Religion and Humor

Hindus are pissed off at a French movie that depicted Lord Shiva’s picture being torn. Catholics are pissed off at South Park which released an episode called ‘Bloody Mary’ where they show a bleeding statue of Mary. And Muslims are dying in hordes protesting the cartoons (16 in Nigeria, 10 in Libya, 5 in Pakistan, and 12 in Afghanistan, as far as I can recollect).

In Nepal too, some Muslim society protested the cartoons, but fortunately it was peaceful. While it is good that an unvocal minority in Nepal has found some cause to fight for, I wish the cause were better. The cartoons aren’t even funny.

I am posting these cartoons here, not as a support to freedom of speech or as an insult to Islam, but merely because someone asked me to download and post them here because he wanted to see the cartoons that had caused so much fury. It is merely for reference. (The other cartoons are too dumb.)

As far as I know, the prohibition against depicting Mohammed has nobler reasons. It is to stop idolatry, because images of him might have made him into someone similar to Christ, which he believed was blasphemy, God being the one who ought to be worshipped. These protests go on to show that the prohibition of depicting Mohammed has failed in its intent. Mohammed is worshipped if not as a god, as second to him. What better way of un-deifying a person than making a mediocre cartoon of him.