Honestly, if the meme was revised to just the left panel, plus an empty frame with Muhammad’s name, it would be a far better and less offensive meme. I may have even chuckled at it.
But the right panel isn’t just calling Muslims an annoying fanbase - it’s portraying them as fanatical murderers, which is a part of the way the west commonly portrays Muslims as ‘barbaric’ and dangerous. It isn’t just ‘offensive’, it’s islamophobic
That makes a lot of sense. I think I read the caption differently in the second image, seeing the word “fanatical” as identifying a group within the group rather than describing the whole. Like “an average Muslim won’t kill you for it, but the fanatical ones will, so best not to show an image.” Maybe wishfu/optimistic interpretation.
Honestly, if the meme was revised to just the left panel, plus an empty frame with Muhammad’s name, it would be a far better and less offensive meme. I may have even chuckled at it.
But the right panel isn’t just calling Muslims an annoying fanbase - it’s portraying them as fanatical murderers, which is a part of the way the west commonly portrays Muslims as ‘barbaric’ and dangerous. It isn’t just ‘offensive’, it’s islamophobic
That makes a lot of sense. I think I read the caption differently in the second image, seeing the word “fanatical” as identifying a group within the group rather than describing the whole. Like “an average Muslim won’t kill you for it, but the fanatical ones will, so best not to show an image.” Maybe wishfu/optimistic interpretation.