The Western world is a lot like the typical parent. You know how a lot of parents do drugs, are promiscuous, raise a lot of hell and have so much fun in their youth? And then, when they get older, they settle down, put on a suit and tie, get a job, join a church, and start believing in stuff like morality and traditional values? And tell their kids, “Son, drugs are bad. Save yourself before marriage. Be a good American.”

Well, the West is all grown up now and is all for “truth, justice, freedom, and peace”. That’s all well and good, but damnit, let the rest of the world have its share of fun too. Let us have our invasions, our killing off of indigenous peoples, our genocides, revolutions, and exploitations. Then when we’ve made it, and are in positions of power and authority, when we’re all grown up and done “developing”, we can be responsible parents too.

I can’t tell you how many pieces of white trash sit in their castles and bemoan how unjust and hostile the world is to them. And how the violence they perpetrate is only for the good of the world. At least tell the truth you liars - your jihad is for the Almighty Dollar. The Dollar is the Greatest! You arm dictators and then tell your people how they need to be taken out - you profit from the buildup as well as the destruction. And you don’t give a damn about freedom or independent thought - it’s a pat on the head to your sheepish, lazy, corrupt people so you can continue to rape them. And you have amnesia about the blood on your hands. Listen, Dad, if I’m gonna kill someone, I’d rather do it for God than gold. Hell I’d rather do it for art than gold.

I know some people will read this and take it as a hatred of all Western society, but that’s not the case. I am a child of the West too, and I know that my brothers and sisters are ordinary people, just as gullible as any Mozlems living in the East - they want to believe in something, something to fight for, something to die for as well. But see, what your parents didn’t tell you was that they’ve already done that for centuries. They just don’t want any blacks in their neighborhood now. Some of you are smart enough not to believe your parents, but you will be branded as a “traitor” to your family. Others of you are so childish you can’t think past the person who is feeding you, and are willing to die for their benefit.

If someone like Gandhi told the world to lay down their arms, I respect that. At least he was sincere about what he believed. If someone like Dubbya does it, hell no. Not until he does. Lol every parent thinks they can act retarded and demand perfection from their kids. Until these irresponsible and hypocritical parents can stop being so disgustingly adult, the teenage rebellion continues, and the parents can just eat it.

What is more sacred: free speech or religious sanctity? If you are the “typical” person out there, and by typical I mean a citizen of the Western, modern, industrialized nations, why, of course, the right to express your own personal desires is the most sacred of the sacred. If you are religious in the “modern” sense, then you probably like religion somewhat, but believe it should, like a woman, stay in its rightful place: the home. If you are one of those odd, barbaric, backward peoples who believes religion is actually a sacred thing, then you know that you would rather die than see the things you hold dearer than your own life, desecrated.

I personally am not participating in marches or protests admittedly due to my own pessimism and pragmatism that there are things that are more worth my time and energy. However, I am very proud to be part of a people who are “backwards” in a world where “forward” means putting desire and materialism over all that is intangible. If my brothers and sisters get the UN to uphold some type of respect for the sacred beliefs of millions, then by God, more power to them. If that band of third-world, dark-skinned people manage to push this slick, modern world around a little, halleluja. But it does astound me how this world works. The sacred and the defiled are never removed from human society, merely assigned to different things.

To those who hate Islam and rejoice in its desecration, there is nothing to say to you. You are free to hate it as you wish.

To those of you who are merely trying to uphold “free speech” and are not particularly bent on destroying any world religion, culture, people, etc. then I say to you that you should be practical enough to see that what you hold sacred, ie freedom to draw a denigratory picture of a prophet, etc. is not sacred to others, and vice versa. How do you expect to moralize to others what they ought or ought not do when you clearly do not agree? Understand then that this world is full of challenges and we as human beings are destined to disagree, sometimes by words, sometimes by violence. That is human nature.

At least be honest about what you are doing. I remember a Danish fellow came on our message board, upset that Muslims would burn the Danish flag. So you feel you can draw as you wish, yet everyone will respect your beliefs and traditions? That the world will applaud you and roll out a red carpet in your honor? You are no more “righteous” than the person you believe has no righteousness, but is merely following tradition or is “brainwashed”, while you of course, are immune from such influences of time and place. You should have the balls to sacrifice yourself for what you believe. If you indeed believe in the freedom to speak, give your life for it, just as one who believes it is his sacred duty to maintain the holiness of God’s Name, would. If you insult some guy’s wife in a bar, you might get the crap kicked out of you unless after instigating him, you run to the police for protection and demand the law be upheld. :)

“And when it is said to them: ‘Make not mischief on the earth,’ they say, ‘We are only peacemakers!’ Indeed, they are the ones who are the ones who cause mischief, but they perceive it not.” (2:11 - 12)

But that is life - actions bring consequences, and we cannot blind ourselves, demanding our particular beliefs be maintained by the whole world, while we sit back in comfort. For if that were the case, you are no different than the “barbaric”, the “fascists”, the “backwards”, who have no understanding. Rather, this is jihaad, this is the struggle, for which we give our money, our speech, and our lives, to uphold what we think sacred, whether freedom of personal expression, or the sanctity of that what is holy (by the way, although Muslims are the most conspicuous in this incident, many “odd”, religious people of Christianity, Judaism, and others, even some of the atheistic “humanists” out there do have some respect for what others revere, even if they do not).

To those with some intelligence, I say to you that the ability to respect other beliefs is a trademark of virtue and character, and yes, that goes for Muslims as well. As Allah says in the Quran, “And insult not those whom they worship besides Allah, lest they insult Allah wrongfully without knowledge. Thus We have made fair-­seeming to each people its own doings; then to their Lord is their return and He shall then inform them of all that they used to do.” (6:108)

No one can deny that drawing pictures making fun of what people consider sacred, whether for one’s own entertainment or to force them to surrender to the temporal “humiliation” of having their sacred symbols defiled when they insist on having them upheld, is a sign of a barbaric people, which is why it is so ironic these acts are committed with the arrogant belief that the practitioner is somehow better than the “barbarians” they are protesting against. I do not agree with most of the religions and philosophies out there, but yes, I do have some respect.

Alhamdulillaah, Susan Gibbons, the teacher accused of denigrating Islam, was pardoned and will be going home soon, after a delegation of Muslims from Britain met with the Sudanese administration.

A brief analysis of the facts in light of Islam:

1. Blasphemy against God and His Prophets is indeed a crime in an Islamic State. Although most practitioners of religion (including many secularized Muslims) have abandoned divine laws for man-made laws, in Islam, some things remain publicly sacred and inviolable. Yet, it is clear from the actions of the teacher that she did not commit the act in the first place. Firstly, she was not the one who selected the name - her students did. Secondly, it was clear the toy was named not after the Prophet, peace be upon him, but simply a common name found in the region. Her students and their parents themselves have testified as to her innocence.

2. Secondly, even if she did name the toy herself, it was clear her intention was not denigration of Muhammad. She made numerous statements to that end and her entire demeanor showed the incident was unintentional. On those grounds alone should she have been released. Even if someone intentionally blasphemes against Islam, if they recant their statement they are free, so what of someone who never intended it?

3. Thirdly, even if the Sudanese law was upheld, the government should have made a statement condemning the protestors or at least their position, for their demands were far beyond what the government itself stipulated. The job of the government is to maintain order, so while it might allow its people its right to protest, it should also have communicated with them, informing them of the specifics instead of allowing them to speculate on the case and fuel the outrage.

A Classical Example

Once a Bedouin urinated in the mosque, undoubtedly a disrespectful thing to do. When some of the Prophet’s followers got offended and incensed, he told them to leave the man alone and merely asked that they clean it. The Bedouin was impressed with the Prophet’s understanding of a different cultural norm and mindset. The Bedouin was merely used to a different code of conduct and had meant no harm.

What of Sudan? What of Islam?

The Sudanese government is not the first Muslim run government to attempt to uphold the Shari’ah. Yet, each locality of Muslims has its own culture, and this tends to influence their application of the Law. The Sudanese government had a specific law regarding the manner in which one could denigrate Islam, and applied it to Gibbons. Yet this was clearly nonsensical to the Muslims in other parts of the world. The culture of African countries is unique, as is the culture of Asian countries, which also differ from European countries, etc. This cultural variation is further complicated when outsiders: people outside the religion or outside the region interact with the society. If they are unfamiliar with the cultural patterns of one another, problems ensue.

Clearly education is vital for the Muslim world. Not only education of Islam itself, but of all knowledge which benefits, including exposure to different peoples and standards. This does not mean it has to give up its own principles, but this information will only aid its function and success. The Prophet Muhammad sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam was not an ignorant person, but instead knew the peoples in his region as well as those beyond. He was open to knowledge and innovation. And he exercised wisdom.

This lack of understanding plagues the modern Muslim world, and it is up to the Muslims to remedy the problem. It is a good sign that the British Muslim community took such an active role in remedying the affair. Perhaps the Sudanese government, due to this incident, will gain insight and be able to modify their laws or the application thereof to avoid further crises. Similarly it is hoped more and more Muslims speak up about the events in the political world, clarifying Islam’s position on the issues, and working with each other to come closer to Islamic ideals.

And finally, Ms. Gibbons herself has shown immense sensitivity in this regard, immediately clarifying her position, and even apologizing to one of the faculty members who was offended by the toy. Not only that, she was able to understand that the culture of the region played a large part in the affair. The tragedy is that she never should have been arrested in the first place.