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Volume 71, Issue 97,
Friday, February 24, 2006
News Students react to Muhammad cartoons Director of Lutheran Campus Ministry views outrage as chance for interfaith dialogue by KATY UMAÑA
After weeks of controversy surrounding the cartoons published by a Danish newspaper portraying the prophet Muhammad, UH students are forming opinions about the situation. "It doesn't make any sense to burn down a Danish embassy for what an independent paper in Denmark did. It makes no sense at all," Brian Nelson, political science senior, said. Kurt Niebuhr, director of Lutheran Campus Ministry, said he was unfamiliar with the context in which the cartoons were first published. He said Muslim leaders, who have openly denounced violent reaction to the caricatures, should continue to inform the public about Islam. He said the continuing coverage of the cartoons is hindering open discussions between people of different faiths. "As a Christian, I believe that all faiths should be able to express their beliefs openly and that there should be respect involved in trying to understand what other faiths, what all faiths, really are talking about," Niebuhr said. Two student editors from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign were suspended last week following their decision to reprint six of the 12 Mohammad cartoons in their student-run newspaper. The students said they chose to publish the cartoons to inform students about their content. "If it's a student-run paper, I don't think the school administration should have sanctioned or took disciplinary action to the students who are in the paper, because that's their job," Nelson said. "If you want insight, don't have (the newspaper) student-run. Maybe you should have an instructor there to oversee." But not all students see the issues as being clear-cut. "Printing them is a good idea to educate people. (The cartoon) doesn't necessarily reflect the views of the editors or the people in charge of the newspapers," biology senior Sheila Lescokelayeh said. "But yet again it would be pretty offensive. If I were a Muslim, I would be offended," Lescokelayeh said, "if people kept reprinting these cartoons that offended me to begin with. It's a two-sided issue; it depends on what side you're on." Lescokelayeh said she does not completely understand the situation behind the cartoons' purpose and does not know the intention of the cartoonists when they depicted the prophet Muhammad. Lescokelayeh said the riots that occurred as a result of the cartoons were an inappropriate response because of the deaths caused. Niebuhr said students should utilize campus resources such as the A.D. Bruce Religion Center to educate themselves and avoid republishing inflammatory statements. "There needs to be places -- and the Religion Center has sometimes served as a place like that -- where open discussions can take place between peoples of different faiths," Niebuhr said. "I would like to see that continue. I don't necessarily know that the publishing of these cartoons is in anyway helping that to take place." Send comments to dcnews@mail.uh.edu |
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