– Cartoon Wars

Ray Hanania: Cartoon wars
Dallas News

Last week, we witnessed the power of the Islamic and Arab worlds to bring a Western nation virtually to its knees over an issue that the nation's government had nothing to do with. I was amazed at that power.

All I can wonder is why the Islamic and Arab world doesn't harness that power more effectively and change policies that directly impact our causes and our beliefs?

A newspaper in Denmark, Jyllands-Posten, published a series of cartoons that depict the Prophet Muhammad in a derogatory and libelous manner. Few Arabs or Muslims had ever heard of the newspaper before the controversy, yet they were rightly angered.

Arabs and Muslims are justified in their anger against the action of the newspaper. The publication of the cartoons may constitute a hate crime, which is considered an offense in most Western countries. They certainly should not have been brushed off as being protected under the universal right of free speech.

In their justified anger, Arabs and Muslims have begun boycotting not only the newspaper but also many Danish consumer products. That power has caused many of Denmark's largest corporations to reel in shock, forcing many to absorb massive profit losses and lay off employees.

That power to act was mobilized in less than two weeks, although it should have begun as soon as the offensive material was published five months ago.

In response, the newspaper offered a lukewarm apology. The government of Denmark also claimed it had no power over the newspaper. But we know that is not true. The government could have stepped up and denounced the depictions.

Sadly, many innocent companies and people who might otherwise support the just causes of the Muslim and Arab worlds have been punished. That is unfair. Islam is a just religion. The Arab and Muslim worlds, despite being the target of a constant and unyielding campaign of hatred in the Western media, should stand as examples of how right and wrong can be addressed correctly.

The entire episode reminds me of when the Arab and Muslim worlds joined together in the 1970s to launch an oil embargo against what were clearly unfair foreign policies against the rights of the Palestinian people and the Arab world. With the power of unity, the Arab and Muslim oil producers put great pressure on the world's greatest powers, reminding all that right is not always based on might but is instead based on justice and fairness.

Today, Arabs and Muslims are plagued by disunity. The only time we come together to exercise our moral and principled strength is when emotion has overcome our reasoning and we act to punish everyone. Unplanned and spontaneous acts of anger and emotion are not strategic. They may even cause a backlash.

The protests and boycott are the result of spontaneous emotion rather than strategic action. We reacted rather than acted.

Every day, newspapers throughout the world libel not only Islam but also everything the Arab world stands for that is principled and just. Every day, the righteous Palestinian cause is victimized by hate incitement in newspapers throughout the world, and especially in the United States, where free speech has exceptions when it comes to Arab and Muslim voices. Yet we do nothing about these offenses.

Why do we Arabs and Muslims allow this? We need to come together not simply to punish those who offend us, but also to strengthen our community and ensure that our voices are included in the American mainstream news media.

The controversy in Denmark should remind Arabs and Muslims that we have the power to make a difference. But can we harness that power when it really counts?

Ray Hanania is an award-winning Palestinian-American journalist and author. He can be reached at www.hanania.com .