Culture terrorism vs press freedom

The images, as published in a Denmark newspaper Jyllands-Posten, of Prophet Muhammad are surely sacrilege in the Muslim world. Islam prohibits the illustration of the prophet in any form or manner.

I remember a few years ago back home in Malaysia when an international magazine was temporarily banned from distribution when one of its articles (on Islam) contained an illustration of the prophet. The ban was only lifted after the publishers/distributors tore off the offending page.

Images such as these would have landed the magazine in court for sedition.

So it is not surprising that the Muslim world today is united in condemning Denmark. The newspaper is defending the cartoons as its right of expression and the Denmark government says that while they could be offending, it would not do anything against the newspaper as it would infringe the freedom of the press in the country.

In the meantime, Saudi Arabia has recalled its ambassador in Denmark while Libya closed its embassy. Street protests with gun fires are taking place in Palestine. The next step in the Middle East is for a boycott of Denmark goods. More Muslim nations are expected to send a protest note.

The images were first published last September and reprinted earlier this month by a Norwegian Christian magazine. The 12 cartoons were the result of a competition, asking Danish cartoonists to draw Muhammad as they imagined him. One of the offending drawings shows Muhammad's turban as bomb with a lit fuse. In another he turns suicide bombers away from heaven because "We have run out of virgins".

Looking at the images, I think they are not only offensive to the Muslims. The Danish newspaper should not have ridiculed another religion’s prophet and hide under the shield of press freedom.

What was their motive to publish these cartoons? Was it just to ridicule the religion or to educate the public? I can’t see any form of education in these offensive cartoons.

Carsten Juste, the editor of Jyllands-Posten, issued a statement through a Jordanian news agency to try and dampen the controversy but he refused to apologise unreservedly.

"The drawings are not against the law but have indisputably insulted many
Muslims, for which we shall apologise," the statement said.

In another publication he is quoted as saying:

“We live in a democracy. That’s why we can use all the journalistic methods we
want to. Satire is accepted in this country, and you can make caricatures.
Religion shouldn’t set any barriers on that sort of expression. This doesn’t
mean that we wish to insult any Muslims.”

The paper’s cultural editor Flemming Rose had this to say:

“Religious feelings cannot demand special treatment in a secular society. In a
democracy one must from time to time accept criticism or becoming a
laughingstock”.

So there we have it – the cartoons were meant to be a satire and meant to make the Muslims a laughingstock.

And where is the responsible press freedom in these? All I see is an attempt to ridicule and offend the Muslims. Maybe the western powers still need education on being sensitive and accommodating on other’s religions too, not just to show them how to be democratic and free.

p/s the image is taken from a Norwegian website.

read more:

Danish imams urge calm over Muhammad cartoons (via the Times)
Thou Shalt Not Draw (via Frontpage magazine)
Danish goods boycott begins over Prophet caricature (via newswire)


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