The cartoon rioting has hit Nairobi. Last Friday, a group of Muslims paraded from downtown up to my section of town, Westlands. They wanted to protest in front of the Danish Embassy, but the police would not let them. Apparently they began "rioting" and one of them was shot. This happened within a mile of my office, yet I never heard anything until after the fact and never felt my life was in danger.
Still, I can't help but wonder what the fuss is all about with these Danish cartoons. No, I'm not a Muslim, but I wonder if we Christians would have reacted similarly. After reading James Carroll's article in the Boston Globe, I realize there is no comparison. The insult of these cartoons is more than just Christian v. Muslim, West v. the Arab World; it is the dominating power taking yet another pot-shot at a religion and culture that has been downtrodden for the last 1,000 years.
Carroll's closing words:
"Why are we killing them? As with multiple problems today, this one comes back to the misbegotten American war. It threatens to ignite the century, and must be stopped."
The American invasion of Iraq, a Western solution to an Arab problem, and the Danish cartoons, a Western insult to a less-powerful Arab culture, are linked by a string of oppressions running back to the Crusades. Yet the Arabs have responded with suicide/homicide bombing and terrorism, the only way they know how to fight a much more powerful foe. Does oppression justify violence? No. Yet understanding another's history creates a deeper connection to "the other," and the possibility for transforming the conflict into peaceful resolution. I encourage all of us to think and pray through these issues, as we risk stepping out to the other side.
Click here to read this excellent op-ed in full.
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