An Al-Jazeera Take on Blasphemy

This week in Pakistan, a retarded man was beaten and burned by a mob over reports he had committed blasphemy of Islam by burning the Koran. Al Jazeera has a report on this incident along with an op-ed on blasphemy and the West by a Columbia University professor named Hamid Dabashi.


http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia/2012/12/20121222114547753697.html

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2012/10/2012108104732830198.html

 Hypocrite

How easy it is to blame all the savagery and hatred that rules through the Islamic world and blame it on others. It is all the West's fault for their colonialism, their racism, and their lack of respect for Islam. It is the West's fault that we drive our Jews out of our countries. It is the West's fault that we burn Christian churches. It is the West's fault that Iran hangs homosexuals and persecutes those of the Baha'i faith. It is the West's fault that most of our countries are in a state of civil war or near civil war, citizen killing citizen. It is the West's fault when, every day, a suicide bomb goes off killing dozens. If we burn people alive or cut off their heads for saying the wrong thing, it is the West's fault for their arrogance. If we are ruled by murderous dictators and have never experienced democracy, it is the fault of the West.

Nothing can ever be our fault.

That is what they say over there. What do they say here? They say that we are Islamophobes because we don't want to give up our rights to speak freely and respect all religions or even those who have no religion.

Then there are those who come to the West, enjoy our freedoms, benefit economically, and spit on us. People like Hamid Dabashi.

Dabashi is yet another example of the post-colonial, anti-West professors who delight in bashing everything that is Western, yet choose to live in the West and enjoy all the freedoms and perks.

One can only wonder why Professor Dabashi doesn't return to his native Iran. But we all know the answer to that, don't we?