Reflections From a Murky Pond

Below is the English version of Geert Wilders’ highly controversial film about the Qu’ran. It directly links passages from the Qu’ran to various and sundry heinous acts of savagery, brutality, oppression, and terrorism that have been committed by Islamists in the name of Islam across the globe.

I’m posting it here, not as an attack on Muslims or the religion of Islam, but as a starting point for discussion.

My first thought on this video was that it is a classic example of “cherry picking” individual passages out of a text in order to use those passages out of context to change people’s overall opinion of a text as a whole. This tactic has been used time and time again, yet never seems to fall out favor through overuse.

The English translations of the referenced sura from the Qu’ran are linked to below in their entirety. Read as part of each whole passage they convey a somewhat different meaning.

• Sura 4
• Sura 6
• Sura 8
• Sura 47

My second and sadder thought was that the extremists - a small minority among Muslims, as it is with any religion or ideology - are probably doing the exact same sort of “cherry picking”, down to sura and verse in order to justify their own agendas.

I think that Wilder’s video will appeal to many people who are already afraid of Muslims. I also think it will enrage many Muslims who already hate the West. I doubt this level of bigotry will change anyone’s opinion though; it’s too unsubtle to be good propaganda. I am force to conclude that Geert Wilder is hoping for a violent reaction from Muslims since such would only further support his world view.

In 2005 the Danish newspaper, Jyllands-Posten and 12 of its cartoonists were threatened by Muslim extremists for publishing cartoons about the prophet Muhammad deemed offensive by Islamists. The resulting religious hysteria and extremism was amazing and horrible to behold.

Eleven Muslim ambassadors traveled to Copenhagen to confront Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen demanding apologies from the newspaper. The ambassador of Turkey had received full support of the Turkish Foreign Ministry in demanding that Rasmussen call Jyllands-Posten to account for “abusing Islam in the name of democracy, human rights and freedom of expression.”
When Rasmussen refused to cede his countrymen’s freedom of speech, the ambassadors decided to take the matter to international Muslim organizations, such as the Arab League, the Organization of the Islamic Conference, and the Muslim Brotherhood.

In January 2006, after both the newspaper and the Danish government refused Muslim demands for an apology, a wave of violence ensued during which several Danish embassies were set alight.

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