TA’INT FUNNY, McGEE. I’m the last person who enjoys thinking that we are presently “engaged” with the “Muslim world” in a “clash of civilizations”. But the current brouhaha regarding the European newspaper cartoons satirizing the Prophet over the past 3 months does give me pause. In the past week, people have lost their lives and there has been significant property damage over what appears to be a differing value system and different ways of thinking. But again, this is not to say that every (or even most) Muslims are a part of this value system and way of thinking. And I hope that Muslims don’t think that all non-Muslim Americans\/Europeans enjoy such humor. I for one don’t think that the joke about Muhammad halting the parade of terrorists entering heaven because they have run out of virgins is particularly amusing. It certainly is rather insensitive, even if the “virgins in paradise” story is more a part of cultural folklore than a central religious tenant of Islam. <\/p>\n
I’ve read articles saying that many Muslims don’t like the freewheeling, “anything goes” forms of popular entertainment available in America and Europe. Personally, I don’t always like them either. Take Howard Stern — I just don’t get his humor. Ever since Andrew Dice Clay, American comedy seems locked into a race to the bottom. The local paper today had an article about a local policeman here in northern New Jersey who moonlights as a comedian. His stage name is “Club Soda Kenny”. Club Soda has been getting increased exposure lately, making it to the Anthony and Opie radio show. But like many other American comedians, he’s working his way up by going low. According to the paper, his routine includes a story about raping a bride on her wedding day, and about his molesting his 5 year old son (hypothetically, I hope). <\/p>\n
Yes, I would agree with the ACLU that democracy requires allowing such distasteful ventures even on the part of important civil servants (and I think that police are important civil servants — at least when they live up to it). But I do regard the conservative notion that such continued lack of virtue on the part of those who should be role models for our youth does not do our society much good.<\/p>\n
But as to fundamentalist Muslim culture (again, not covering all Muslims, probably not even most Muslims here in the USA), I can’t say that I understand their humor. I’m not sure that we could laugh at the same things. So I did a Google on the subject, and I found a nice-enough looking Islamic-oriented web site that had a discussion on the topic, seemingly meant for non-Islamic types like me. The site goes by the name www.IslamicWisdom.com, although it exists on the talkislam.com site. It doesn’t seem like a jihadist or Wahabbist site. It seems devout but family-oriented.<\/p>\n
Anyway, it has a link to an article entitled “The Muslim Has a Sense of Humor”. But when you click the link, you get a “NOT FOUND” message. Hmmmm, is that a meta-joke in itself, or just an irony? Hard to tell. There are also some humorous pictures relating to Islamic culture, which you can send as an e-card. In putting your e-card together, you can select a witty “poem” to add to it. But the wit isn’t entirely innocent. Here is a sample of one of the available poems:<\/p>\n
The Inter-Faith Discussion <\/p>\n
Rabbi Moishe, Joe Christian and Mullah Nasruddin were having a discussion about who was the most religious.<\/p>\n
“I was riding my camel in the middle of the Sahara,” exclaimed Mullah Nasruddin. “Suddenly a fierce sandstorm appeared from nowhere. I truly thought my end had come as I lay next to my camel while we being buried deeper and deeper under the sand. But I did not lose my faith in the Almighty Allah, I prayed and prayed and suddenly all around me, the storm started to die out. Since that day I am a devout Muslim and am now learning to recite the Quran by memory.”<\/p>\n
“One day while fishing,” started Joe Christian, “I was in my little dinghy in the middle of the ocean. Suddenly a fierce storm appeared from nowhere. I truly thought my end had come as my little dinghy was tossed up and down in the rough ocean. But I did not lose my faith in Jesus Christ, I prayed and prayed and suddenly the storm started to die out. Since that day I am a devout Christian and am now teaching young children about Him.”<\/p>\n
“One day I was walking down the road,” explained Rabbi Moishe, “I was in my most expensive designer outfit in the middle of New York city. Suddenly I saw a black bag on the ground in front . I put my hand inside and found a million dollars in cash. I truly thought my end had come as it was a Saturday and we are not allowed to handle money on Saturdays. But I did not lose my faith in Jehovah, I prayed for what seemed like many hours, and suddenly I realized it was Sunday!”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Look, I don’t mean to be inflammatory here, but that joke seems to exploit a brand of ethno-religious stereotyping just as negative as a drawing of an angry mullah with a burning-fuse turban. The scary thing is that this wasn’t from a rabid anti-Zionist site. The anti-Semitic remark seems fairly off-the-cuff; it probably wasn’t intended to be hurtful. But that’s all the more troublesome. It appears to have come from the subconscious, quietly inherited from ancestors and elders.<\/p>\n
I know that there are humorous Muslims, and I can accept that there is true humor in cultural Islam. But as to patience with unsaintly humor, and the ability to see one’s own unsaintliness . . . . perhaps we all need to work on those things.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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