<p>This does not make sense. “Freedom of expression,” in this case, refers to Mohammed being bashed as a terrorist/gay/moron. And how do you believe that would benefit the ISLAMIC world?</p>
<p>Seriously, if the United States backed off from Middle Eastern affair, things in the Middle East would be much better. I hope one day the entire Muslim world united to overthrow US and Israel. They have faced enough bs and its time to rebel against these “democratic powers.” </p>
<p>[flame deleted] Please follow the Courtesy guidelines of the Terms Of Service (under FAQ). Personal insults are inappropriate on the forum. - Mod JEM</p>
<p>OneThousandFists – For those of us who grew up in countries with legal protection for free speech (which includes writing, cartoons, and some physical acts such as burning flags or images of people, for example, burning the president in effigy), your ideas of how countries should respond to offensive speech is a bit scarey. We are raised with a “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me” kind of mentality in terms of what sort of provocation justifies a belligerant physical response, so the notion of it being OK to threaten the safety of Danes because a Danish newspaper printed a bunch of offensive cartoons does not sit will here. Many of our families actually came to the country where I live as refugees from places where their ideas, religions, political ideologies etc. were not tolerated. And even though we may be horrified to see someone burning our president in effigy or watching a Nazi group march through the streets with police protection, we find it extremely reassuring that these things are permitted without negative consequences. This means that we are all free to say, draw, or publish whatever we believe without the fear of being beaten up or imprisoned. The general sentiment is that it is best for a society if there is a free marketplace of ideas where different theories can clash and compete without anyone resorting to sticks and stones. Aren’t you, to some degree, taking advantage of the freedom to express unpopular ideas here? I’m sure that there are many CC members who are offended by what you’ve said about overthrowing the US and Israel, but no one is hunting you down, exiling you from the Board, or trying to determine your family’s business (or country of origin) in order to launch a boycott, etc. Moreover, I certainly don’t see anyone generalizing from you to all Muslims, as you are advocating the punishment of all Danes because one Danish newspaper published one cartoonist’s offensive work.</p>
<p>1KFists, “freedom of expression” includes <em>everyone</em> writing about <em>anything.</em> The Islamic world would benefit from tolerance and open exchange of ideas. The intellectual capital of the Islamic world today, by almost any metric, whether Ph.D.'s granted, volume of research output, volume of academic non-religious publication, is staggeringly small in comparison to any other area save for sub-Saharan Africa. </p>
<p>Freedom of expression includes the right to disagree, parody, and make fun of. For instance…I need a volunteer from the audience…ah, thank you, Driver…I can publish that Driver is a whack job and she can call me a raving loon and everyone can continue drinking their coffee or tea without drawing weapons…and the principle wouldn’t change if I were President of the United States and Driver were the Pope of the Divine Church Revealed. Thanks for you assistance, Driver…you may sit down.</p>
<p>As for Golden Age of Islam, the spurt that began in the 8th century already started falling into political decay by the 9th. A bad sign when the caliphs had to rely on Turkmen palace guards to enforce their rule. Culturally, the innovation and pursuit of knowledge for its own sake stagnated. It would be as if the West was still hung up somewhere between Marcus Aurelius and Aquinas with a little Roger Bacon thrown in.</p>
<p>Newspapers in France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Switzerland have reprinted the cartoons; adding to Norway and Denmark. For some reason, I don’t think anyone here in the UAE is going to stop driving his Mercedes or BMW because of this.</p>
<p>Freedom of expression is what is deteriorating US culture – from the rise of gays to the rising converts to atheism. Learn the history of Islam — they were great before the Europeans arrived. </p>
<p>btw, just to let you know: You people may “hate” jihadists/Muslims etc, but the same amount of hatred is on US and Israel all throughout Muslim nations. One day the bullies known as United States and Israel will be faced at full force and that will be the day of glory. I personally will devote my life to this goal.</p>
<p>What is good for one nation may not be good somewhere else. Its funny how the US wants to spread democracy in Iraq while the whole invasion was “undemocratic.” </p>
<p>The West may be laughing now, but the side that laughs last laughs the best ;).</p>
<p>Driver, I dont see why you posted that link. Do you want be to post a picture of a Sudanese chopping off the head of an American? I’m sure I would get banned for it, but of course that’s still “freedom of expression.”</p>
<p>It doesn’t matter, SBmom, unless he’s been identified as a threat. It’s a waste of time and resources to here people spout off random views. The intelligence field is HIGHLY complex and HIGHLY sophisticated. They know what they’re doing. They’re pretty good at it. They’re not listening to housewives bicker about bread recipes or baseball coaches setting up practice times. </p>
<p>Oh, and when I said that they’re good at what they do and they know what they’re doing, I meant it in the objective way. Whether or not you think they did well in regards to, say, Iraq, you can’t deny the US’s prowess in the field of intelligence gathering.</p>
<p>“btw, just to let you know: You people may “hate” jihadists/Muslims etc, but the same amount of hatred is on US and Israel all throughout Muslim nations. One day the bullies known as United States and Israel will be faced at full force and that will be the day of glory. I personally will devote my life to this goal.”</p>
<p>Speaking with less virulence might make your message more comprehensible. Advancing that the jihadists speak for all muslims does not exactly display a sign of intellectual integrity. </p>
<p>Care to rephrase your warnings in a more subtle way?</p>
<p>Jihadists DO speak for the majority of Muslims. They risk their lives for a worthy cause. Westerners may denounce them as merely “terrorists,” but their thoughts are not valid. These people are heroes in my book. They are fighting without a cause and their resilience is admirable indeed.</p>
<p>“Jihadists DO speak for the majority of Muslims. They risk their lives for a worthy cause. Westerners may denounce them as merely “terrorists,” but their thoughts are not valid. These people are heroes in my book. They are fighting without a cause and their resilience is admirable indeed.”</p>
<p>And suddenly the neighborly lib vs. conserv debate takes a perverse turn for the worst…</p>
. Sheesh, Americans sure do have some superiority complex!</p>