Quite the buzz recently over the cartoon depicting Tony Blair getting baptized in a feces filled Jordan River.
I saw it, I wasn’t offended. If he had depicted Jesus Christ, then ‘offend’ would be the word.
But I wasn’t neutral either, on three points from his clarification.
From the Jordan Times:
“The item stressed that the drawing “did not intend to insult holy Christian symbols, but it aimed to defend these symbols, elevate their position and protect them”.
Hajjaj said he sought to criticise the government for “polluting the water” at the Baptism Site and highlight what he described as Blair’s “war crimes” when Britain took part in the US-led war on Iraq in 2003.
He also said critics misunderstood the cartoon and judged it in an “unfair” manner, noting that he wanted to “defend this holy site to which Christian pilgrims are being invited and sold bottles of holy water”.
Hajjaj said he was forced to avoid religious themes after 9/11 because people had become “overly sensitive” about these issues.
“I used to draw Muslim sheikhs, but now I think a thousand times before doing a cartoon related to religion… I’ve become afraid of religion,” Hajjaj told The Jordan Times yesterday.”
Not many people in his position intend to insult, but it happens anyway. I wasn’t insulted, but I thought it showed poor judgement, lack of understanding of baptism’s significance and lack of understanding of how Christians already feel marginalized. All he had to do was run it by a Christian friend or two and he would have heard the alternative opinion.
*One doesn’t defend a holy sacrament by depicting it in a cesspool, no matter who caused the condition.
*One doesn’t protect a symbol by having the one performing it being a despised leader of a foreign power.
*One doesn’t elevate a precious statement of faith by reducing it to visual depiction of a political issue like water.
That said, I appreciate his effort to connect with a concern of Christians, and the understanding he does have of how awful it would be to be baptized in sewer water.
I am quite fond of Mahjoob’s work, he has an incredible ability to describe a problem in one frame. I don’t think Christians helped by calling for a boycott of his art or the papers that carried it. That seems to me to be a knee-jerk reaction that doesn’t help Imad Hajjaj understand where the feelings come from, and will not likely encourage more positive depictions in the future.
Everyone makes mistakes. Let’s own them and move on, continuing to seek understanding. By all means, delete that Facebook group. Mahjoob is on our side.
What about the “Oh dear lord..! YES! YES! I believe! I believe!”
I’m not boycotting anything but what’s with that ?
Shmal, in my understanding, that is the precious statement of faith that was not elevated, but demeaned, by attaching a political connection. I remember the first time I said something similar to God after coming to faith in Christ, and it was sacred.
To me, baptism and confirmation are two sacraments of Christian faith, similar to the pillars of Islam like prayer (wudu) and saying the ittahiyya.
My point exactly. Attaching a sacred statement of faith to a cartoon that’s supposed to depict the pollution of the river is what I consider to be offensive. In Jordan though, I have grown to endure such usage of the statements of Christianity. It’s an awful shame, but a good bunch of people, especially here in Irbid, don’t have respect for any religion but Islam. It’s sad when I’m walking down the street with my girlfriend and people see her wearing a cross and rudely stare and comment. This cartoon is proof that statements we hold sacred are misused all over Jordan.
Cartoonists are often the only ones who are willing to publicly point out something absurd.
I saw the cartoon and as a person of faith, it bothered me on some levels. First, as you said, the depiction of Bethany on the Jordan as a cesspool was a bit over-the-top. BUT, I do see Hajjaj’s commentary on letting such sacred places become corrupted with filth. It took me a minute to get that, though. And I do understand his commentary on using Tony Blair as a symbol of hypocrisy. I believe, as you said, that’s what the exclamation of faith was pointing to…
Abu Mahjoob IS on our side, I truly believe this. The visual satire he provides us with gives so many of us much needed relief, knowing that even though we don’t all go around saying what we think, most of us are thinking the same. Right?
I’m sorry for all of the Christians who felt so deeply offended by that cartoon, and I hope it does not happen again.
When I saw the cartoon i got the message that not only is Jordan polluting the Jordan River (an important site for Christians) but also somehow tony blair is involved by being baptised (?) there to give the (false) message that the water is safe. His proclamation that ‘I believe’ I felt was in order to explain what he was doing in the water in the first place (for the likes of me
). I felt that abu hajjaj was highlighting a very important issue for Jordanians but especially for Christians.. I felt this was in stark contrast to say the UK where when defense of minority practices and their protection is highly charged and politicised.
To be honest I was surprised at the offense taken by some Christians… but that goes to show, we cannot always tell when something will offend.
mm, I remember posting my comment, but it hasn’t showed up yet.
P.S. Kinzi, I have been to church today! ^^
(Nizar, here is the comment from the FB message, which I didn’t receive. Maybe you clicked too fast? I am glad you went to a church! Shocked my socks off, you did. Now please tell the world it wasn’t my idea, ok? I wish I had had the foresight to do so, I must not be a very good evangelist
I wonder what Muslims think about this:
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://mahjoob.com%2Far%2Farchives%2Fview.php%3Fcartoonid%3D1911%26censored%3DY
Is it the actual drawing of the prophet that offended Muslims? is it the intention behind drawing it? or did Muslims just take the chance to pure their anger and frustration?
If it it is the actual drawing, shouldn’t they react in the same way against Hajjaj? burn down his building and boycott Palestinian products? and plus isn’t this one of the kaba’er in Islam, and don’t these rules apply only on Muslims, hence the infidels are already condemned to hell?
Isn’t it like drinking beer in Islam? it is one of the big no-nos, but that doesn’t mean other people of different believes shouldn’t be allowed to drink beer just because you believe that god doesn’t allow YOU to do so? these laws should be applied only to the believers of that religion, others should be free to do what ever they want, its called freedom of belief.
Is it the intention? well, in the case of Kurt Westergaard, the cartoonist behind the comic/picture of Muhammed with a bomb on his head, his intention was not to attack Islam but to attack terrorism.
”Mr Westergaard told Danish TV that his cartoon was a protest against terrorism, not Islam as a whole”
source: http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://news.bbc.co.uk%2F2%2Fhi%2Feurope%2F7318733.stm
I think that neither the first nor the second excused their behavior, which makes me highly doubt that these Muslim demonstrators just took the chance to pure their anger and frustration on the west without even understanding what the situation was.
Shmal, wow, you are a Christian! Yes, it is very difficult for me to have my symbols and faith they represent demeaned continually. It is one thing to say “I respect Christianity”, but then have the same people refuse to say “Kul 3am wa intu bikhair” at Christmas. Or have the taxi driver say, “Oh, you are a Christian? Let’s go to a hotel!’.
Marvin, yes, an a very potent and pointed message they bring!
Umm F, as I mentioned yesterday at the ball field, I am so grateful for your understanding spirit. You AND Abu F, who both saw how very offending it could be. You are my kind of Muslimah
.
loolt, thanks for your interpretation. The Tony Blair inclusion was multi-facted. He has also recently embraced Catholicism, so the Baptist type of baptism and pronouncement was weirder still. Thanks for your willingness to look at how we might take offense.
Nizar, interesting points. There is a place for thinking the best of people’s intentions, rather than assuming the worst motive.