Art, Not Arms: An Islamic Approach to Islamophobia

AL-ARABIYA
By Melody Moezzi

By reacting violently to films and other forms of peaceful, albeit narrow-minded, expression, we as Muslims only draw attention to works that would otherwise receive little or no mainstream media interest. The film that apparently sparked the current outrage wasn't produced by a major studio or directed by a well-known director, but thanks to the riots, suddenly it's all over the headlines. Certainly, violence is neither an effective nor responsible reaction. Infact, it's both counterproductive and un-Islamic. In this case, the most productive and powerful response is also the most viable one: fight bad art with better art. Rather than take the defensive, we need to be proactive. We must create our own works of art—our own films, cartoons, satires, songs and writings—to challenge and subvert the Islamophobic messages of less transcendent works. [link]