Maria Goos 3

De protesten tegen de spotprenten over de profeet Mohammed hebben zich inmiddels over de hele wereld verspreid. Tot verbijstering van de meeste Westerlingen. Het toont het volstrekte onvermogen van ook doorgaans intelligente mensen om zich te verplaatsen in de positie van de vernederde, van degeen wiens zelfrespect en menselijke waardigheid dag in dag uit wordt aangetast. Aan datzelfde onvermogen lijdt een intelligente en betrokken schrijfster als Maria Goos en de vraag is vanwaar die blinde vlek? Met betrekking tot de protesten over de spotprenten en het Westers onvermogen schrijft de Belgische hoogleraar Rik Coolsaet in de International Herald Tribune van vandaag: 'I appreciate a remark by Ismaël Ferroukhi, a Moroccan-born French film director. "We've had our share of criticism of Islam," he said a year ago. "I'm no longer willing to accept any more of it. It feels like shooting at an ambulance." In the West, most non-Muslims are simply unaware that Muslims personally feel deeply hurt by attacks on what they as individuals hold dear. What is perhaps even more important to apprehend, given the extent of the present uproar, is that non-Muslims are totally ignorant of the feelings of humiliation and subjugation that nowadays are so prevalent among Muslims and Muslim communities, contributing to an enhanced sentiment of solidarity among Muslims worldwide… In Europe, many second- and third-generation youngsters within migrant communities from Muslim countries - and sometimes their parents, too - are increasingly turning to religion in their search for certainties and recognition in an uncertain and complex world. They embrace Islam as their new identity, just as born-again Christians in the United States embrace the Bible. Deepening religious commitment and a rise in identity politics is a worldwide phenomenon caused by the rapid transformation of societies. It is a quest for recognition and identity. For Muslims, both in the Arab world and in Europe, religion is what keeps them upright. It is the source of their dignity. One should always tread carefully when people's dignity is involved. When the steppe is burning, you don't fan the fire. Unless you want to prepare the way for extremists, who in the end will be the only ones to benefit if peoples and cultures are pitted against one another - both in Europe and in the Muslim world.' Lees verder:
http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/02/07/opinion/edcoolsaet.php