Saturday, November 12, 2005

Would the god fearing people please simmer down?

In Denmark the newspaper Jyllands-Posten published a cartoon, which contained an image of the prophet Mohammed. According to Islam, this is an act of blasphemy. I have read that governments of several Islamic nations have demanded that the Danish government punish the newspaper. Some people have questioned the value of democracy if such a thing can happen.

Related Article: Cartoons have Muslims threatening newspaper

First, is the violation of god's law a place where man should be involved. Man enforces man's law, shouldn't god do so for its? For men to take it into their hands to coerce others to follow god's law seems like a blasphemy of its own. Is god an all-being or not? To be all-powerful must mean that god can do what it needs on its own without our help.

Second, the essence of a free society is that I am free to express my beliefs in so far as they do not impact upon the freedoms or property of others. I can go out purchase symbols from various religions and burn them on my lawn. Members of those faiths are free to comment upon my behavior, but they are not free to kill or imprison me. (The same goes for symbols from governments as well).

Attacking my ideas is ok, attacking my person is not.