Survival of the Wisest

An eye for an eye is a basic ape instinct. It may be very likely that one of the key factors that helped human civilization to grow into its modern deluxe state is the formation of a legal system for retribution of wrongs and feuds. The Code of Hammurabi is among the earliest known example of a fundamental law regulating a government. The Code consists of 282 laws, with scaled punishments, adjusting "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth". King Hammurabi ruled a prosperous and thriving Babylonia almost four millennia ago. He claimed to have helped protect the weak from oppression, and scholars believe he fostered an atmosphere of justice and righteousness for his people. Qisas is an Islamic term meaning "Equal Retaliation", and follows the principle of an eye for an eye first set forth by Hammurabi.

Someone somewhere makes an amateur video whose trailers indicate that it caricatures prophet Muhammad. Muslims all over the world get very angry, and the root of this anger is that they are unable to make a counter video that might have sufficed as retribution. The reasons that they cannot make a counter video are manifold.

Firstly, there already exist many videos on social media platforms that range from comical satires to serious criticism of the symbols and scriptures of other religions. There are scientists and atheists deprecating one or more religious ethos, in particular the Pope and the Bible as these are more prevalent in their surrounding. So there are all kinds of media challenging creationism and theism. There are documentaries,  un-banned books and un-exiled authors. The God Who Wasn't There, Prisoners of a White God, Religulous, Zeitgeist: The Movie, Monty Python's Life of Brian, Dogma, What Would Jesus Buy? and Saved!  are some of such full length feature films. Many of these went on to receive awards.

Secondly, being the last Abrahamic religion, Prophet Muhammad is not a holy figure in other religions but both Moses and Jesus are revered as prophets in Islam. So the hands of the Muslims, so to speak, are tied when they want to ridicule the key prophets of the other major religions.

Thirdly, the acceptability of music and singing has been debated widely in Islam. Depiction of animate beings and hence performing arts are forbidden in many schools of Islamic belief. When viewing a movie is in question for devout adherents, making a video is not a Islamic thing to do.

Last but not the least, the protests in many regions started after the material was blocked by their governments, as is the case in Bangladesh. Foregoing the logic of self-censorship, even if one wanted to watch the movie for the express purpose of refuting it, the full movie is not available anywhere. It is highly doubtful that the whole movie even exists. On free video platforms only a so called trailer is available. This is a 13:50min clip, apparently dubbed in many places, and has too many jump edits without coherence. While there are protests in over 20 countries, it is a safe bet to say that not 20 people in the world have watched the movie. So any content review or coherent argument is not possible.

It is, however, not only the inability of retribution that enrages us. Several other factors have played for the immature mass Muslim behavior. Call it fate, coincidence or intelligent design, the Muslim world by and large seems to be on a back foot when it comes to education and socio-economic stature. The Muslims cannot ignore or boycott the advanced and prospering West. Neither can they understand why the disbelievers are outshining them. Only a handful of Muslim-majority countries have really been able to come out to meet the developed world. It is only natural that the remaining backward Muslims not keep an open mind to humor or criticism.

Added to this harsh reality of unjust distribution of worldly rewards, a Muslim in this day is in a subconscious paradox. He lives in a world where secular constitutional democracy is hailed, which is not really supported form of government in the holy Quraan. On the other hand, polygyny is allowed in the scriptures but can not be practiced in most present societies, in spite of it being male dominated. The feminist and equal rights movement simply can not be aligned with the medieval social reform practices of the timeless ultimate guide  for humanity. To juxtapose both his beliefs and his practices in one consciousness, even the 'un-conservative' believer thus has to live either in denial or in confusion. It impedes their ability to deal with the complex times maturely. Psychologists will attest that such conflicting standards, unacknowledged and suppressed, will gnaw at the identity, in this case religious, and moral confidence of any being.

The post 9/11 islamophbia has only added insult to injury. While a Crishtian, Jew or a Hindu can laugh off or ignore media that pokes at his religious beliefs, the already stymied Muslims are deeply offended if they as much as only hear that someone, however insignificant, however far away, has said something, however inane, about Islam. It is a sense of insecurity makes people defensive and  may encourage compensatory behaviors such as arrogance and aggression. So they end up protesting violently and killing each other. And unlike wise men, they do it in the name of religion.

This, then, is Darwin at play.