Controversial Danish cartoons lampooning the Muslim prophet Muhammad have caused an international uproar and violent protests and riots, leaving many dead and even more injured. The upheaval is not, however, limited to primarily Muslim countries, and here at UB the issue has hit home for many students, both Muslim and otherwise.
While many have said the cartoons' implications are offensive, Ili Amirah Sulaiman pointed out that it's offensive to the Muslim religion to simply draw or personify the Prophet Muhammad in any way.
"At first I was mad," said Sulaiman, a freshman aerospace engineering major. "But then I thought, maybe the people who made these cartoons don't know it's offensive in our religion to draw pictures of Muhammad. They knew what they were doing was wrong, though."
"(The cartoons are) obviously wrong. It's outrageous," said Viqar Hussain, president of the Muslim Student Association.
Even before the publication of the cartoons, the creators and publishers of the drawings were aware of the consequences the illustrations would bear, said sophomore Hassan Shibly, chair of the Student Association Assembly.
"(The Danish newspapers) had two choices: they could have avoided all of this by not publishing the cartoons, but they chose the path of hate and violence," said Shibly, a political science major. "This is not about freedom of speech. They knew what would happen, and they were asking for it."
Others took a different perspective on the subject.
"I don't think anyone really thinks this is promoting idolatry," said Michael Lichter, an assistant professor in sociology.
The political cartoons are not the only issue under fire -- some Muslims' responses to the drawings have turned violent and have been considered equally offensive. For example, Iran has started a contest for artists to submit insulting images of the Holocaust in retaliation.
"It's terrible," said Hussain, a junior biochemical pharmacology major. "If you asked every Muslim on this campus how they felt about the way people are responding, 99.9 percent would tell you what they are doing is wrong."
Hussain also said he believes only the negative side of Islam is being highlighted in the media.
"We are being unfairly represented. We need to educate people about our religion to get rid of the ignorance and violence," he said. "Islam is not about violence and jihads. We are about peace and tolerance."
"We don't condone the violence, but it is understandable," Shibly said. "If they love Him (Muhammad), they should be in an uproar. They should defend His honor, but they should respond peacefully, intellectually and effectively."
Regardless of whether the response is validated, some think that the cartoons are not the true reason why people are upset. According to Lichter, the idea of mob mentality is not a randomly occurring reaction.
"I don't think someone spontaneously came along and stirred them up," Lichter said. "There needs to be a history of grievances to activate violence."
The cartoons, which were first published in September, circulated from Denmark to Western Europe and eventually to predominantly Muslim countries such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia. Until recently, reactions to the cartoons have been very low-key. Now, however, the impact of the cartoons has not only resulted in death, but has also affected political relations among countries -- Iran has cut off its trade flow with Denmark.
"I think that the government should apologize on behalf of the cartoon artists," Sulaiman said.
"Right now is the time to reach out and overcome the problems of humanity," Shibly said. "The real enemies here are issues such as poverty and injustice, we need to build bridges, not burn them."
Photo: Courtesy of Matthew Messina, from the RMBERS' Instagram page
