Muhammad cartoon row intensifies

[Pam]

Well I have stayed out of this up until now. My first thought was *it's all about how one responds to a wrong.* That said, of course the cartoon was insulting. No doubt about it. I think what bothers most people is the response to the cartoon.

As a Christian I have seen *zealots* (and I use the term very loosely) embarrass me. A good example of this is those who, supposedly in the name of Christ, will bomb an abortion facility. Of course the papers always are quick to report if the person has claimed they are a Christian and doing it for the Lord or some such nonsense. Never would Jesus condone that. Of course we all know that the murder of a doctor or the bombing of a facility is not the appropriate response for the taking of the lives of the unborn (and yes I do feel that abortion is murder but that is a topic for another day). That said, I think what is at question here is the response of the people.

PCB I feel for you in that I have been embarrassed by the actions of people who claim to be of my faith. Of course they are deceived and are not Christians at all because of the evilness of their actions. Please don't let this get you down. The media enjoys reporting bad news and bad actions and revels in the actions of hippocrits of all faiths and sometimes paints the entire religion with the same brush. I hope that there are enough people out there to see that the actions of those so-called Muslims and so-called Christians who do these terrible deeds are really not followers of any religion other than hate.

[JenBKR]

Well I have stayed out of this up until now. My first thought was *it's all about how one responds to a wrong.* That said, of course the cartoon was insulting. No doubt about it. I think what bothers most people is the response to the cartoon.

As a Christian I have seen *zealots* (and I use the term very loosely) embarrass me. A good example of this is those who, supposedly in the name of Christ, will bomb an abortion facility. Of course the papers always are quick to report if the person has claimed they are a Christian and doing it for the Lord or some such nonsense. Never would Jesus condone that. Of course we all know that the murder of a doctor or the bombing of a facility is not the appropriate response for the taking of the lives of the unborn (and yes I do feel that abortion is murder but that is a topic for another day). That said, I think what is at question here is the response of the people.

PCB I feel for you in that I have been embarrassed by the actions of people who claim to be of my faith. Of course they are deceived and are not Christians at all because of the evilness of their actions. Please don't let this get you down. The media enjoys reporting bad news and bad actions and revels in the actions of hippocrits of all faiths and sometimes paints the entire religion with the same brush. I hope that there are enough people out there to see that the actions of those so-called Muslims and so-called Christians who do these terrible deeds are really not followers of any religion other than hate.

Exactly - you put that better than I did.

[Miss Z]

I've been following the story on the news, and really it is a little silly, i mean they had placards that said 'behead those who insult islam' and stuff like that. Yes, it may have been offensive, but death threats are overboard. And as others have said, stuff like this happens to christianity all the time, and also around here jews are likely to be called names and stuff, but there's never been reactions quite on that scale before. I know many Muslims in my school and they are ashamed of the protesters and some aren't really that bothered, after all, it's just a cartoon, and they're designed to be a joke, not to take seriously.

[lizbud]

An interesting article which gave me more to think about.


Mocking Muhammad

Published February 8, 2006


For all the uproar they have caused around the globe, the 12 cartoons of the Muslim prophet Muhammad commissioned by the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten are about as juvenile as the stunt that produced them.

Muhammad with devil horns.

Muhammad with a bomb in his turban.

Muhammad greets a band of suicide bombers at the entrance to heaven with the words, "Stop, stop, we've run out of virgins."

It's not surprising that Muslims, who believe any artistic rendering of the prophet is blasphemous, were offended. Offending them seems to have been the point of the exercise. The editor of the paper invited cartoonists to submit drawings of Muhammad to challenge what he said was a climate of self-censorship.

Angry Muslims demanded an apology. What they got was a simplistic defense of the right to free expression.

Newspapers across Europe reprinted the cartoons as a sign of solidarity. The German paper Die Welt printed the bomb-in-a-turban drawing on its front page and asserted defiantly that in free societies, "there is a right to blasphemy." The daily France Soir republished the drawings under the headline, "Yes, We Have the Right to Caricature God."

All of this indignant posturing overlooks the fact that nobody's stopping editors from publishing whatever they wish. Freedom of speech, after all, means, freedom from government sanction, not freedom from angry reactions by your readers. Petitioned by Muslim groups who wanted the newspapers prosecuted, the governments said they could neither control nor apologize for the actions of a free press.

The governments held to this position even as the flag burnings and boycotts of Danish goods escalated to mass demonstrations and the torching of embassies in Syria and Lebanon. Several Muslim countries recalled their ambassadors from Denmark, as if the Danish government were somehow to blame for the cartoons.

Many Muslims undoubtedly fail to see that distinction because their own governments dictate what is and isn't published. Some of those same governments aren't troubled by content that is offensive to other groups, regularly permitting or even encouraging the publication of anti-Semitic material.

In some Arab countries the message is controlled so tightly that U.S. officials are openly suspicious of, for example, the "spontaneous" protests in Syria, in which marchers chanted slogans against Americans and Jews on their way to set the Danish embassy ablaze.

The editor of the Danish paper that started it all says he's stunned by the response. Yes, the violence is a stunning response.

Yet, those who aren't offended by the cheesy cartoons can still be dismissive of the various papers' protestations that some greater good was served by publishing them. It's arrogant and disingenuous to claim the high moral ground for insulting an entire religion just because you can.

The Danish paper says it is sorry for hurting feelings but defends its right to publish the cartoons. American newspapers, including the Tribune, support that position. Most, though, including this one, have chosen not to print the drawings themselves. Editors here and elsewhere decided the story could be told without publishing images that many readers would find deeply offensive.

Yes, we have the right to mock Muhammad, Jesus Christ, anyone. But with rights come responsibilities. "Just because a society has almost unlimited freedom of expression," cartoonist Garry Trudeau told the San Francisco Chronicle, "doesn't mean we should ever stop thinking about its consequences in the real world."

[RICHARD]

Yes, we have the right to mock Muhammad, Jesus Christ, anyone. But with rights come responsibilities. "Just because a society has almost unlimited freedom of expression," cartoonist Garry Trudeau told the San Francisco Chronicle, "doesn't mean we should ever stop thinking about its consequences in the real world."

Hmmmm, Trudeau thinking about the consequences? THAT IS FUNNY!

I'll have to read his strip from now on!

[Cataholic]

Liz- I agree with that last part, about responsibilities...but, what about the idea that you can't control what someone else says or believes, or chooses to portray, so, just turn away?

I mean, we can't ever control what someone else does (at least not in this country, anyhow)- i.e., the cartooners, so, put the effort back where you have some control- on you (not you, Liz...but, you, the public), the viewer. Change your(not you, Liz) attitude towards the offense....

I just can't really envision mustering up such emotion over a comic strip. And, if it is choosing between the lesser of the two evils- I will choose irresponsible freedom of expression over censorship.

[caseysmom]

I do think its ironic that freedom of religions is enjoyed by muslims in all western countries but if a christian is caught with a bible in some middle eastern countries we are in big trouble. That is a bit of hypocrisy in my book.