Islam, the cartoon

The Koran prohibits any depiction of Mohammed. That's fine. But no document can replace debate, and radical islamists are going to have to learn that debate and interrogation of narratives is the mode of operation here in Rationalityland^TM. That's why I completely support blowing up people's conceptions of the sanctity of religion with that social explosive,

humor.

Scantron linked to this Danish cartoon thing, saying that this was the "limit" of "Middle Eastern skepticism and joking". The problem with thinking about this as a Middle-Eastern issue is that Islam purports to be the absolute truth--everywhere. Therefore, if we are to respect it as an idea, we must confront it as we do any other idea. Thus: Go ahead, convert me if you wish. But I won't submit (to Allah) easily. Indeed, I will fight you with the part of me, my reason, which is most opposed to any religion.
How does this cartoon do that? The truth is that this cartoon has nothing to do with the way Islam is practiced by most. Nor does the "War on Terrorism", nor does the "Clash of Civilizations". But those who will be most angered by this are those who are our greatest opponents. They are those who would have us accept words in a book over a system of reason that seeks to free itself from all mere words. And that is what it comes down to. Those who are angry at this depiction of Mohammed are the real idolators. It is not idolatry to depict someone; it is idolatry to worship that depiction. And when the words of the Koran, or any other holy book, are interpreted as literally as many interpret them, then they are idolizing this text instead of practicing true religion. How can religion be that which is above critique? Religion is critique--it espouses to be the truth, therefore critique is religion because critique, dialectic, and analysis are the practices that embody any true religious study.
My own religion is that of reason, freedom and knowledge. Thus the jihad I wage can only be the spiritual one that many claim Mohammed intended to recommend. I support vigorous, violent debate and the clash of the most sacred ideas so that we can find the kernels of truth that lay inside. This has an inner and outer component. Allow me to tell a story.
When I was in between 6th and 7th grade, I went to Blue Lake Band Camp in Michigan. It was pretty cool in general, except for one aspect of the experience: at some point during the two weeks someone found out that I was an atheist, and the eight other boys with whom I was rooming relentlessly ridiculed me as "fish-boy," the idiot kid who believed that human beings evolved from fish. It sucked, big time. The conflict even came to blows at one point, between me and some smaller kid who pretty much whooped me.
I used to hate Christians because of this experience. But I have since come to realize that Christians, besides being people, are also an excellent means of sharpening my intellectual knives. After coming back from band camp I remember trying to learn as much about evolution as possible. The information was not passed down to me from a preacher's podium, but I was able to learn from books. I'm glad I had to put this effort into learning, into verifying and developing the ideas in which I believed.
Perhaps you believe that this analogy doesn't apply to the current situation. That's fine. Then just look at the history Christianity, or Catholocism even. But the message remains the same:

To those who believe in some form of mass-produced, ideological Islam with blind faith, the increasing publication of the controversial Danish cartoons will be an incitement to anger and perhaps violence. On the other hand, for those who see Islam not merely as an ideology but a process of thought and intellectual exploration, the cartoons will be an incitement to study. If you are a partisan of the latter kind of Islam, you might feel threatened by these cartoons and the anti-Islam stance they appear to represent. Don't. Instead, fight back: show why Islam is not a reactionary, violent, fundamentalist religion. Show that it can be consistent with liberalism, consistent with the ability to ridicule and debate any and everything. Criticize the irrational aspects of Western society--the hypocrisy of Wealth-based Christianity, of self-indulgent and narcissistic academes, of limousine liberals, of gambling and carousing moralists, or of the economic system. Or descend into nihilism. But, whatever you do, don't get angry. Because you'll only get angrier and angrier......

In support of the Danish position, newspapers in France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland reprinted some of the cartoons on Wednesday. A small Norwegian evangelical magazine, Magazinet, also published the cartoons last month.

Islam, like every other part of every single culture with which the West has come into contact, will be ridiculed, analyzed, cut into pieces, smeared, blasphemed, shat upon and otherwise abused. But, if it's worth practicing at all, it will come out with its dead weight lost, leaner and meaner.