By Dr Mehzabeen Ibrahim

I had heard about Facebook’s Everyone Draw Mohammed Day, May 20th, several weeks ago, and as a British Muslim, hoped it was some kind of joke.

Having learnt my lesson after several so-called cartoon “crises”, I paid no heed to it; a stance mirrored by many of my Muslim friends and acquaintances.

The vision of so much misinformation on the page itself, however, tied up with an ugly bow of Hollywood-inspired, Arab-villain-esque caricatures spurred me to respond. I decided to act, not out of defense or aggression, but in order to educate. They asked me to draw Mohammed, so I did, in the form of traditional Arabic calligraphy; a well-respected art form that has helped to fill the void in the landscape of Islamic Art where portraiture would normally reside. I firmly believe that by turning a one-way diatribe into a two-way dialogue, people can come to a mutual understanding.

The debate on the ‘freedom of expression’ versus the ‘right to respect’ in relation to the satirical depiction of the Prophet Mohammed, has been raging on and off ever since Jyllands-Posten first published his controversial set of editorial cartoons back in September of 2005. It has been a long five years for the Muslim community worldwide since then. Yet the events surrounding this most recent cartoon crisis would suggest that few lessons have been learnt by advocates of either argument during this time.

Sadly, the problem only seems to be getting worse. The dedication of an entire 24 hours to the production of caricatures of one man, beloved to over a billion people, is clearly an escalation on the previous efforts of a few, isolated individuals. In return, the blocking of Facebook and YouTube by the Pakistani government is a definite upgrade in the arsenal of weaponry designed to indiscriminately prevent the free-flow of information and the sharing of ideas.

Both actions were misguided, bullish tactics that did not serve to promote a peaceful resolution to current tensions. Further, such extreme reactions are usually well reported by the media, leading the general public to mistakenly take them as representative of the wider camp.

Molly Norris, whose radio interview sparked the idea for Draw Mohammed Day, posted on her website last week her shock at the way in which her poster was ‘taken seriously, hijacked and made viral... by those who want to draw obscene images.’ The Facebook page went beyond artistic expression; it became such a contentious issue in Muslim and non-Muslim communities alike that it triggered an international outcry.

Though I doubt this is the last we’ve seen of these hate incidents disguised as free speech, we all have a responsibility to start turning these occasions into opportunities. In fact, Norris herself thanked “those who are turning this crazy thing into an opportunity for dialogue”. It is reassuring that there are individuals on both sides of the divide who choose to express their opinions in far less inflammatory ways. If we ever wish to achieve a more tolerant, respect-filled society, it is their voices that need to be amplified, and not those of a close-minded minority.

Dr Mehzabeen Ibrahim writes for MuslimMatters.org

Published on Saturday 29th May 2010