海角大神

The power of satire to unleash retribution from those offended 鈥� as in the cases of the attack on Charlie Hebdo,聽a French magazine, and cyber-attacks on Sony over 鈥淭he Interview鈥� 鈥� may be amplified by how 鈥渧ulnerable鈥� those being lampooned feel.

鈥淚n both instances of the French magazine and The Interview, you have an example of regimes being hit in their Achilles' heel 鈥� these were salvos lobbed in the battle for hearts and minds where maybe these regimes are vulnerable," says聽Amber Day聽an assistant professor in the English and Cultural Studies Department at Bryant University in Smithfield, R.I., says in a phone interview.

The spread of Western culture and ideas has long provoked a backlash in more conservative 鈥� religiously, morally, or politically 鈥� nations that see those ideas as a threat. Responses vary from condemnation to the banning of Hollywood movies and Western music to outright attacks.聽

鈥淗ow satire is handled is a question of how vulnerable the people in a culture and in power feel. In America, the media can get away with almost anything at all because the government and its leaders don鈥檛 feel threatened. However, in cases such as North Korea and in the case of most Arab states, the people feel the West is a powerful player effacing their cultures,鈥� says Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad, president of the聽Minaret of Freedom Institute聽in Bethesda, Md., in a phone interview.

The Associated Press聽reported that gunmen fleeing the Paris headquarters of Charlie Hebdo magazine, after killing at least 12 people Wednesday, shouted "Allahu Akbar!", Arabic for "God is great!"

In November 2011, that the same magazine's offices were firebombed shortly after the magazine had announced a special issue dubbed, "Charia Hebdo," a play on sharia,聽or Islamic, law.

聽鈥淚n the Arab world, laughter is often viewed a tool to denigrate and humiliate. So when a people or leaders feel vulnerable, satire is not tolerated,鈥� says聽Mr. Ahmad, who holds a doctorate in astrophysics and holds a unique perspective on cross-cultural understanding (or misunderstandings) between Muslims and non-Muslims.聽

He was born in 1948 to Palestinian parents. His father became a naturalized American citizen aboard a ship bearing an American flag. Ahmad, who was born on board, became a naturalized US citizen himself as a toddler.

In addition, Ahmad is married to Frances Eddy, an American who is 海角大神.聽鈥淢y husband鈥檚 favorite verse in the Koran is, 鈥楲et there be no compulsion in religion,鈥� she says, in a phone conversation.

Minaret of Freedom works to counter cultural misunderstandings regarding Islam and Muslim culture and to promote education about Muslim and Islamic culture in the United States.

Ahmad says Arab culture embraces some forms of satire, citing the Tales of Juha聽[also spelled Joha], who Ahmad describes as "The Wise Fool.鈥�

鈥淭hese stories satirized social and political issues and were very powerful tools against those in government at times,鈥� he explains. 鈥淗owever, it is one thing to make a joke about a rich man or a powerful man who slips and falls. It is something entirely different and not funny to make a joke about your poor old grandmother slipping and falling. To the Muslim people, jokes and cartoons about the faith of an oppressed people are not funny. They hurt.鈥�

Ahmad adds, 鈥淏ecause governments in the Middle East and North Korea have control over what is in the media and in print, they can鈥檛 really accept that it鈥檚 not the same in the West and America. They don鈥檛 believe that in America there is no prior restraint on what is published or released online or in film.鈥�

A case in point is a statement released by聽Pyongyang鈥檚 Korean Central News Agency聽attributed to a 鈥渟pokesman鈥� for the policy department of the National Defense Commission. It denounced President Barack Obama as 鈥渢he chief culprit who forced鈥� Sony to distribute the film, 鈥渁ppeasing and blackmailing cinema house and theaters鈥� with a 鈥渄ishonest and reactionary movie hurting the dignity of the supreme leadership of the DPRK and agitating terrorism.鈥�

Other experts in satire also offer similar insight.

鈥淪atirical humor requires sophisticated thinking.聽 It uses irony to encourage an audience to think critically about a subject. But not everyone exposed to satire will 'get' the joke or appreciate its intent. And this is exactly what has happened in both the case of The Interview and the attack on Charlie Hebdo," 聽writes聽Sophia McClennen, who directs Penn State's聽Center for Global Studies聽and is author of "Colbert's America: Satire and Democracy," in an e-mail interview.

鈥淲hat we have is a situation where people feel mocked and angered and they respond with violence,鈥� Prof. McClennen adds. 鈥淩ather than see the satire as an effort to open up debate on a sensitive topic, they do everything in their power to shut it down.聽Sadly, their response proves the power of satire to encourage public debate of major issues, but in these cases it proves it through manipulation and tragedy.鈥�