Pubdate: Wed, 10 Aug 2005 Source: Detroit Free Press (MI) Copyright: 2005 Detroit Free Press Contact: http://www.freep.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/125 Cited: Detroit Science Center http://www.detroitsciencecenter.org Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n1271/a06.html ANTI-DRUG EXHIBIT Keep Taliban Flag in Display, and in Perspective A new Detroit Science Center exhibit on drugs and their connections to terrorism contains many disturbing images, including models of a crack house and cocaine processing lab, and a video on how drugs affect the brain. But it is a handmade flag of the Taliban in Afghanistan, tucked behind a display showing the rubble of 9/11, that has generated the most discomfort. Some Arab Americans and Muslims are upset because they believe the white flag -- proclaiming in Arabic: "There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah" -- unfairly ties Islam to terrorism and distorts the religion's message. They want the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, which created the exhibit, to remove the flag. It's part of a small display on possible connections between the Taliban, Al Qaeda and drug trafficking. That some Muslims are offended is understandable. Some Christians would object if the Lord's Prayer were somehow tied to acts of violence. Some Jews would protest if the Star of David were associated with brutality. The DEA defends exhibiting the flag, arguing that it is a succinct symbol of the Taliban regime. Creating offense alone does not make an image unworthy, any more than it detracts from a work of art. But there's a larger reason the exhibit should remain intact, despite public pressure to remove the flag. It conveys a universal message for those open enough to see it. Crimes against humanity have been committed in the name of every religion. Too often, the beliefs that should elevate people have, instead, debased them. No one should taint a religion because of the warped ideology of a few. The real quarrel of believers should be with those who twist the tenets of their faith and turn them into a message of hate. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake