Free speech and religion

The liberal media, including the pro-Islamist BBC, tells me that the Muslim world is 'upset' and 'angered' by the showing of a US-made film which they say is insulting to the Prophet Muhammad. I say fine, be upset, be angry, protest by all means but do it peacefully and certainly don't kill members of the US diplomatic service, people who only recently aided Islamists in the overthrow of their dictator.

Turning to the upset caused by this film I have to ask why so many Islamists (not Muslims, Islamists) seem to have the emotional maturity of an eight year-old. Let's just say that yes a film was made that was critical and insulting of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, why do Islamists then lose control and go on a rampage? Do they not have the emotional maturity to say - a nasty film has been made by nasty people, I won't watch it, I'll make sure that my family don't watch it, I'll write a protest letter/email to the makers and backers of the film and if the film is going to be shown near me then I'll stage a peaceful protest to show my disapproval. That was the approach taken by Christians when Jerry Springer The Opera insulted Jesus Christ or when Piss Christ was shown or any of the other insulting 'entertainments' made about the Christian messiah was shown, exhibited or presented. Religious Christians generally have emotional self-control.

Christians are not the only religious people expected to turn the other cheek. Vile films about Jews and their supposed beliefs and practises are regularly made and even more regularly shown on television in Muslim countries. The blood-libel is regularly repeated, the Protocols of The Elders of Zion is presented as factual, calls for the destruction of Israel and the death of all Jews are frequently heard. Do Jews protest outside the embassies of Egypt, Iran and the rest? Do Jews burn the flags of these countries? No, they have the emotional maturity to say these are evil people, I will complain (not that anyone will listen) but nothing more. Religious Jews generally have emotional self-control.

In the UK I remember Sikh protests when the play Behzti (Dishonour) was shown, a play that depicted sex abuse and murder in a Sikh temple. These protests, I would say, crossed the line beyond the purely peaceful but nobody died or was seriously injured. The majority of the religious Sikhs had emotional self-control.

So why do Islamists and many religious Muslims have so little emotional self-control?

The flag that the Islamists hoisted at the American embassy in Cairo is the Islamist standard that states 'There is no God but Allah and Mohammad is his prophet'. That is part of the trouble, whilst Christians, Jews, Sikhs, Hindus and Buddhists, generally now let people of other faiths, or no faith, get on with their lives, Islamists need to proclaim and enforce their superiority. In most nominally Christian countries, Muslims are given every freedom to live and worship in peace. In Hindu countries Muslims, like followers of all religions, generally can live and worship in peace. In the only Jewish state (Israel) control of the holiest site in Judaism has been ceded to Islam and freedom of religious worship is ensured. In how many Islamic states can Christians and Hindus worship freely? In how many can Jews?