Muhammad drawn by some not terribly talented or funny Danish cartoonists is not an existential threat to a billion-strong, millennia and a half old world-spanning religion.

Go play with some legos.