KoranloreLite Table of Cartoons: Epilogue
The Koran has little in its
verses that can be described as subject for humor or satire, unlike the
Bible. The statement of God to Moses: “Thou shalt see my back parts but my face
shall not be seen” (Ex. 33: 23) is the verse that sparked this author's
interest in other Biblical verses that might be turned to humorous advantage for
editorial cartoons.
The search resulted in
verses that show the humor in otherwise sacred text: the human frailties of
prophets and other characters like Elisha,
A first reading of the Koran
has revealed few similar verses that evoke irony, satire or humor.
Allah is self-absorbed; his nature
is that of a stern patriarch bent on punishing his children for showing a free
spirit, a lack of sobriety or obedience or willing submission to the
master/slave relationship between Allah and human beings.
The very thought of the five
pillars of Islam (which means "submission") speaks to the humorless nature of
Allah and, indeed, of Muhammad the man, who claimed to be the prophet and
receiver of the Koran "sent down" for all mankind, and thus the one to whom
every confessed Muslim must submit and pay alms tax.
There is nothing funny about having to pray five times a day to one's
creator. Nor having to fast from
dawn to dusk when one likely must keep up strength to earn a daily living.
Nor having to make annual pilgrimages to
Allah is said to have 99
attributes (in the Koran). These include beneficent traits: wise, good, kind,
gracious, merciful. But also vindictive
traits: jealous, vengeful and severe in punishing.
Nearly every sura (or chapter) of the Koran bears the threat of
everlasting punishment in the fires of Hell for disobedience to Allah’s will by
unbelievers in Islam.
Allah and Muhammad have
similar traits; they appear to be one and the same.
Muhammad says he speaks for Allah through Gabriel.
Muslims and believers in Islam must
accept Muhammad’s word that he is Allah’s spokesman.
So Muhammad’s willful actions are accepted as the will of Allah.
What Muhammad says or does has Allah’s approval. In a word, Muhammad is
Allah.
Only the first three cartoons
of the KoranloreLite series relate to a sura of the Koran. One must turn
to the Traditions (Hadith) that relate the life of Muhammad to find material for
cartoons that satirize the self-styled Last Prophet.
And, happily for the satirist and cartoonist, there is much to draw upon:
the encounters of Muhammad with Gabriel, the talking stones and trees;
Muhammad’s weirdly imaginative visions of heaven; the credulous hope of
Muhammad’s dinner hosts for a blessing by touching the uneaten food he had
touched; and his penchant for violence against those who did not take his
religion soberly and seriously. Witness the last three cartoons that illustrate
Muhammad's cruel behavior against his enemy captives (killing, torture, and
beheading). Where was the kindness,
the mercy of the apostle?
Note that no physical
image of the apostle appears in any of the cartoons—only the symbol
@
(a symbol used in commerce,
and used here because Muhammad was a trader in goods, using that term loosely)
to identify his place in the scene.
As in the BibleloreLite series, these KoranloreLIte cartoons show
levity where the stories seem hardly credible, and are illustrated with the
caricatured symbol, the sardonic and wise-cracking animated Greek letter
lambda.
.
al-Terego
NEXT TO RELIGION IS THE BANE OF MANKIND: INTRODUCTION