Joel Dubow (Alexandria, USA), 21 February 2006

on Bomb in Turban, by Peter Philipp

The letters to the editor regarding the Danish cartoon controversy exhibit a clear misunderstanding of Freedom of the Press, the concept of a principle and the concept of a "right".

In the US, and in much of Enlightenment Europe, rights are inalienable. That is, they are principles that underpin and delimit the governments right to govern and are rights of the people and not favors dispensed by the government. As such, they can be limited by consent of the governed and not, except in time of war, by unilateral fiat of the government.

Principles cut both ways, and a principled person acknowledges their validity whether they favor or oppose his opinion. The freedom of the press derives from the right of free expression. The right of free expression is considered essential for economic and political efficiency and for the survival of a multi-cultural society. It applies to all the people and not just to the press.

There are many cartoons and articles in the West that criticize Christianity, Judaism, the US and Europe. To say that there isn't is an expression of failure to check the facts. The media often reprint articles, speeches and cartoons in Muslim media that are very unflattering and intolerant of others.

Since freedom of the press is a principle, then it cannot be compromised unilaterally by outsiders. To put these principles and traditions into question because of objections by a Muslims, who do not recognize these principles and explicitly oppose them is an act of submission and not of respect. A respectful posture begins by acknowledging differences and then proposing means to bridge these differences in a mutually respectful and beneficial way.

Some differences are fundamental and all that can be done is to acknowledge differences and agree to try to minimize the number of offending acts and their impact.

There are many people in the US, and presumably in Europe too, that base their allegiance to government on the existence of their freedoms. The present appeasement by Western governments and the media will only encourage more demands. This will, in turn, lead to more back pressure from those people in the West that take their rights very very seriously, that have the tradition of standing up for their rights and thus increase the chance of a real armed conflict between Islam and the West.

As much of recent history has conclusively demonstrated, the short term gains of appeasement are never ever worth the price. It is far better to assert the simple reality that there are principles millions of Europeans and Americans live for and have fought and sometimes died for, and that Muslims need to accept them as real and negotiate a mutually acceptable political modus-vivendi.

Regards,
Joel Dubow
Alexandria Virginia USA