A picture is worth a thousand (or more) protesters
And who says no-one reads the paper anymore?
In case you missed it, the Muslim world is, generally, in a state of uproar over a series of political cartoons published by a Danish paper. The cartoons showed the Islamic prophet Mohammed (a no-no in itself) in less-than-flattering terms, which upset many Muslims and culminated (at least for now) in the burning of the Danish embassy in Lebanon.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/P/PROPHET_DRAWINGS?SITE=COCOL&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2006-02-06-13-36-09
The newspaper (Jyllands Posten) apologized, sorta, to offended Muslims, but argued publishing such cartoons was protected as free speech -- an argument backed by the Danish government. Many Muslim leaders and even whole governments say the need to be sensitive to other religions is paramount, and is still demanding a more forthright apology and retraction. Many Muslims are also boycotting Danish goods.
So what trumps what? Are religious figures open for hard-core satire in political cartoons? How would you feel if, in a political cartoon, Jesus or Moses or Buddha (or the religious leader of your choice) was shown gleefully brandishing a nuclear weapon? Or entering a porn store? How would you react?
In case you missed it, the Muslim world is, generally, in a state of uproar over a series of political cartoons published by a Danish paper. The cartoons showed the Islamic prophet Mohammed (a no-no in itself) in less-than-flattering terms, which upset many Muslims and culminated (at least for now) in the burning of the Danish embassy in Lebanon.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/P/PROPHET_DRAWINGS?SITE=COCOL&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2006-02-06-13-36-09
The newspaper (Jyllands Posten) apologized, sorta, to offended Muslims, but argued publishing such cartoons was protected as free speech -- an argument backed by the Danish government. Many Muslim leaders and even whole governments say the need to be sensitive to other religions is paramount, and is still demanding a more forthright apology and retraction. Many Muslims are also boycotting Danish goods.
So what trumps what? Are religious figures open for hard-core satire in political cartoons? How would you feel if, in a political cartoon, Jesus or Moses or Buddha (or the religious leader of your choice) was shown gleefully brandishing a nuclear weapon? Or entering a porn store? How would you react?
posted by Paul Asay | 12:47 PM
1 Comments:
I have to agree with "my_take." Truthfully, I cannot accept people's mockery of Christ. Nonetheless, the free press is important. Usually, it for good reasons stereotypes and cartoon satire exist. They ought to have us look at our own behaviors and see what we can do to fix them.
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