Picture of Mohammed

[Anonymous]

Apparently this is terribly offensive. Why is that? The oldest pictures are Muslim?

And how can we tell more Americans so they don't accidentally upset people?

[Anonymous]

I don’t think many non Muslim Americans are randomly creating pictures of Mohammed.

[Anonymous]

What is OP talking about?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is OP talking about?

A professor or teacher was fired because they showed a picture of Mohammad during a class.

[Anonymous]

https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-30814555.amp

[Anonymous]

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/08/us/hamline-university-islam-prophet-muhammad.html

Another article. Her firing seems ridiculous to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Apparently this is terribly offensive. Why is that? The oldest pictures are Muslim?

Its taboo because traditionally Muslims believe it leads to idolatry and iconography. Also drawn pictures of any living thing is discouraged which is why there is a lot of calligraphy and geometric shapes in Islamic design.
And how can we tell more Americans so they don't accidentally upset people?

[Anonymous]

I feel like everyone tempted to show a picture of Mohammad knows they're being inflammatory. For them, this is a bug rather than a feature. I don't believe there is an ignorance crisis.

The crisis is one of jerkiness. Whether or not you agree it should be offensive, understand that it is. Only jerks deliberately offend in this way.

Is violent retaliation appropriate? I think not, but we all need to understand that the action can be understood as deeply offensive and just not do it in the first place.

Signed, traditional Jew who thinks a lot of ultra-secular and progressive faith Americans and Europeans have a bizarre blind spot when it comes to respecting the traditions of groups that have traditions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I feel like everyone tempted to show a picture of Mohammad knows they're being inflammatory. For them, this is a bug rather than a feature. I don't believe there is an ignorance crisis.

The crisis is one of jerkiness. Whether or not you agree it should be offensive, understand that it is. Only jerks deliberately offend in this way.

Is violent retaliation appropriate? I think not, but we all need to understand that the action can be understood as deeply offensive and just not do it in the first place.

Signed, traditional Jew who thinks a lot of ultra-secular and progressive faith Americans and Europeans have a bizarre blind spot when it comes to respecting the traditions of groups that have traditions.

Oops... feature rather than a bug

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I feel like everyone tempted to show a picture of Mohammad knows they're being inflammatory. For them, this is a bug rather than a feature. I don't believe there is an ignorance crisis.

The crisis is one of jerkiness. Whether or not you agree it should be offensive, understand that it is. Only jerks deliberately offend in this way.

Is violent retaliation appropriate? I think not, but we all need to understand that the action can be understood as deeply offensive and just not do it in the first place.

Signed, traditional Jew who thinks a lot of ultra-secular and progressive faith Americans and Europeans have a bizarre blind spot when it comes to respecting the traditions of groups that have traditions.

It was an art history class! The professor repeatedly warned the students that there would be an image of Mohammed; why does the intersection of history, art, and religion need to be inflammatory?

People that are religious need to understand that the world should not revolve around their fairy tale beliefs and outdated traditions. It's a-OK to have these beliefs but it's stupid to expect others to adhere to them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I feel like everyone tempted to show a picture of Mohammad knows they're being inflammatory. For them, this is a bug rather than a feature. I don't believe there is an ignorance crisis.

The crisis is one of jerkiness. Whether or not you agree it should be offensive, understand that it is. Only jerks deliberately offend in this way.

Is violent retaliation appropriate? I think not, but we all need to understand that the action can be understood as deeply offensive and just not do it in the first place.

Signed, traditional Jew who thinks a lot of ultra-secular and progressive faith Americans and Europeans have a bizarre blind spot when it comes to respecting the traditions of groups that have traditions.

So, should the cafeteria at a secular college that your kids might attend stop serving cheeseburgers?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I feel like everyone tempted to show a picture of Mohammad knows they're being inflammatory. For them, this is a bug rather than a feature. I don't believe there is an ignorance crisis.

The crisis is one of jerkiness. Whether or not you agree it should be offensive, understand that it is. Only jerks deliberately offend in this way.

Is violent retaliation appropriate? I think not, but we all need to understand that the action can be understood as deeply offensive and just not do it in the first place.

Signed, traditional Jew who thinks a lot of ultra-secular and progressive faith Americans and Europeans have a bizarre blind spot when it comes to respecting the traditions of groups that have traditions.

It was an art history class! The professor repeatedly warned the students that there would be an image of Mohammed; why does the intersection of history, art, and religion need to be inflammatory?

People that are religious need to understand that the world should not revolve around their fairy tale beliefs and outdated traditions. It's a-OK to have these beliefs but it's stupid to expect others to adhere to them.

People need to be able to understand things from one another's perspectives. Sometimes that means knowing not to do something culturally insensitive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I feel like everyone tempted to show a picture of Mohammad knows they're being inflammatory. For them, this is a bug rather than a feature. I don't believe there is an ignorance crisis.

The crisis is one of jerkiness. Whether or not you agree it should be offensive, understand that it is. Only jerks deliberately offend in this way.

Is violent retaliation appropriate? I think not, but we all need to understand that the action can be understood as deeply offensive and just not do it in the first place.

Signed, traditional Jew who thinks a lot of ultra-secular and progressive faith Americans and Europeans have a bizarre blind spot when it comes to respecting the traditions of groups that have traditions.

So, should the cafeteria at a secular college that your kids might attend stop serving cheeseburgers?

You're confusing a lot of things, and your example is a poor one. There's nothing offensive to a Jewish person about not-Jewish people eating cheeseburgers. No conflict.

There would be a really big problem, on the other hand, if the people at this secular college gathered Torah scrolls and urinated on them. That would be incredibly offensive. But people who aren't jerks wouldn't do that, you see.

I don't think dogmatically secular people should have so much trouble imagining that something a different community has TOLD them it considers incredibly offensive is going to offend them a whole lot. There are a lot of things you probably understand as complete jerk actions. Wearing blackface comes to mind. Add depicting Mohammed to the list. Just don't do it. Because only jerks and bullies offend intentionally.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I feel like everyone tempted to show a picture of Mohammad knows they're being inflammatory. For them, this is a bug rather than a feature. I don't believe there is an ignorance crisis.

The crisis is one of jerkiness. Whether or not you agree it should be offensive, understand that it is. Only jerks deliberately offend in this way.

Is violent retaliation appropriate? I think not, but we all need to understand that the action can be understood as deeply offensive and just not do it in the first place.

Signed, traditional Jew who thinks a lot of ultra-secular and progressive faith Americans and Europeans have a bizarre blind spot when it comes to respecting the traditions of groups that have traditions.

So, should the cafeteria at a secular college that your kids might attend stop serving cheeseburgers?

You're confusing a lot of things, and your example is a poor one. There's nothing offensive to a Jewish person about not-Jewish people eating cheeseburgers. No conflict.

There would be a really big problem, on the other hand, if the people at this secular college gathered Torah scrolls and urinated on them. That would be incredibly offensive. But people who aren't jerks wouldn't do that, you see.

I don't think dogmatically secular people should have so much trouble imagining that something a different community has TOLD them it considers incredibly offensive is going to offend them a whole lot. There are a lot of things you probably understand as complete jerk actions. Wearing blackface comes to mind. Add depicting Mohammed to the list. Just don't do it. Because only jerks and bullies offend intentionally.

NP. Are you for real? Do you truly believe an art history professor should show no depictions of Mohammed in art? I’m sorry but that is nuts.

[Anonymous]

This was a 14th century image that was shown in an art history class. The instructor did not depict the prophet.