i went to this discussion of the danish cartoon controversy last night. all three speakers were interesting. the first discussing how mohammed has been depicted throughout islamic history; the second talking about how she, as a cartoonist, has pissed off people and why she thinks that's okay; and the third trying to give a muslim perspective on the controversy to explain where the anger was coming from.
the couple sitting next to me were solidly in the "printing the cartoons is good" camp. they listened politely to the first speaker, and cheered the second. but when the third speaker started talking, i could tell from their body language that they were tuning him out. during much of the third speaker's speech the couple talked among themselves or made dismissive comments. it got to be a bit annoying
i had to crack a smile when the speaker said that many muslims were angry because they felt that the west wasn't listening to them or their concerns. meanwhile, the couple next to me were whispering about how the speaker was dressed.
