AGAINST "Everybody Draw Muhammad Day"

This truly makes me sick. Apparently, all of this began when Comedy Central censored a depiction of the Prophet Muhammad that aired on South Park several months ago, and it stirred controversy over issues of censorship, political correctness, freedom of speech, etc.

Cartoonist Molly Norris subsequently created "Everybody Draw Muhammad Day", which is scheduled for tomorrow as a protest against Islamic extremism and censorship in general. While Islamic extremism is inarguably a dire issue, this type of tactless, disrespectful, and overall ignorant response is simply appalling to me. Depictions of the Prophet Muhammad are forbidden in Islam. Do people truly believe that by insulting a fundamentally peaceful religion practiced by millions of law-abiding citizens worldwide they are somehow going to aid in the fight against extremism?

I think it would serve the American public well to take a look at history. Plural societies existed in peace under Islamic rule for centuries in both the Abbasid and the Ottoman Empires, to name two. (FYI: the Ottoman Empire survived from the 12th through the 20th century. Makes the American Empire look a little puny, huh?). Islam teaches respect for all who believe in God, and Christians, Jews, and Muslims were once able to live in harmony because they UNDERSTOOD and RESPECTED each other. They blended their cultures and ideals, creating a beautiful tapestry of coexistence that gave us some of the most influential scientific, artistic, and literary achievements.

I'm not trying to say that these societies were perfect, but they were much closer to "world peace" than we are. I understand the argument that Islamic groups oftentimes do not treat America (Christianity, or what have you) with respect, but answering fire with fire has never really solved any problems, has it? It just burns the whole damn house down, and unlike popular media opinion, we all used to live quite comfortably in this house together before the Church of Nationalism and Imperialism decided that it wanted to pin us all against each other.

I understand freedom of speech, and although I'd never argue that people shouldn't have the right to draw a picture of Muhammad, that freedom can be used for good or it can be used for evil. You can cover it with all the jargon you want, but "Everybody Draw Muhammad Day" is meant to offend Muslims, and to me, that's a show of some Americans' ignorance and arrogance if I've ever seen one.