Oversensitive Religion
Blasphemlicious
JoJo’s Bizzare Adventure, an anime series based on a manga by the same name, is currently under fire from the Middle East for having a villain in the show read the Holy Koran while plotting the death of the protagonist.
Rather stupid if you ask me.
[ Source: JapanProbe | Itai-News ]
The original scene in the manga did not show the contain of the book. Since it is unlikely that anyone working on the show can actually read Arabic, someone probably decided to copy and past the text from a randomly-selected online source without knowing that it was an extract from the Koran.
Though it’s not their fault, Shueisha, the publisher of the manga, has posted a public apology of their website in both English and Japanese, with the Japanese version being notably shorter. Personally I wouldn’t apologize for such triviality, especially if the mistake wasn’t even my own, but then again I don’t run a multimillion-dollar company.
Not Terrorists
I just find it absolutely hilarious (in a sad way) that the companies involved have received death threats for supposedly depicting Muslims as terrorists. Sort of like, “How dare you say that our religion is violent? I’ll blow your company up and kill your family!” Oh irony.
This was probably a simple mistake on the part of some anonymous underpaid animator, but even if it weren’t, it’s really no big deal. The fact of the matter is that some Muslims are indeed terrorists, therefore it makes perfect sense to have Muslim terrorists appear in an fictional Arabic setting. I mean, some white folks are serial killers, and we have no problems with casting Caucasian actors as horror movie antagonists. It doesn’t have to be a general statement about an entire community of people, and it often isn’t. I’m pretty sure at least a few anime villains have quoted or alluded to the Bible before.
If anything, the tendency to over-react in such situations does more to reinforce the violent stereotype of Islam than anything else. The same with most angry protests really. As much as I may (or may not) sympathize with their cause, watching people burn effigies (whether it be Bush, Osama or Dalai Lama) and scream their lungs out simply extinguishes any desire on my part to be associated with what they stand for.
Relativism
Frankly, I think in our blind pursue of political correctness, we often overlook just how frightening extremism and radicalism in religion can be. When someone incurs the wrath of radical Islam, we are quick to denounce him as “culturally insensitive” or “ethnocentric”, among other convenient labels, placing all the blame squarely on the often unwitting offender. It’s a reverse knee-jerk reaction.
Few people pause to consider the flip side of the coin, for it seems almost a given that once religions are criticized (unfairly or not), it becomes perfectly acceptable for the believers to do whatever they fancy in seeking “justice”. And if the offender-turn-victim happens to have his life taken from him in the process, he can look forward to many a posthumous “serves you right” lecturing from his supposedly more worldly peers. (Assuming afterlife does exist.)
I find this quite a sad state of affairs, but I guess that describes the entirety of the human condition since 200,000 years ago. (2.5 million if you consider the entire homo genus as humans. Or 6,000 if you swing that way.)
P.S. Marina is Jewish.
June 9th, 2008 at 7:30 pm
It doesnt matter what the normal muslim think, they dont matter at all. Except this: Where there is islamic influence of any kind, the extremists have an easier time spreading their influence.
Moderate muslims are not necessarily a bad thing, but they pave the way for the extremists.
June 13th, 2008 at 3:53 am
@ Guner,
When it involves politics, there’s always influence. Being a muslim does not make any easier to spread the propaganda, it happens to all those who choose which side they support (even you). Your last post seems one-side and showed that you still need to pursue more knowledge before making assumption.
June 13th, 2008 at 8:29 am
You dont understand the situation. Muslims, all of them, moderate or not, are heavily influenced by their religious leaders. The muslims in europe are not integrated, they are living in parallel societies. In England there are already religious courts that handle some of their cases outside of the normal british law, they have even managed to make any image of pigs forbidden in some areas.
Islam is not just a religion, its also a political system. The totalitarian kind. And in the areas where they have enough people, enough political pressure, they are trying to make the commands of the quran law.
One of the red flags is this: Until not very long ago muslim law only applied to Muslims. The Muhammed drawings were one of the first cases of attempting to make non-muslims follow muslim law. It will only get worse if we let it.
June 13th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
I’m afraid it is you who do not understand the situation. Muslims are not the only one that is heavily influenced by their leaders, other people from other religion and country is also influenced by their leaders. Even you are influenced by the Danish media saying that it’s a freedom of speech. And it is natural that the law is followed by majority, right? That’s why we have the election system. And it is true that muslim laws only applied to muslim. However, the thing about the drawing of the prophet is a form of an insult, thus attacking the religion. As a muslim, it is a duty to protect the image of Islam. That’s why muslim all around asked the Danish media to stop publishing the drawing. They are not asking you to follow their law. And in addition, when you insult someone or someone who is respected, it is natural for humans to retaliate. If I insulted or accuse your country is the one that started this whole mess, I’m sure you would step in and defend your country, like what you are doing now .The problem is that they do not listen, thus preventing a peaceful solution. See what happen now? Hmm, what about me? I’m only defending what is right..Sure freedom of speech is encourage, however, there are something in this world does not comes free.
June 13th, 2008 at 9:01 pm
No more walls of text please.
The law is followed in the areas it applies to. Religious courts do not represent british law. They are illegal, yet tolerated because the brits are spineless.
There have been countless instances of so called “insults” to the prophet before the drawings, but nothing was done about it. There is no basis in their religion for demanding that we follow their rules in our own countries.
So why? Its because they saw it as an opportunity to expand their influence. They saw us as small, weak, easily scared into submission, and if they had won this battle it would have set a precedent that would make it easier still to do similar things in other parts of europe later. Fortunately they were only right about the first part.
And you can stop making stuff up now. They were not asking us to apologize for the drawings, they were demanding it, in the form of flag and embassy burning and sanctions and death threats and murders. Several people will be living in hiding under police protection for the rest of their lives as a result. It is not anywhere close to as innocent as you pretend. Islam is a very dangerous religion and it is in our best interest to stop it from spreading in our part of the world.
June 13th, 2008 at 11:56 pm
Are you sure nothing is done to the drawing? There are peaceful negotiation before to stop publishing of the drawing, yet the danish newspaper does not comply, saying as the so called reason you have explained. Humans these days are thick-headed.
However, my main point is this; No religion is dangerous, including Islam, Christian and others. It people like the extremist and political leaders, (or maybe you) are making the things dangerous, with their so called political right. You all see others as a hostile and try to influence others with those kind of thinking. Religion is not the blame for this mess.
And I’m not making stuff. Which part of the country that demands apologies in form of death threat and stuffs? It’s a small group, usually run by extremist leaders . Try asking a proper country like malaysia, all they did is just boycott danish products. As I was saying, it’s the people making the religion looks dangerous.
June 14th, 2008 at 2:30 am
The extremists are the ones with actual political influence and control over the religion. They are the ones with money. They are the ones who represent it. They are the ones who made many countries stop trading with us. And they are dangerous.
Unless you wanna live under a totalitarian political system as dictated by their religion, you really ought to stop defending them.
June 14th, 2008 at 10:43 am
That’s what i am telling you, as you do not know the truth behind religion. It’s not the religion (you have said Islam is dangerous religion), it’s the people. The danish media have caused misunderstanding and they are part to blame for the mass too.
And I’m not defending their acts for brutality. It’s just that the way you put is making the whole lot of muslim look bad. I have muslim friends and they are not as what you describe. What you are describe is only happen in the middle east, and as you can see, middle east is much to corrupted to even defend their religion.
And no, I’m gonna live my own lives and stand up to what i believe.
June 14th, 2008 at 11:17 am
The people are the religion. Its a manmade idea, not some kind of physical thing with an independent will.
And your muslim friends still dont matter at all. They have no power, no influence. They are irrelevant.
June 15th, 2008 at 8:53 pm
So are you. You have no power, no influence. You are irrelevant, yet you are trying to spread out propaganda about bad things about other religion and stuff. You are no better than the extremist, who also spread out propaganda about bad things about other people. These are the main cause of distortion of peace.
June 15th, 2008 at 9:02 pm
And so communication breaks down.
June 21st, 2008 at 1:00 am
Of course, of course. Hitler’s plan was to get the economy out of a depression and to take back stolen land. And how did he do it? Murdering 12 million innocents who had nothing to do with either of those issues? Just because any problem can be justified doesn’t mean the justification is legitimate.
June 28th, 2008 at 11:40 am
Everyone talks about Islam as if they’re experts. You talk about Muslims as if they’re wild berserk animals and killing machines, and then they label them as “Terrorists” or “extremists”.
Muslims are oversensitive because they have been targeted. Naturally, they should be that way. I mean, i haven’t heard myself about extremism untill US involvement in the Gulf war. before that, have you?
Islam world is pretty large, the mid east, the so unstable-unpredictable region of the earth. and then you talk about everyone not wanting the Jews and decide to force them in “palestine” and slaughter some 100’s thousands of Muslims for your convenience (germany, canada; since they rejected jews refugees, and then UK).
There is no justification in taking innocent lives, whatsover. But, when those muslims fell into despair and realized they’re targeted they took an act of disperation and just blew themselves up causing collateral or whatever. (terrorist attacks, all over the world now..)
to them, its justified.
Dont be part of the problem or whats causing an escallation to it, dont criticize, try finding the solution and reason.
Lets take Denmark for an example, those toons, really pissed off all those ppl who respect their religion, they call it freedom of something, but hey what happened to respecting all those 1. some billion muslims!
If you’re to put someone’s work in ur paper they’d call it plagiarism! and you’re severely punished. You have to use quotations and etc..
But if you use a verse of “kuraan” in ‘this case’ in an anime then there absulotely nothing wrong with it. where is the sense in that.
I wouldnt take it as an offince, but atleast i can understand what is the Muslims point.
so afterall, just a bit of consideration and courtesy wont hurt, and it would save up this whole headache!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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