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Locals react to anti-Muslim sketch

Communities in Prague and Brno respond with tolerance to inflammatory posters

By Markéta Hulpachová
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
June 11th, 2008 issue

MICHAEL HEITMANN/The Prague Post
Yosef Sharif, a Charles University postgraduate student from Libya, says his imam preaches open-mindedness and understanding.
HEATHER FAULKNER/The Prague Post
Munib Hassan Alrawi, director of the Brno Islamic Foundation, says education is key to tolerance.
Earlier this year, 17 Danish newspapers spurred a new wave of protests in the Muslim world by reprinting an infamous set of caricatures depicting the Prophet Muhammad. Intended to express solidarity and press freedom, the “blasphemous” cartoons did not go unnoticed by Islamic extremists.
An audio warning from Osama bin Laden appeared on the Internet in March, and an Al Qaeda operative claimed responsibility for a June 2 bombing that decimated the Danish Embassy in Islamabad as a warning against religious disrespect.    
Meanwhile, an unknown group of locals took to the streets of Brno and Prague, plastering reprints of the cartoons and other anti-Islamic fliers near the hubs of the cities’ Islamic communities.
In March, the anonymous distributors spread dozens of fliers depicting Muhammed with an ignited bomb instead of a turban near Brno mosques, prompting a critical reaction from the Foreign Affairs Ministry.
“In his time, the Prophet Muhammad did not know what a bomb was. It’s sheer mockery,” said Foreign Affairs Minister Karel Schwarzenberg. “In my opinion, such posters are an expression of intolerance and aggression. I consider it a sad truth that something like this has appeared in the Czech nation. It has nothing to do with freedom of speech.”
When the following criminal investigation failed to identify the perpetrator, Brno police were forced to shelve the case. “Finding out who pasted up these fliers is extremely difficult,” Brno police spokeswoman Andrea Procházková said in a March 20 statement.
After a two-month hiatus, the posters began appearing near Prague mosques May 31. Aside from the turban bomb posters copied from Danish newspapers, the newest fliers include the distributor’s own renderings: They depict Muhammad as a devil-horned pedophile.
All of the posters are emblazoned with the caption “May be provocative, but the freedom of speech is still more important!” and include the address of an unfinished Web site that lists links to anti-Islamic films including Fitna, a 15-minute interpretation of violent passages in the Koran by right-wing Dutch deputy Geert Wilders.
On the Web site, the anonymous author compares Islam to a “dormant volcano.”
“If it has a small role in the society, like in the Czech Republic, it can even seem like a problem-free religion. But that doesn’t mean it’s not dangerous,” the author wrote. “In some parts of the Euro-Atlantic civilization, the rough and reproachable aspects of radical Islam are already evident.”
Peaceful teachings
Despite such comments, local Muslims remain steadfastly placid. When asked about the inflammatory posters that recently appeared in the city, Yosef Sharif, a Charles University postgraduate student and Muslim from Libya, merely shrugged and smiled.
“We don’t feel a problem with anybody,” he said, shortly after emerging from Friday prayer at the Islamic Cultural Center in Prague. “Here, the community is not as big as in Germany and France. … Our imam persuades us not to make any crazy comments, to be open-minded and understanding.”
Inside the mosque, the imam himself reiterated Sharif’s pacifist outlook.
Eleven years after founding the Prague Islamic Cultural Center, he emphasized the importance of secularity and requested that his name not be published to avoid the politicizing of his statements.
“I discourage any demonstrations or protests against [the caricatures],” he said. “Muslims here prefer to be patient and not to cause any problems for authorities, who are friendly. Any problem may endanger the government’s supportive attitude.”
By urging moderation and discouraging displays of conservative Islam such as “long beards, long robes and big yellow hats,” the imam advises local Muslims to adapt to Czech society.
“In some countries, there may be radical Muslims. They stage protests and irritate lots of people, but this is not our way,” he said. “Muslims do not follow politics. They do not follow political aims by using religion.”
Instead of inciting protests, local Muslims should deal with the caricatures’ distributors in a peaceful manner, he said.
“This group could not harm the attitude toward Muslims, because the majority of people understand that this is wrong,” he said. “It’s nothing new — the Prophet Muhammad was also harassed in his time, but he was patient. We should learn from the prophet to forgive these people, because he did the same.”
To prevent the spread of intolerance, Munib Hassan Alrawi, director of the Brno Islamic Foundation, encourages openness and education.
“When a Czech person receives enough information about Islam, his attitude usually becomes completely different,” he said.
Miroslav Mareš, an expert on political and religious extremism from the Masaryk University in Brno, said the moderate nature of the local Muslim community — which is relatively small in comparison with France, Germany or Holland — was partly strategic.
“It is true that a majority of local Muslims are secular. They tend to distance themselves from anyone with a more dogmatic approach to Islam,” he said. “They do not want to upset their social position here.”
Unlike the resident Muslims who view the Czechs as tolerant and understanding, Mareš expressed reservations about local attitudes toward Islam.
In recent years, citizens signed petitions against the construction of mosques in Czech towns like Orlová in north Moravia or Teplice, north Bohemia, he said.
“As long as the community is small, it won’t create any conflict,” he said. “But, if it became larger, the Czechs would see it as a problem, even if [the Muslims] remain peaceful.”

Markéta Hulpachová can be reached at mhulpachova@praguepost.com


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Reader's comments:

add your comment
[21:54 12/06/2008] : This article clearly shows how deep Islamophobia is ingrained in society.
No matter what Muslims do or say, they are put through a microscopic analysis.
Being a Muslim, I like the Czech Republic and its peaceful nature of common people.
But this article has made me worried about my surroundings that I feel I'm part of.
At least this article has achieved creating a seed of a sense of fear among Muslims... Thanks for this.
Ahsan Aslam
Rakovnik
[10:08 13/06/2008] : I think this article misses the point. Yes, most Muslims are peaceful and good people, just as most secularly minded or Christian people are. That is not debatable in our modern age.
This article is based on whether or not pictures of Muhammed, in any form, should be displayable. Personally, I do not care if it is Jesus, Muhammed, Sponge Bob Square Pants, or Mother Theresa with a bomb on his or her head.
The fact is that it is freedom of speech. The people posting cartoons all over Prague apparently understand the concept of freedom of speech and the very fact that the Czech police were hunting them for months proves that Europeans are being denied such freedom. If I post one of these cartoons on the roof of my house here in America, no policeman could force me to take it down. If they did, I would sue them for so much money that I would own all of Las Vegas. This is because free nations are based on the principle of unbridled expression.
I know little about Foreign Affairs Minister Karel Schwarzenberg, but his saying that the posters had little do with freedom of speech is simply wrong. Mr. Schwarzenberg is surely playing politics and must be careful to not offend nations dealing with the Czech Republic. Because of his position, his statement must be forgotten. He is not able to point out the truth of the matter, which is that Czechs should be able to say or draw what they wish in their own nation.
Granted, the police might be hunting the poster hangers because of the vandalism aspect. In this case, please do arrest them. Their message of free speech should be respected however. No legal action should come about on that accord.
I personally do not agree with the posters' message, but they have every right to express it in private places wishing to let them or in public forums. Any push by the Czech government to abridge that right would be a flashback to worse times.
Bryan Moody
Las Vegas
[12:41 13/06/2008] : I would certainly agree with the comments from Bryan Moody. But more needs to be said. In every Muslim country, we have enormous persecution of Christian and other minorities taking place and it is clear to any blind and dumb person that the Qu'ran is based on hatred and violence to say the least.
In every Muslim country, this hatred and violence is practiced.
Olaf Raske
Mangawhai
[17:43 13/06/2008] : "Foreign Affairs Minister Karel Schwarzenberg.
"In my opinion, such posters are an expression of intolerance and aggression. ... It has nothing to do with freedom of speech."

So sad that a government official does not understand FREEDOM OF SPEECH. Maybe he is longing for the days of communism.
Richard Elliot
Charlotte
[18:52 13/06/2008] : See what did I mean........NO MATTER WHAT>>>
Ahsan Aslam
Rakovnik
[07:06 14/06/2008] : >>If I post one of these cartoons on the roof of my house here in America, no policeman could force me to take it down.

Try doing something "anti-semitic" in America and see how long you last.
Peter Andrews
Prague
[18:20 14/06/2008] : Freedom of speech as absolute and universal right is encompassed in the U.S. Constitution only. All other countries attach a "but" or other qualifiers limiting the freedom of speech to whatever the ruling elite are willing to tolerate at a given time.
Thomas Infidel
New Orleans
[19:24 14/06/2008] : The author of the article rightly notes how, when interviewed, local Muslims have shown a rather moderate reaction.
On the other hand, why would they react differently? The government is already curbing the freedom of expression for them. Last month, the police started a criminal investigation against those who published Fitna on the Internet.
The Czech Republic looks more and more like an Islamic state (= prosecution for those who criticize Islam or Muslims), despite the relatively low percentage of Muslims who live there.
Anyway the author "forgets" to mention that only two years ago, an imam from a Prague mosque was caught on (hidden) camera saying that the ultimate goal for Muslims in the Czech Republic was to establish an Islamic state with sharia law (reported in Czech TV), look at Prague Post of March 2006.
Stephan Scacchi
Brussel
[03:33 22/06/2008] : My last comment, "I personally do not agree with the posters' message, but they have every right to express it in private places wishing to let them or in public forums," is the best lesson we should all draw from this.
Ahsan Aslam, if you still follow these posts, I have some questions for you.

1. What do you think about freedom of speech? Do you think people should have the right to say whatever they want to?

2. If you feel qualified to answer, how does the Czech Muslim community feel about freedom of speech?

3. How important is freedom of speech to democracy and what negative impacts are there to limiting speech? What positive impacts?

I hope these questions are fair and not too numerous for you. Feel free to send responses or questions my way as well.
Bryan Moody
Las Vegas
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