Dr. Burke's Blog: Voices of Reason in an Age of Violence & Anti-Rationalism

Just as the Klu Klux Klan were never representative of 2 Billion Christians, despite the use of burning crosses, so rioting mobs do not represent 1 billion Muslims today. The vast majority of Muslims and Christians and Jews respect each others faith and recognise their common ancestry in the story of Abraham. The media do not always report the voices of reason. There is a link in this topic to at least two essay titles on the TOK list.

 Here is an extract from Dr Burke's excellent article on his blog. You can find the full article by clicking on the link below.

"BBC, CNN, Sky News, Fox News, MSNBC, Euro News and Al Jazeera all ran headline stories on the recent riots, violence and general mayhem seen across some of the Middle East, North Africa, West Asia and Australia after a former felon and obscure, unknown film maker produced a poorly made film insulting Islam and The Prophet Mohammed (Peace be Upon Him). It’s not difficult to assess genuine revulsion and authentic offence from the deliberate acts of cruelty and brutality perpetrated by opportunists who emerged out of the shadows of their own discontentment, to attack the West in general and the United States in particular, which in turn  led to the tragic deaths of the US Ambassador to Libya and several of his diplomatic colleagues. Yet, what I find disappointing and irritating from the news coverage in the West is the lack of balance and recognition given to the voices of reason, and the excessive over-reporting of irrationality, bloodshed, social carnage and savagery associated with the aftermath of this little known flick.

For example none of the major news broadcasters in the West paid any attention to the clear voice of reason in the personage of Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti,  Sheik Abdul-Aziz bin Abdullah Al Sheikh; the highest theological authority in the birthplace of Islam, Saudi Arabia. He denounced the attacks, and the violence and brutality associated with them outright, and said that attacks on embassies, diplomatic missions and their personnel are un-Islamic. He said that while the film is “miserable and criminal” in its portrayal of Islam and the Prophet (PBUH) it “is forbidden to punish the innocent for the wicked crimes of the guilty, or to attack those who have been granted protection of their lives and property, or to expose public buildings to fire or destruction…these are distortions of the Islamic religion and are not accepted by God.”

http://lawrenceburke.org/2012/09/16/voices-of-reason-in-an-age-of-violence-anti-rationalism/