First off, the followers of the prophet don't call themselves Muhammedans, they call themselves Muslims. And that's because Muhammad is not a god but just a prophet - one among many.
That's only part of the issue. Muslims call themselves Muslims because the central idea of Islam is submission to God, and Mohammedean was never used by the Prophet, so it'd be a bit like saying "Mosesian". Not only is it not a concept to believers, it just sounds weird.
In all the above mentioned scandals and conflicts there's one thing present - the free expression of opinions and positions. The protesters themselves (whether they're waving stupid cartoons or making shitty punk music against Putin), are not infringing on anybody's right to believe in this supernatural invisible friend or the other, they're not insisting on political repressions against the believers, and certainly not on banning any faith.
The main issue with cartoons of Mohammed is that Sunni Muslims believe that depictions of any of the prophets, but especially the Prophet, encourage iconography and so should be banned. This has led to images of Mohammed being seen as offensive by Sunni Muslims. Add to that the offensiveness of any religious cartoons and you have a hotbed of contention.
That right wing group in Germany was Bürgerbewegung pro Deutschland (Pro Germany Citizen's Movement) and they were displaying the cartoons that caused the Jyllands-Posten controversy in 2005 along with signs saying "Stop Islamisierung" (Stop Islamization). Pro Deutschland is xenophobic and anti-Semitic, is currently petitioning for Turkey not to be given membership in the EU (http://www.pro-deutschland-online.de/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12&Itemid=27), is working to get "Innocence of Muslims" shown in Berlin (http://www.pro-berlin.net/?p=4837), and enjoys making signature protests to stop the erection of mosques. Pro Deutschland is actively working to get rid of Muslims and Turks in Germany. They could probably have put just about anything on those signs and it would still be seen as offensive, since Pro Deutschland is little more than a sanitized version of the KKK. Of course, as the courts have shown, this isn't considered an attack, just free speech. But it's still as offensive as anything coming from the Westboro Baptist Church.
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Date: 16/9/12 00:29 (UTC)That's only part of the issue. Muslims call themselves Muslims because the central idea of Islam is submission to God, and Mohammedean was never used by the Prophet, so it'd be a bit like saying "Mosesian". Not only is it not a concept to believers, it just sounds weird.
In all the above mentioned scandals and conflicts there's one thing present - the free expression of opinions and positions. The protesters themselves (whether they're waving stupid cartoons or making shitty punk music against Putin), are not infringing on anybody's right to believe in this supernatural invisible friend or the other, they're not insisting on political repressions against the believers, and certainly not on banning any faith.
The main issue with cartoons of Mohammed is that Sunni Muslims believe that depictions of any of the prophets, but especially the Prophet, encourage iconography and so should be banned. This has led to images of Mohammed being seen as offensive by Sunni Muslims. Add to that the offensiveness of any religious cartoons and you have a hotbed of contention.
That right wing group in Germany was Bürgerbewegung pro Deutschland (Pro Germany Citizen's Movement) and they were displaying the cartoons that caused the Jyllands-Posten controversy in 2005 along with signs saying "Stop Islamisierung" (Stop Islamization). Pro Deutschland is xenophobic and anti-Semitic, is currently petitioning for Turkey not to be given membership in the EU (http://www.pro-deutschland-online.de/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12&Itemid=27), is working to get "Innocence of Muslims" shown in Berlin (http://www.pro-berlin.net/?p=4837), and enjoys making signature protests to stop the erection of mosques. Pro Deutschland is actively working to get rid of Muslims and Turks in Germany. They could probably have put just about anything on those signs and it would still be seen as offensive, since Pro Deutschland is little more than a sanitized version of the KKK. Of course, as the courts have shown, this isn't considered an attack, just free speech. But it's still as offensive as anything coming from the Westboro Baptist Church.