Two-faced Protest

A gentleman by the name of Omar Khayam was seen to apologise for his behaviour on the day of the demonstration at the Danish Embassy in London. He was seen dressed in a garb which represented a suicide bomber, with pockets strapped to his body as if they contained explosives. His apology was full and complete. He acknowledged the hurt he had given to relatives of the victims of the London bombings. He even acknowledged that his fellow Muslims would be offended by his actions. Unfortunately for him he was on parole from a six-year prison sentence on drugs offences. Now I am the first to defend any Muslim who is truly offended by the unwitting actions and statements of people who do not know what offends them. They have a right - indeed a duty - to point out the offence and demand an apology. But Mr Khayam cannot be numbered among them. If he has been dealing in drugs he has probably contributed to the long, slow, lingering deaths of many more than those who died in the London bombings of July 2005. The major difference here is that suicide bombers go out to kill and maim as a statement of their faith whereas drug dealers don't give a damn about who suffers and dies because they're only in it for the money. This does not excuse any suicide bomber or terrorist because to me human life is the most precious thing and most religions teach that this is so.
Mr Khayam has now been returned to prison for breach of his parole licence. I hope his apology was sincere. But more than that, I hope he has realised that the misery he has caused to many people by helping the drugs peddlers to keep their grip on people is just as sinful as any murder or suicide bombing - or even any blasphemous cartoon. God, Allah - call him what you will - would surely not condone such behaviour.
Search the internet. You will find many instances of Jesus being villified in various cartoons - whether they be in Western or Muslim publications. I am not giving this as a justification for the Danish newspaper which originally published the offending cartoons but - in the world in which we live - faith must prevail above criticism. Love of your God should surely overcome your critics. True faith should not be diverted or perverted by the criticism of mere man. If you really believe in your God - whichever one you believe in - you can rise above the mere statements and villification of mankind.