Canadian Polemic

Things have not progressed well in the cartoon debacle concerning sketches of Mohammed, the Muslim prophet. If anything, that's an understatement. After European newspapers republished a series of caricatures of Mohammed last week, anger has erupted across the Muslim world, culminating most recently in mass protests and torchings of European embassies in the Middle East. According to Islamic law, it's forbidden to make any kind of representation of the prophet, as it's considered idolatry. I guess that things have escalated this week because the European countries involved failed to apologize for the publication of the sketches.

It's pretty sad that things have progressed to where they are now, with burning embassies and calls for the destruction of the European nations. To be clear, the drawings are absolutely offensive - aside from contravening Islamic law, they directly impugn and demean the highest religious figure of the faith. I think that we need to make that clear. That being said, I'm not at all convinced that demanding apologies from European governments and burning their embassies is the best reponse. If anything, it just contributes to whatever stereotypes may already exist. 'Those folks in the Middle East,' some may incorrectly conclude from this event. 'You just can't reason with them. Their response to everything is to take to the streets and call for the death of the West.' And that's very unfortunate.

Like it or not, there is freedom of expression and freedom of the press in most Western countries. But it's to a point. It does depend on the country as to what verges on hate crimes, what is appropriate and what is not. I think that all countries that have those freedoms also have various restrictions on them. I don't know what the case is in Denmark, France and Germany. But I think that an apology from the newspapers would be most appropriate - you've got the right to speak freely, but directly insulting and demeaning the faith of another is just not acceptable. And printing more of the cartoons (as happened in France and Germany) just to prove a point about press freedoms? Childish.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has got it absolutely right: "We all agree that words and deeds that insult or ridicule other religions or cultures do not contribute to mutual understanding. Both freedom of the press ... and freedom of religion are great liberties — those who use them must use them with care." There have been inappropriate actions on both sides - the thoughtless publication of the cartoons in Europe and the burning of embassies and threats of violence in the Middle East - I hope that we can remove the blinders of anger, look at things more rationally and use this as a vehicle to greater understanding of where the line lies between press freedoms and restrictions.

CABINET-DATE: Former Liberal MP and Industry Minister David Emerson has apparently shown up at Rideau Hall this morning to be sworn into the new Cabinet, having defected to the Conservatives! I'm sorry, but having just run as a Liberal, if this isn't a power-grab, I'm not sure what is. Very disappointing, and lowers my impression of Mr Emerson greatly.