Opinion Forum

Why Can’t Muhammad Be as Funny as the Pope?

February 28th, 2012

The media are loath to write or depict anything that might inflame Muslims to come looking for them with knives, guns, bombs, or airplanes. Part of the reason is fear, and who can blame them — no one wants to be murdered. Another part is their antipathy toward Jews and Israel and their sympathy for Muslims who would love to kill every Jew on Earth.

Attacking Christianity in any form is different, of course, and politically correct. Here’s a perfect example. Wiley Miller draws and writes the cartoon strip “Non Sequitur.” I read it every day because it’s funny and very creative. Usually it isn’t overly political, but once in a while Miller’s political views emerge. This strip was published a week ago (click to enlarge):

I’m not sure what the point is. The scruffy-looking Pope is the Catholic Church, naturally; the booze is something the Church has had too much of; the bartender is the government cutting him off from whatever the booze represents. Is it about the recent effort of the Obama Administration to force the Church to do things it doesn’t believe in? Is it about government support for the Church and religion in general through tax exempt status and funding for some programs, all of which might be cut off if the Church doesn’t do what it’s told? Who knows.

I don’t object to the cartoon. It’s Miller’s right to publish it, and it’s funny no matter how it’s interpreted. I do wonder, though, about how much courage Miller has and how doctrinaire his political beliefs are. Will we see a similar cartoon from him depicting a scruffy-looking Muhammad in a bar, drinking too much, and being cut off by some authority who knows what’s best for him? Or a cartoon of any kind with a drawing of Muhammad? Somehow I doubt it.

It’s way past time to stop treating Islam differently from the way we treat any other religion. Just like appeasement didn’t protect the world from the Nazis, dhimmitude won’t protect us from the murderous impulses of extremist Muslims.

Articles written by Tom Carter
Tags: Catholic, fear, freedom, Islam, murder, Muslim, religion, speech, terrorism
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