Maryam Namazie

Maryam Namazie is a political activist, campaigner and blogger

More from the marketplace of outrage

Sikhs offended by Jay Leno’s comments have filed a lawsuit against him for his ‘racist’ comments. His crime? He made a joke about the US Presidential candidate’s wealth, saying that the Sikh Golden Temple was Romney’s summer home.

In an ironic turn of events, the Ahmadiyyas who were so outraged by the Jesus and Mo cartoon and ‘politely’ requested that the UCL atheist group remove it from their Facebook page have now in turn been told by the Kirklees Muslim Action Committee that they have no right to put on an exhibition about the Qur’an, as they ‘are not even Muslims’. Despite causing offence, the Ahmadiyyas say: ‘We believe the Holy Qur’an is our holy book and we hope to show it to the public.’ The exhibition has been postponed on police advice.

And so the saga continues…

In Kenan Malik’s interview with author Monica Ali for his book From Fatwa to Jihad, Ali says:

What we have developed today is a marketplace of outrage. And if you set up a marketplace of outrage you have to expect everyone to enter it. Everyone now wants to say, “My feelings are more hurt than yours”.

And that my dear friends is why not causing offence is NOT a principle.

(Ahmadiyya link via Sigmund; Harry’s Place link via Adam Barnett)

Comments

14 responses to “More from the marketplace of outrage”

  1. echidna Avatar
    echidna

    It’s not about offense. It’s about the power to control other people’s actions.

    Reply
  2. Rob Avatar
    Rob

    Maybe someone should start a satirical cartoon about Sikhs, to help them recalibrate their sense of outrage.

    Better not do it from the UK though. Even if they don’t sue you for libel in a London court, the FBI will be able to extradite you.

    Reply
    1. hm Avatar
      hm

      It’s not every Sikh that disagrees with the joke. Like other religions, its the fundies and their buddies making a fuss. Speaking as someone who is nominally Sikh when to be.

      I thought the image conveyed the idea that leno was going for really well.

      Reply
  3. F Avatar
    F

    Now might good be a good occasion for the relevant organizations, like onelawforall.org.uk, to issue a statement in support of the Ahmadiyya Qur’an exhibition. Just to demonstrate to them how this works.

    Reply
    1. Maryam Namazie Avatar
      Maryam Namazie

      no a bad idea. when I get back from sheffield

      Reply
    2. Martyn N Hughes Avatar
      Martyn N Hughes

      That is an awesome suggestion ‘F’.

      Reply
    3. piero Avatar
      piero

      A brilliant suggestion indeed. I should have thought of that, and it worries me that I didn’t. When I read the news I scoffed and thought to myself: “Now these morons are fighting each other”. It never occurred to me that free speech was really at stake, and I’m deeply ashamed.

      Reply
      1. F Avatar
        F

        Well, no one actually tried to stop them, they merely protested and made statements. There may have been some threats.

        So their freedom of speech is not, AFAIK, officially at risk. There was just another group exercising their freedom of speech. I’m not overly surprised that this didn’t register as a high priority with people who are constantly dealing with real and present dangers to rights of others.

        If I had thought Ahmadiyya was truly threatened, I would have worded my post more strongly. Don’t shame yourself so harshly.

        Reply
  4. Mriana Avatar
    Mriana

    Give me a break! How in the world does anyone take offence over that? That’s just getting ridiculous.

    Reply
  5. geocatherder Avatar
    geocatherder

    My roommate used to play this back in the late ’70s, or so I remember. Correct me if I’m wrong. I’m old; memories merge.

    “cocaine…runnin’ all ’round my brain.”

    It seems appropriate given the storms Maryam describes. All these people who object to one art form (forum?) or another all have one characteristic in kind: the attitude of “don’t mess with MY world!” Other folks, other situations: cool, Man…

    News flash: it’s ALL our world, and those of you who insist on dragging into it fundamentalist Islam, fundamentalist Christianity, or any other religion which you’re sure is the Only One For Everyone: you’re the problem, not the solution.

    Reply
  6. JetClarke Avatar
    JetClarke

    Ooo, so the ‘No True Christian’ expands to ‘No True Muslim’ huh. Not a surprise. Religious people can always choose to play the ‘holier than thou’ card.

    Reply
  7. Martyn N Hughes Avatar
    Martyn N Hughes

    Oh dear…

    This is becoming like a sitcom.

    Who needs ‘Absolutely fabulous’ with this ongoing?

    Reply
    1. Winterwind Avatar
      Winterwind

      They should do a remake of Absolutely Fabulous, set in India, called Absolutely Fatwa-less.

      Emmy (Emira) Mansoor and Pinky Khan are a couple of hard drinking, hard partying, fashion-obsessed ex-Muslim babes who drive around India gatecrashing temples, mosques, churches and gurudwaras, and drinking vodka until they pass out and lie in puddles of their own vomit. When Ayatollah Khomeini issues a fatwa against them, they drive their Porsche through his front door, slap him around, shave his beard, and eventually drop him in a seedy red light district where he ends up fulfilling his lifelong dream of becoming a crossdressing exotic dancer.

      Other characters include Emira’s boring and responsible daughter Sakina, who tries to curb her mother’s wild lifestyle, Emira’s ex-husband Jamil, who divorced her in order to move in with his Catholic priest boyfriend, and Mitt Romney, who buys the Golden Temple and converts it into a multi-storey stable for his harem of Mormon wives.

      Come on, the show would practically write itself!

      Reply
  8. Ophelia Benson Avatar
    Ophelia Benson

    Oh good god…

    It’s as if there’s a global contest for Who Can Act The Most Stooopid.

    Reply

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