Insults to Islam

Shall we take sandblasters to the Supreme Court frieze in the name of multicultural tolerance? Details at WorldNetDaily:

The artwork, which is high above the justice’s mahogany bench, was designed by sculptor Adolph A. Weinman for the building, which opened in the 1930s. Muhammad is between Charlemagne and Justinian.

* * *

In 1997, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, protested the Supreme Court’s Muhammad sculpture, saying, according to its annual report for that year, “While appreciating the fact that Muhammad (p.b.u.h.) was included in the court’s pantheon of 18 prominent lawgivers of history, CAIR noted that Islam discouraged its followers from portraying any prophet in paintings, sculptures or other artistic representations.”

CAIR also said it was concerned that Muhammad “was shown with the Quran, Islam’s Holy Book, in one hand and a sword in the other, reinforcing long-held stereotypes of Muslims as intolerant conquerors.”

Awe, isn’t that a shame? I wonder where those stereotypes might come from. Certainly not from anything CAIR has ever said or done:

CAIR’s leadership and members are alleged to have supported organizations such as Hezbollah and Hamas. Both groups are classified by the United States Department of State as terrorist organizations. Among the criticisms leveled at CAIR are affiliation with Islamist imams, the instigation of death threats against moderate American Muslims, and the promotion of anti-Semitism.

Some Muslim organizations in the United States have also condemned CAIR. Sheik Muhammad Hisham Kabbani of the Islamic Supreme Council of America (ISCA) denounced CAIR, saying: “There are many Muslim organizations that claim to speak on behalf of the Muslim community but that in reality are not moderate, but extremist.”

Seif Ashmawy, an Egyptian Muslim and peace activist, who published the “Voice of Peace” newsletter about Muslim affairs, said: “It is a known fact that [CAIR has] defended, apologized for, and rationalized the actions of extremists groups … The real challenge for moderates like myself is to prevent my Muslim brethren from [being] deceived by extremist groups that pretend to represent their interests.”

Steven Pomerantz, former FBI assistant director and chief of the FBI’s counter-terrorism section, once charged that CAIR’s activities “effectively give aid to international terrorist groups.” Other American Muslim leaders have raised questions about their possible alliances with radical groups, and many academics are disturbed by the groups’ prominence.

The Wikipedia article goes on to list various members of CAIR charged or convicted of terrorist-related crimes.

Which is more “insulting” to a religion: that its founding prophet be honored as a law-giver in artwork at the Supreme Court or that some of its followers engage in terrorism while a disturbingly large minority of others cheer them on and lend support whenever possible?

This entry was posted on Saturday, February 18th, 2006 at 8:36 am and is filed under Islam, Global War on Terror. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.