Monday, September 11, 2006

A Lighter Note for 9-11

Have you noticed that whenever the mickey needs to be taken out of some self-righteous humorless Muslims, it’s generally a Dane doing the taking? They’re right up there with the Aussies in the mickey-taking department.

The following article from today’s edition of Berlingske Tidende was brought to our attention by commenter Phanarath via Skattetryk.dk, which is a weblog om skat, frihed og andre ting (I’m not sure that the subhead should be translated — I suspect there may be some Danish scatology in it).

Regular reader Kepiblanc has kindly and very promptly translated it for us. Skattetryk.dk supplied the image:

The Koran as a paper airplane

A day of infamyArtist Uwe Max Jensen has the Islamic Society [Islamisk Trossamfund = CAIR — translator’s note] on his back due to his commentary on Islamic terror: he folded a Koranic verse into a paper airplane. “This is a horrible generalization and casts suspicion on all Muslims in the world,” according to the critics.

Does artistic freedom — and freedom of speech — allow one to take a copy of that same Koranic verse the terrorists of 9/11 cited when they attacked the USA five years ago, and fold it into a paper airplane ?

Yes, says the artist, Uwe Max Jensen of Århus, who emphasizes that he doesn’t want to offend Islam.

“It surely isn’t my intention to offend Islamic culture, of which I’m a great admirer. And I’d like to underscore that it isn’t a page from the Koran, but rather a copy thereof I’ve torn out and folded. It’s a copy of that verse,” says Uwe Max Jensen, who doesn’t read Arabic but had the Islam-experts at the Carsten Niebuhr Institute translate the verse on Jihad (holy war).

But that doesn’t placate Ahmad Kassem, the spokesman for the Islamic Society.

“It is an unjust provocation and a harmful generalization. He uses a Koranic verse, valued by all Muslims — not only Osama Bin Laden’s group. That way he participates in casting a bad light upon the Koran and makes Islam appear as a religion of violence,” the spokesman says.

Just as the Koran is a sacred book to all Muslims, so it is to Imam Abdul Wahid Petersen and should be treated with deep respect. But his take on the paper airplane is a bit more relaxed.

“It depends on what happens to the paper airplane. If it — for example — is being thrown around as part of a happening I’m sure it will ignite the ire of someone. Muslims certainly wouldn’t like to see the Koran lying on the bare ground, for example. Personally, I would detest such things too, but I consider this matter a minor incident because his intention isn’t to mock Islam,” says Abdul Wahid Petersen.

On the other hand, it doesn’t matter if it’s a photocopy, the Danish convert from Nørrebro [Copenhagen suburb — translator’s note] emphasizes.

“According to Islamic thinking it’s about the Koran anyway. A photocopy — or just three connected words evidently taken from the Koran — is the Koran as well. That’s the way it is for all Muslims,” says Abdul Wahid Petersen.

Uwe Max Jensen, who repeatedly stirs up public opinions with his performance-art, thinks that The Islamic Society more aptly should condemn their religious peers, who try to justify their acts of terror with the Islam’s holy book.

“It should be a much greater offense for those people who confess to Islam that some group justifies an attack on thousands of innocent people with a verse from the Koran. They should rather criticize that,” says Uwe Max Jensen, who baptized his creation “The Koranic Verse on Islamic Jihad Folded Into a Paper Airplane”.

“The message is, that as long as Iran hasn’t nuclear weapons and Pakistan isn’t run by fundamentalists, then the religiously founded terrorism is nothing but a paper tiger in military terms, to quote Chairman Mao. I’ve made a paper airplane out of the Koranic verse equating it with the fact that the terrorists used hijacked airliners as bombs against USA,” explains Uwe Max Jensen.

Does that imply we overestimate the threat from the terror network of al-Qaeda and their likeminded, militant fundamentalists ?

“No, but in a military context they’re unable to harm us until they get weapons of mass destruction. On the other hand it’s obvious that in a psychological context they terrorize and intimidate us,” says Uwe Max Jensen.

He finds it a difficult artistic challenge to relate to the terror attack on New York and Washington that September day five years ago.

“It’s open for interpretation, but my idea was to create something where the horrible and blind fundamentalism meets the childish gestalt — normally connected with folding paper airplanes,” says Uwe Max Jensen, who during his work noticed how scary those Arabic alphanumeric characters have become in these times of terror.

“Unfortunately they’ve become synonymous with the enemy, and that’s a pity. But at the same time it isn’t a coincidence. Maybe those Arabic characters would not have become synonymous with the enemy if someone had been offended by the terrorists’ use of a Koranic verse to justify such a disgusting deed — rather than being offended by other things taking place — such at the Mohammed drawings,” concludes Uwe Max Jensen.

12 comments:

Profitsbeard said...

Kudos to Uwe Jensen ...who thinks along the same sardonic lines as I, since I am working on the design for a large [map-like] "fold-out book"- with the same kind of Koranic terrorism-sanctifying verses on it, entitled:

"THE CAMO KORAN- an instant terrorist training camp in a book".

It would be a camouflage covered "Koran" (apparently, by exterior title) but inside it would enclose a 20' x 20' sheet of laminated 60 weight paper folded together in a 'book' form, with a diagram of a 'standardized' mini-al-Qaeda 'training ground' (generic home-invasion style "room" pattern and "desert exterior" callisthenics and hand-to-hand combat "terrain" [with a 'human body outline' in one corner for the practice "victim" to collapse onto after having their throat simulatedly slit].

Four verses from the Koran would run around the edges, e.g.- suras 9:29, etc., as the basic jihadist propaganda dogmas -for those seeking to emulate OBL and his homicidal minions in the comfort of their own Detroit, et al, domacile.

Any graphic arts / religious humor/ map-producing publishers interested in the concept are welcome to contact me though this site. [I also hear hell is expecting snow soon.]

Back cover blurb:

"WHY FLY TO A CROWDED MADRASSA IN PAKISTAN WHEN YOU CAN LEARN HOW TO SMITE THE INFIDELS IN THE PRIVACY OF YOUR OWN HOME? [Not suitable for yurts.]"

Inspired by the "prophet" Mohammad's own bloodthirsty behavior.

(I consider the Koran itself to be the original portable terrorism training camp in book form, so I merely wanted to make it more literal.)

I'd be glad to include a paper airplane with each volume, as well, in honor of the droll Danes.

Zonka said...

Baron Bodissey said:
Skattetryk.dk, which is a weblog om skat, frihed og andre ting (I’m not sure that the subhead should be translated — I suspect there may be some Danish scatology in it).

Actually it's "taxes, freedom and other things" -- not scatology, unless you're talking about tax-man, they can be rather anal-retentive ;)

Baron Bodissey said...

Zonka --

I had figured out "freedom and other things" (I've picked up a little Danish vocabulary from editing all these translations), but "taxes"! Who would have guessed...?

So what does "Skattetryk" mean?

Eleanor © said...

Even if Muslims never acquire WMDs or nuclear weapons, they will still harm us in the West. Natural increase will create a demographic weapon with which they could impose Sha'ria law, the stealth weapon that is in fact more difficult to combat and much more effective than tanks and guns. They are dangerous to the health and welfare of Westerners.

kepiblanc said...

Baron --

"Skattetryk" = Tax burden. It is a blog on a welfare state gone crazy. Denmark - so far - has one of the highest tax rates in the world and a substantial part of those money goes into welfare. The Muslim population alone consumes 40 billion DKr's (= $6.7 billion). Compare that to an American city about half the size of New York. I think the blog "Skattetryk" alludes it's name to Rudyard Kipling's "The White Man's Burden".

ziontruth said...

"Skat = taxes". Hmmm, makes sense when you compare it to Yiddish/German "Schatz" (treasure, treasury).

"Muss i denn, muss i denn, zum Städtele hinaus, Städtele hinaus, und du, mein Schatz, bleibst hier... 'cause I don't have a wooden heart."

Sorry, got carried away. Heh.

anti-uffe said...

He is a frequent writer of letters to the editors of Danish newspapers, very frequently about Islam. My impression is that he is a very keen critic, and not naïve at all.

He has made quite a reputation as an artist by p*ssing on whatever he could come close to, walls, an art museum, etc.

Reactionary Snob said...

This is the first time I've looked at this highly rated blog. Really excellent stuff!

Keep up the good work,

Reactionary_snob

Baron Bodissey said...

bioqubit --

You have forgotten that this is a PG-13 blog. I had to amend your comment.

bioqubit said...

I have a more general comment to an earlier post equating Islam with cancer (a characterization reserved previously for communism - but there IS a commonality).

Actually, this point may apply to any toxic idea that gains acceptance. Simply, it is this:

A key part of the way tumors develop is to biologically "deceive" the normal tissues around them. Tumors make a class of proteins called growth factors. The normal cells say "Oh, you have some growth coming through. Sure. No problem. Here, I will help by putting the word out to the other cells to get ready for new blood vessels." Only later do the tumor cells put out the real message: "Die, Infidel m*****f****r!"

That's tonight's observation.

X said...

Right, so, here I am again. So much for principle...

I like the fact that it's an artist saying this. So many "artists" have a very... well, odd view of the world, especially the most famous of them. They tend to be left-wing a lot of the time, which creates a problem, as art has a tremendous influence over civilisation. It was art that, if not created, then at least solidified history by crystalising our view of it. The immense canvas depicting the Charge of the Light Brigade, for instance, which invested the whole debacle with a sort of desperate nobility, and set out the very British version of honour and bravery on the battlefield. Art used to be an expression of everything good and right. These days, with Deconstructionist critics rubbishing everything prior to the 1970s and post-modernist artists apparently making it up as they go, there's a distinct lack of guidance from that quarter.

My point, of course, is that most modern artists are kicking away at the supports of our society along with every other media hack. I'm not sure they've realised that their dirty beds and crucifixes covered in crap will all burn if Islam takes over. They like to say they're making a comment about society, but that's a very modern idea born from the same tendencies that created Deconstructionist critique.

We need our artists to be part of our defence, not attacking us. Art rarely survives an Islamic assault (see constantinople as an example). It's either covered up or destroyed, and whe that happens the very soul of a civilisation is slowly suffocated.

I'm not saying that artists should be afraid to criticise society. PLenty have done in the past; the difference now is that they are criticising the very aspects of society that give them their freedom to express. They're not trying to improve things with their art. They're bringing down their entire world over their heads just to spite the plebs.

We need more artists like Uwe Jenson.

X said...

FYI, in a prior thread I said I was leaving the comments. I've thought about it since, and I've realised this was probably a very childish thing to do. Sorry for the theatricals. :)

X said...

Hmm, I think my wife may be voting while she's over there. Should be interesting...

CHances are, whoever gets voted in to power will be generally more of the same. Sweden is very far gone, so any party wanting to bring it back will have to take small steps are first. There does seem to be a lot of disillusionment with the current government and party so I'm hopeful, but there's always a chance they'll vote even further to the left to try and get more of the same.