i suppose kanye west depicting himself as jesus isn't as big of a story as that of Prophet Muhamed cartoon depiction. if kanye does this and christians aren't all up in arms burning down buildings, then shit, it appears muslims are all militant terrorists.

it is was only a cartoon; no big deal, and besides, freedom of speech protects blah blah blah. if you don't like it, maybe you don't belong in our country. at least, that's the european position on the issue.

trying to make sense of how a cartoon has come to be the biggest international relations story this past week is complex.

but here's my take on it. at the heart of it, europe and europeans in general are racist, nationalistic creatures who in recent decades have seen their borders become pores for muslim immigrants. or if racist is a bit harsh, then at least eurocentric now finding themselves in a changing demographic among their own people. the idea of nationalism is a european concept and its people have gone to great lengths of fighting each other in the name of nationhood. now with 50 million muslims on the continent, europeans are getting nervous.

to an extend, nationhood entails a geographic location but more than anything, it's an identity. and take any european country and it's a white christian identity. shit, not long ago, nations were attempting to literary eliminate those who did not fit into this mold.

again, new immigrants are comprimising this supposed identity and face of nationhood.

last few decades have seen muslim populations pop up all throughout europe. the nations that decided to republish the cartoon contain europe's largest muslim populations; france, germany, and italy among others.

the original cartoon was published months ago and only in recent days has caused a stir when editors all over europe collectively decided to republish the cartoon in show of solditarity of upholding West's covenant value: freedom of speech. sadly, disguised behind this was a calculated and deliberate act of hatred to provoke the muslim world and its european dispora.

it's a scapegoat to further isolate europe's muslim population as a "see? we told you so! how can we accept them if they cannot tolerate our freedoms." this situation was looming on europe's door steps when last year, turkey's EU membership was stalled on the basis it's population is predominately muslim.

not to make make yet another lame nazi cliche comparison (probably grossly out of context), but hitler's propogranda began on depictions of jews and we saw what ensued.