Lighten up Muslims,

The greatest thing we can do is laugh at ourselves.

All this over a cartoon for Allahs sake. I am sure Mohammed will be up there laughing too.

Did you hear the one about the priest on the golf course? A fundamental difference between Muslims and non muslims is the serious attitude to everything.

You Muslims are good people, you dont embrace the sinful pleasures we embrace, you are committed to eachother and i would love my future children to be role models like Hasim El Masri for instance.

The best way to make friends is to laugh. Barriers can be broken. get a muslim and a christian pointing a gun at eachother and make them both laugh, i guarantee their will be no shots fired.

Lighten up. Reply by putting a cartoon of Jesus doing something stupid, give us something to laugh at.

If all this is over a cartoon, the world is well and truly F#@$%d.

Irfan

Your article reflects honesty, decency and courage.
The best solution is to cut the cartoons.
I thought them sarcastic and of course sarcasm is the lowest form of wit.
The publishers and editors in the many sheep-like publications across the west could have applied a little decency, understanding and sensitivity.

Irfan
I have two questions of an historical nature, Around 900 years ago was the end of the caliphate? I've always looked at the period up until about 1100AD as truely enlightened. We in the west owe a great deal to the Muslims from that period for the knowledge transfered to us, for our number system and especially the concept of zero (We'd not be using computers without that) and our navigation systems. Hah there'd be no complaints about immigration :-). There was great tolerance and the various religions lived in relative harmony up to that point as well.
Was 1100AD the start of the not so light age?
I have an idea I read somewhere with the ending of the caliphate centralised control of the empire ended. The various 'provinces' in the Arab empire were then ruled by local leaders such as the one in Palistine.
Was the faith of Islam similarily decentralised at that point also?

There is no doubt that the cartoons are in poor taste, but then so are those who depict our Prime Minister [how come never Kim?]but a bit of satire never broke anyone's bones.
The over reaction would appear to come from the unintelligent mobs who have so little in their lives that this creates a bit of excitement, spurred on by those who want to make big trouble for the west.
Dr Ameer Ali, president of Australian Federation of Islamic councils said,"What is more important-to preserve the freedom of speech or to antagonise one fifth of humanity?"
In other words, the other four fifths of humanity had better shut their mouths.
Maybe all Muslims should be concentrating on improving their homelands, instead of living and complaining in the west. If your country is worth fighting for, you will fight. I know we will if our freedoms of speech or culture are threatened, we will fight.

Keith, "The publishers and editors in the many sheep-like publications across the west could have applied a little decency, understanding and sensitivity."

That would go equally as well for the sheep like muslims, would you not agree.

The Babylonians used a space as a placeholder for empty "columns" in 1700 BC. 1400 years later, they developed the first known symbol to stand for an empty place. It looked like YY.

It didn't stand for the number we know as "zero." and never used alone. The Mayans used a symbol for the number zero, independently of the Babylonians, sometime later. However the first records of the symbol we use for 0, is from Hindu writings from the late 9th century.

Muslims can improve their lot immensely by firstly, cultivating a sense of humour,and secondly by being more honest and open about the fundamentals of their religion.

They could start by absorbing the import of the material contained in the follwing reference.

http://www.wsfi.net/Documents/WHAT%20IS%20THE%20KORAN%20BY%20TOBY%20LESTER.HTM

Me thinks hell will freeze over before they have either the brains or understanding of how civilised societies should function, to do that.