Ridicule is an important weapon in Western culture, and has been used to good effect on one’s adversaries for hundreds of years. In the last few years, a number of people have decided have decided that the best way to get Islamists back to reality is to make fun of them.

Unfortunately, the rigidity of the fundamentalist Muslims does not allow for satire or ridicule. Which is too bad, because it would mature and strengthen their beliefs to be able to laugh at themselves. And it would make them more resilient.

As a young (and devout) Catholic, I thought Tom Lehrer was hilarious. Still do…his work has worn well for young people who have a large sense of the ridiculous. Remember “The Vatican Rag?”

First you get down on your knees,
Fiddle with your rosaries,
Bow your head with great respect,
And genuflect, genuflect, genuflect!
Do whatever steps you want, if
You have cleared them with the Pontiff.
Everybody say his own
Kyrie eleison,
Doin’ the Vatican Rag.

Get in line in that processional,
Step into that small confessional,
There, the guy who’s got religion’ll
Tell you if your sin’s original.
If it is, try playing it safer,
Drink the wine and chew the wafer,
Two, four, six, eight,
Time to transubstantiate!
So get down upon your knees,
Fiddle with your rosaries,
Bow your head with great respect,
And genuflect, genuflect, genuflect!…

Notice that this little ditty did not bring on a case of the Vatican Rage. In fact, our parish priest thought it was a hoot.

That’s not been my experience with the Islamists, which seems to demand that all criticism, ridicule and satire be ruled off the turf. The average Muslim in America probably shrugs, but then they’re not out in the street setting cars on fire.

The original Motoons that played in Denmark, and engulfed parts of Pakistan with a carefully orchestrated conflagration has continued running as a theme for people who want to express their concern and irritation towards what they see as a perpetual grievance that Islam be exempt from say, a satirical song-writer who just might come up with some song like “Dancing at the Mosque on Friday Night.”

No one has done that (as yet), but the satires continue.

Here is a new one – edible this time:

A new, cutting-edge, political TV show will challenge Islam with biting humor tomorrow night, placing the face of the prophet Muhammad onto a cookie and then having it eaten on camera.

“We’re going to take a stand and say Muhammad’s face is delicious,” said Molotov Mitchell, the 28-year-old incendiary creator and host of “Flamethrower,” a program described as a low-budget, gritty cross between the “The Daily Show,” “The Colbert Report,” and “The View” if Ann Coulter were the producer. “This is religious and culinary history in the making.”

– – – – – – – – –

The theme of this week’s episode is “All Things Islam,” as panelists take on the faith of Muslims in a no-holds-barred fashion.

“Islam is not even a religion,” Mitchell told WND from a location somewhere in Eastern North Carolina. “It’s an ideology of ‘might makes right’ disguised as a religion. We’re going to show that Allah was with us when we baked this cookie and ate it. Deal with

it!”

[I disagree. It is indeed a religion. Some of the ways it has manifested are not healthy or holy, but it in, nonetheless, a religion…among other things that it is]

Mitchell and his fellow panelists – all of whom are Christians in their 20s and whom he calls the next generation of conservatism – are trying to make the point that America is still a free country, and there’s no need to cower in fear from Islamo-fascism. He laments the frequency of Islamic suicide bombings, giving a new twist to a famous line from “It’s a Wonderful Life,” by stating, “Every time a bell rings, a Muhammad gets his wives.”

One Muslim had this to say:

I’m not going to be hurt and insulted. I’m going to ask people to ignore this,” said Iftekhar Hai, president of United Muslims of America Interfaith Alliance in South San Francisco. “They would dare not do it to any Jewish person, saying ‘the Jews killed Jesus.’ The Jewish lobby would slaughter the Christians if they did that.”

“I don’t think this is part of the American character,” Hai added, “but it has become part of the American tradition to only pick on Muslims.”

“The Jewish lobby” would do what??? You are smoking what???

And yes, it certainly is a part of the American character to make fun of others. If this man is an American Muslim, it would behoove him to read a little American history.

Lord love a duck. No matter the issue, it’s always about Muslim sensitivity. “I’m not going to be aggrieved by this, though I do notice you don’t pick on anyone but us.” Sniff…