Brothers under the skin

Andrew Sullivan, high-profile political blogger, makes a point that few people would: the Muslims rampaging over those "evil cartoons" and some Christians have a strong family resemblence: "In the end, the real fundamentalists are on the same side."

It's the side that says religious "truth" is more important than your or my freedoms.

Consider, for instance, this Canadian Muslim leader's attack on free speech.

And, Imam Syed Soharwardy, president of the Islamic Supreme Council of Canada, says he's thankful the kinds of cruel caricatures of his faith's Prophet Muhammad -- which have now run in several European papers -- would likely never be printed in this country.

It doesn't say which Muslim country he comes from, but whichever one it is, I'm sure that its newspapers are under the government's thumb. And he is happy that Canada is heading in the same direction! Can't have any of this dangerous "freedom of the press" stuff! (Brad Hicks has the right idea.)

What can we Pagans do? Stay vigilant and Buy Danish. And toss some Norwegian sardine in the shopping cart too.

During the first week of my rhetoric class I point out that our Western version of rhetoric arose in the same cultural milieu that gave us an admittedly limited democracy--classical Athens. Once the concept had been given a name, it had a life. Classical Athens, I muse aloud, was a polytheistic society where there was no Holy Book to settle all disagreements; consequently, they had to be threshed out by the contending parties in court. I cannot imagine a monotheistic, theocratic society producing democracy as we uphold it.

UPDATE: Another Web site with "Buy Danish" suggestions.

Tags: Islam, Theocracy, Denmark, Norway