From the latest "What We Not Know" Newsletter:
On April 12, the UK Daily Mail reported that British schools have started to drop teaching about the Holocaust from their curriculum in order not to offend Muslims, many of whom deny it ever happened. "There is also resistance to tackling the 11th-century Crusades," continues the article, "where Christians fought Muslim armies for control of Jerusalem–because lessons often contradict what is taught in local mosques." Falsifying or omitting parts of history just to appease a religious minority? What might seem bizarre to Americans is meanwhile common practice in European countries, especially Great Britain, whose 1.6 million Muslims represent the largest minority religion.
In recent years, more and more countries have started to not just react to but anticipate Muslim sensitivities and nip in the bud anything that might even slightly disturb them. The results range from the weird to the ludicrous… some examples.
Pigs
To Muslims, pigs are dirty, offensive animals whose flesh must not be eaten. But abstaining from serving pork to Muslims is apparently not enough. In 2003, a West Yorkshire head teacher, whose school is attended by 60% Pakistanis and Indians, most of them Muslims, banned children's books about pigs from the classroom. In 2005, British banks stopped giving out piggy banks to their customers. Politicians in West Midlands, UK, banned the display of pig-related items in municipal offices, including toys, porcelain figures, calendars, and a tissue box featuring Winnie the Pooh and Piglet. In Amsterdam, Netherlands, an elementary school stopped lessons about living on a farm because Muslim students started to demolish the classroom when the pig came up for discussion. Even the die-hard Chinese government is caving in. In February, when China celebrated the beginning of the Year of the Pig, the Chinese government decreed that no pigs should be displayed or mentioned in the ceremonies, so as not to offend the country's 21 million Muslims. A hint: even though Muslims represent only 2% of China's population, China gets most of its oil from Muslim countries in the Middle East, Central Asia and Africa, with Sudan being its biggest supplier.
Flags
In 2005, a new CNN poll asked: "Is it time for England to change its national flag?" What initiated the debate was a comment by Chris Doyle, director of the Council for the Advancement of Arab-British Understanding, who stated that the red cross of St. George in the center of the flag was an insensitive reminder of the Crusades.According to CNN, "Doyle added that it was now time for England to find a new flag and a patron saint who is 'not associated with our bloody past and one we can all identify with.'"The Belgian Brussels Journal reported last year that some Austrian Muslim soldiers refused to salute the Austrian flag, turning their backs on it. Instead of disciplining the soldiers, "an imam was summoned to issue a fatwa stating that Muslims are allowed to salute the Austrian flag."What's more, "Austrian Army officers have complained that Muslim conscripts–about 3.5% of the Austrian armed forces–are unable to do most jobs because they have permission to pray 5 times a day, no matter what job they are performing at the time. Some who attend Friday prayers stay away for the rest of the day."The Austrian defense minister's solution: hire imams as permanent chaplains in order to mediate future conflicts.Food & DrinkIn 2005, fast-food giant Burger King was forced to withdraw its BK Cones from the British market after one Muslim customer complained that a design on the label of the ice cream looked like the word "Allah" in Arabic script.In Denmark, a traditional Christmas treat called "Jewish Cookies" elicited protests and boycotts from Muslim consumers. Ole Poulsen, head of the public food consumer department, said renaming the cookies was "a possibility."
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May 6th, 2007
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