Cartoon Controversy, Part II

The violence raging on over the cartoon controversy is becoming increasingly distrubing. Theories on its origins range from a conspiracy fueled by the Saudi family's desire to cover up the pilgrimage disaster to Europeans deliberately egging on the Muslim community out of spite. No matter what is going on, the chasm between the West and the Middle East only deepens. We must beg our leaders to work harder to build an understanding and put it stop to it - starting with building ties with our local Muslim communities in the West, and ending the Iraq War. Leaving the responsibility up to Muslims in the Middle East, however, is doing us no good.

Here is my letter to the San Diego Union Tribune:

I'm normally sympathetic to the plight of Muslims in Europe and around the world, but this outrage has exploded far beyond the range of reasonable behavior. What if Christians and Jews violently bombed buildings every time caricatures of Jesus or HaShem were displayed in publications?

The Muslims who are protesting don't seem to understand that every culture and religion endure the masses poking fun at them once in a while, and that one group in the free world doesn't get to decide what is blasphemous and what isn't.

HEIDI SCHNAKENBERG
San Diego