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Bush's Faith Based Sandbag Comes Home to Roost - US sides with Muslims in cartoon dispute
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Washington on Friday condemned caricatures in European newspapers of the Prophet Mohammad, siding with Muslims who are outraged that the publications put press freedom over respect for religion.By inserting itself into a dispute that has become a lightning rod for anti-European sentiment across the Muslim world, the United States could help its own battered image among Muslims. "These cartoons are indeed offensive to the belief of Muslims," State Department spokesman Kurtis Cooper said in answer to a question. "We all fully recognize and respect freedom of the press and expression but it must be coupled with press responsibility. Inciting religious or ethnic hatreds in this manner is not acceptable." "We call for tolerance and respect for all communities for their religious beliefs and practices," he added. Major U.S. publications have not republishing the cartoons, which include depictions of Mohammad as a terrorist. That is in contrast to European media, which responded to the criticism against the original Danish newspaper that printed the caricatures by republishing the offensive images themselves. Well, folks, here it is. Bush has now passed up a golden opportunity to highlight the oppressive nature of Islam in favor of pushing his religious agenda. I have long complained about the ongoing erosion of the separation of church and state being brought about by this administration. More lately, I have decried how Bush's own overemphasis on religiosity has become a new flavor of Kool-Aid that the White House is drinking, which is obliging them to avoid outright criticism of Islam. Welcome to the logical conclusion. Our freedom of speech is being sacrificed on the altar of Bush's own religious obsession. Few better occasions will present themselves when it comes to vividly demonstrating the immense danger of repressive Islamism. Instead, there is an incredibly inappropriate and damaging attempt at conciliation right when Islam most needs to be tarred with its own intransigence. The wrongs of Islam must be thrust into its own lap. For the West to continually be obliged to correct and assuage the constant threat of Muslim radicalism is both foolish and ineffectual. At some point, Islam must be made responsible for cleaning its own house of the violent jihadists. Instead, we are treated to the ugly spectacle of our government pandering to the absolute worst that Islam has to offer. Our government is required to clearly identify the enemies of our nation and ensure that they are thwarted on all fronts. To be required to show the least respect for a religion that constantly depicts Americans as pigs, dogs and monkeys while restraining our own right to retaliate in kind is simply insane. Bush is drinking the Kool-Aid of moral relativism and attempting to place Islam in the category of religions that are acceptable as they stand. Islam must not be viewed as anything less than a political ideology until it comprehensively renounces violent jihad and its desire to install universal sharia law upon an unwilling global population. Until these two important changes come about, Islam is our enemy and any succor given to them is simple treason. I am eager to see how fellow Rantburgers interpret this latest fiasco in the global war on terror. I am completely disgusted. Posted by: Zenster 2006-02-03 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=141385 |