During the past week, Saint Louis University has taken an increased interest in the recent public issue concerning the 12 political cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, the founder of Islam, that were printed in a Danish newspaper, and the violent reactions and rioting they caused across the Muslim world. “A drawn image of Muhammad in a turban, with a bomb in that turban, is not a message made simply to be funny- It is a message that every Muslim is a terrorist. And many in the Western have never seen a Muslim, and could easily believe this,” said Imam M. Nar Abdullah, the leader of the West County Mosque of St. Louis. Abdullah was a guest speaker last Thursday, Feb. 16, hosted by the Muslim Student Association. Abdullah brought a Muslim perspective to violent reactions by many Muslim extremists. “In no way does Islam condone or allow violence. Justice is the foundation of Islam; even with my enemies I cannot act injustly,” he said. One of the biggest debates over this issue is whether the angry reaction has been primarily caused by the offense taken at the rude cartoons, or the violation of Islamic law stating that depictions cannot be created of Muhammad. “There is no specific verse in the Quran that says to not draw a like God or Prophet, there are differences in these rules between groups,” Abdullah said. “But if someone disagrees, you cannot force your opinion on them; that is why we have freedom of speech.” Terry Dempsey, S.J., the director of SLU’s Museum of Contemporary Religious Art, said, “For those traditions where a representation of a holy figure is forbidden, it is doubly offensive, for believers, if the figure is rendered in an offensive manner.” The day before, Dempsey had appeared on PBS on a discussion of the use of religious imagery. “Fear of ideology is not so much at the heart of this, but instead the fear of mocking the key person in one’s religion, who one holds dear,” Dempsey said. “It really is a clash of cultures, and it’s important for us to realize the complexity of the people who make up the Muhammad-worshiping community, because it is as diverse as the Christian community is.” Abdullah agreed with the divide between cultures. “We need to have more communication, more interactions between cultures. The future of this country must be open minded, because we will always have to live with people who are different from us politically, socially, or economically, and have to deal with them,” he said. Dempsey said, “it’s a very complex situation, but I do think in the west our place is to use a measure of common sense, and a greater sensitivity in our discussions of things that are so inflammatory.” The idea of personal responsibility was stressed, especially when rioters are now calling for increased censorship in the future. “It is not that freedom of speech should be taken away. Everyone has to make a personal choice; this was hardly more than a case of poor judgment,” said Abdullah. Two years ago, MOCRA held an exhibit of Jewish ceremonial pieces. During the opening of this exhibit, a number of religious leaders were present to speak about their own religious ceremonies and the part played by certain objects. “The Muslim speaker, especially, invoked such an interesting dialogue, by showing that there were so many similarities and overlaps between religions – the people were thrilled [by this program],” said Dempsey. “And that is the kind of thing we need.”