Should we feel bad for mocking Muhammed?

I mean, really. People can mock Jesus with giddy abandon, so should Muhammed be an exception? Not all liberals do this, but some of the more progressive ones seem (imho) to mock Jesus a lot, yet the Prophet is off-limits. What's up with that?

Some have even taken it so far that in Denmark you can't even ridicule Muhammed, or other deities.

Judicial investigation of Jyllands-Posten (October 2005 - January 2006)
On 27 October 2005, a number of Muslim organizations filed a complaint with the Danish police claiming that Jyllands-Posten had committed an offence under section 140 and 266b of the Danish Criminal Code.[SUP][26][/SUP]

• Section 140[SUP][27][/SUP] of the Criminal Code, known as the blasphemy law, prohibits disturbing public order by publicly ridiculing or insulting the dogmas of worship of any lawfully existing religious community in Denmark. Only one case has ever resulted in a sentence, a 1938 case involving an anti-Semitic group. The most recent case was in 1971 when a program director of Danmarks Radio was charged, but found not guilty.[SUP][28][/SUP]
• Section 266b[SUP][29][/SUP] criminalises insult, threat or degradation of natural persons, by publicly and with malice attacking their race, color of skin, national or ethnic roots, faith or sexual orientation.

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Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

As an atheist, I don't believe in gods, titans, devils, etc. Mocking religion can be tasteless, but it shouldn't be wrong to do so.

What do you think? Is Muhammed more of a sacred cow than Jesus? Is it off limits to mock Islam because we should be afraid that we'll get killed?

It's just not as much fun as with a benign figure like Jesus.

You can mock whatever/whomever you like whenever you like.

Djoop said:

It's just not as much fun as with a benign figure like Jesus.

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Bah, they're both equally imaginary. Well in the magic religious sense. There very likely was a Jesus and a Muhammad that existed in history.

Wake said:

I mean, really. People can mock Jesus with giddy abandon, so should Muhammed be an exception? Not all liberals do this, but some of the more progressive ones seem (imho) to mock Jesus a lot, yet the Prophet is off-limits. What's up with that?

Some have even taken it so far that in Denmark you can't even ridicule Muhammed, or other deities.


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Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

As an atheist, I don't believe in gods, titans, devils, etc. Mocking religion can be tasteless, but it shouldn't be wrong to do so.

What do you think? Is Muhammed more of a sacred cow than Jesus? Is it off limits to mock Islam because we should be afraid that we'll get killed?

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The people who do as you describe are NOT liberals and are NOT progressive in any real sense, as all they are doing is acting in an extremely dogmatic manner motivated by fear and/or excessive need to conform.

Why should we feel bad mocking a dead guy? I don't think we should feel bad mocking *ANYONE*.

Screw Muhammed.

For the most part, because of the times and events in this era, mocking Muhammed is more oftem a political statement, a statement of resistence aimed at his adherents.

Wake said:

If one were to post a picture mocking Muhammed, here, how would that affect the message in the OP?

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O ye, that would make it a proper philosophical discussion.

**** him. He married a six (or seven?) year old and copulated when she was nine. Nice, you praise a rapist. You stay classy Islam.

Although the acts are the same, and equally offensive to many, it is the difference in reaction, and its "justification" by the respective religious adherents, that makes one dangerous and the other rather benign.

Wake said:

I mean, really. People can mock Jesus with giddy abandon, so should Muhammed be an exception? Not all liberals do this, but some of the more progressive ones seem (imho) to mock Jesus a lot, yet the Prophet is off-limits. What's up with that?

Some have even taken it so far that in Denmark you can't even ridicule Muhammed, or other deities.


[/LIST]

Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

As an atheist, I don't believe in gods, titans, devils, etc. Mocking religion can be tasteless, but it shouldn't be wrong to do so.

What do you think? Is Muhammed more of a sacred cow than Jesus? Is it off limits to mock Islam because we should be afraid that we'll get killed?

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Those who believe in things object to those they love being insulted, obviously, as Americans do about insults to guns, their Constitution, capitalism and Netemyahu - but not Jesus, because they worship Mammon. Those who deliberately set out to provoke murder out of hate and spite should send in their resignation to the Human Race.

the mocking is an effort to offend religious members comprising the readership
if the (religious) readership is largely Christian, then mocking Jesus is going to prompt a response that mocking Mohammed is not

there is nothing preventing you or anyone else from mocking Mohammed, Jesus, Buddah, Santa, the Tooth Fairy or the Easter Rabbit
conclusion: your premise is quite flawed

Penderyn said:

Those who deliberately set out to provoke murder out of hate and spite should send in their resignation to the Human Race.

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So because some people mock Muhammed, they're provoking murder out of hate and spite? You're really stretching it. Maybe these people who live in the 700th century should get with the times and behave, instead of killing people because their feelings were hurt. PFFT, you don't don't kill someone who mocks your god like a barbarian. That you would place blame for murder on those mocking Muhammed rather than the murderer itself speaks volumes.

justabubba said:

if the (religious) readership is largely Christian, then mocking Jesus is going to prompt a response that mocking Mohammed is not

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While it may prompt a larger response, that doesn't mean their fantasies can't/shouldn't be mocked. Not sure if that's what you were thinking; you may think that numbers shouldn't matter when it comes to mocking religions.

justabubba said:

there is nothing preventing you or anyone else from mocking Mohammed, Jesus, Buddah, Santa, the Tooth Fairy or the Easter Rabbit
conclusion: your premise is quite flawed

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Not necessarily true. As shown in the OP there are laws in Denmark under "Blasphemy." There has got to be other laws like this elsewhere, too. Also, there is typically more of an angry reaction among the more sensitive liberals and progressives that dislike it when you mock Muhammed, yet are all too happy to piss on Jesus.

I don't see how my premise is flawed, but if you can show the exact logic on how it is I'd sincerely appreciate it.

Mohammed gave me a rusty trombone once.

Can we mock people who use obnoxiously difficult to read colors for the fonts they post in?

There is no need to feel bad about mocking any public figure. And Jesus, as well as Mohammed, are, more or less, public figures.
What you should feel bad is mocking people who hold those figures dear.

Gardener said:

The people who do as you describe are NOT liberals and are NOT progressive in any real sense, as all they are doing is acting in an extremely dogmatic manner motivated by fear and/or excessive need to conform.

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I dunno man. The ones I've seen seem to think it's progressive to not make fun of Muhammed.

Rainman05 said:

There is no need to feel bad about mocking any public figure. And Jesus, as well as Mohammed, are, more or less, public figures.
What you should feel bad is mocking people who hold those figures dear.

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Even when those people are trying constantly,(through hook or by crook,)to force others to hold their figures and beliefs dear?
There are plenty of people who here who continually insist their religion is TRUTH without the slightest bit of evidence and seems they expect everyone to automatically agree with them.That somehow those of us of different religions are automatically wrong and that we are automatically bound by everything theybelieve.

Verthaine said:

Even when those people are trying constantly,(through hook or by crook,)to force others to hold their figures and beliefs dear?
There are plenty of people who here who continually insist their religion is TRUTH without the slightest bit of evidence and seems they expect everyone to automatically agree with them.That somehow those of us of different religions are automatically wrong and that we are automatically bound by everything theybelieve.

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You said it Verthaine! :lamo

Verthaine said:

Even when those people are trying constantly,(through hook or by crook,)to force others to hold their figures and beliefs dear?
There are plenty of people who here who continually insist their religion is TRUTH without the slightest bit of evidence and seems they expect everyone to automatically agree with them.That somehow those of us of different religions are automatically wrong and that we are automatically bound by everything theybelieve.

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Ok.
Nobody can force anybody to do anything on the internet. You can do whatever the hell you want and nobody can stop you.

You can criticize anything you want. If you criticism is valid and cannot be contradicted, you will be met with cries and teary eyes and people calling you an asshole or a racist or something like that because they have no way of negating your argument, so they attack the one who makes the argument.
If your criticism is a stupid one, usually the type that is thrown around by militant atheists, then you will be treated as such. Not as a militant atheist, but as a stupid person, by those who will wipe the forum floor with you and your stupid argument.

You can criticize the people for believing in what they believe, but that would just make you an asshole and no better than the people you criticize.

The more complicated issue happens when you don't have a virtual dimension between you and then aggressive individuals of a certain religion may actually put your real life in danger. Fanatics are a real, very serious, threat. Just look at those 2 cartoonists in Denmark killed by islamic fanatics. Denmark... they don't even have that many muslims there because they wisely chose to start regulating their borders of the huge crime sprees and riots in the rest of Europe.

This is the beauty of the internet.

EDIT: My formal stance on religion is that any religion that makes you want to be a better person is the right religion for you. If you are true to that religion. If you are just a hippy, trying to flaunt about your new found faith, then that doesn't impress me. Anyone can be happy with novelty. Real faith lies in endurance, and time. Just like anything else that is worthwhile holding close, faith, and religion, take time to cultivate for each individual for it to end up with a good end. Or you can just neglect it, trash it about, and the fruits of your religion will be poison for your soul.

The real irony is when people get offended by Jesus being mocked, but turn around and mock Mohammed or vice versa.

I don't mind consistent people who mock both or get offended by the mocking of both.

Mocking Jesus or Mohammed seems quite strange. Since nobody alive today has ever met them.

Mocking the people who try to shove Jesus or Mohammed down our throats is really the fun part isn't it?

Tucker Case said:

The real irony is when people get offended by Jesus being mocked, but turn around and mock Mohammed or vice versa.

I don't mind consistent people who mock both or get offended by the mocking of both.

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They were quite different, though. One was a warlord who lead violent armies against all who stood in his path and had people murdered for mocking him, while one adamantly refused any political position, and never killed anybody at all.

Sure, people are free to either mock both or defend both, but they are certainly not the same as far as their actions are concerned.