Danish Cartoons of Prophet Irk Muslims

indianguy4u · 12-30-2005, 03:02 AM

Quote:

Dec. 9, 2005, 3:23PM
Danish Cartoons of Prophet Irk Muslims

By JAN M. OLSEN Associated Press Writer
© 2005 The Associated Press

COPENHAGEN, Denmark — It was a provocative exercise: asking cartoonists to draw pictures of the Prophet Muhammad that were published in one of Denmark's largest papers.

But apparently no one at the Jyllands-Posten daily imagined the scale of the fallout: Death threats against the artists, protest strikes in Kashmir, condemnation from Muslim leaders worldwide and even criticism from the U.N.

"I'm very surprised that the reactions have been so sharp, very shocked, and I find the death threats against the cartoonists to be horrible and out of proportion," Carsten Juste, chief editor of Jyllands-Posten, told The Associated Press. He said the pictures were not meant to offend.

The paper refuses to apologize for publishing the drawings Sept. 30, citing freedom of speech _ a right cherished in this northern European country of 5.4 million that also refused to prosecute an artist who depicted a crucified Jesus Christ with an erection.

One cartoon shows Muhammad wearing a turban shaped as a bomb with a burning fuse. Another portrays him with a bushy gray beard and holding a sword, his eyes covered by a black rectangle. A third pictures a middle-aged prophet standing in the desert with a walking stick in front of a donkey and a sunset. A fourth depicts a schoolboy near a blackboard.

"If we apologize, we go against the freedom of speech that generations before us have struggled to win," Juste said.

The paper had asked 40 cartoonists to draw images of the prophet. That idea alone would be enough to offend many Muslims, since Sunni Islam bars depiction of any prophet from the Quran out of concern that such images could lead to idolatry.

"The Quran clearly forbids anyone from belittling a prophet, whether Jesus Christ, Abraham or Muhammad _ peace and blessings be upon them _ and it stresses they must be accorded utmost respect," said Ragab Zaki, a Muslim Sunni senior cleric at Egypt's Ministry of Endowments.

"Ridiculing any prophet is a crime, according to the Quran," he said.

Critics say the drawings in Jyllands-Posten were particularly insulting because some appeared to ridicule Muhammad.

"Those cartoons are very offensive to every Muslim feeling, and to Islam as a religion," said Abdel Moeti Bayoumi, a theology professor at Al-Azhar University in Cairo. "Do you expect Muslims to remain silent or rise to defend their religion?"

The turmoil comes a year after Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gogh was murdered in Amsterdam by a Muslim radical because he made a film critical of Islam. It also revives memories of the 1989 death threat against writer Salman Rushdie over his portrayal of Muhammad in "The Satanic Verses."

The paper's culture editor, Flemming Rose, came up with the idea after the author of a children's book on religion said its illustrator demanded anonymity because he feared retaliation for a picture of the prophet.

Juste said the newspaper's intention "was to examine whether people would succumb to self-censorship, as we have seen in other cases when it comes to Muslim issues." Twelve artists participated.

After the drawings were published, 11 ambassadors from Muslim countries signed a letter of protest to Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen. But his government has refused to intervene.

"As prime minister I have no tool whatsoever to take actions against the media and I don't want that kind of tool," Fogh Rasmussen said Oct. 24.

Still, Danes were caught off guard by the furor.

Lise Poulsen Galal, an anthropologist at the University of Copenhagen, noted that 85 percent of Danes belong to the state Lutheran church and tend to think of others as guests. Three percent of the population is Muslim.

The drawings have been a topic in Muslim chat rooms on the Internet, and two cartoons were posted on the newspaper's Web site.

The Danish Foreign Ministry said the youth auxiliary of Pakistan's largest Islamic group, Jamaat-e-Islami, offered a reward of about $8,000 for killing the cartoonists. But spokesmen for the group say they have not made such threats, which Denmark's intelligence service has also downplayed.

In Indian-controlled Kashmir, many shops and businesses shut down Thursday after Islamic separatists and religious groups called a strike to "protest the outrage felt by Muslims over the insulting cartoons," separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani said in a statement.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned the drawings during a visit to Denmark last month.

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour was investigating the matter.

"I understand your attitude to the images that appeared in the newspaper," Arbour wrote the Organization of the Islamic Conference. "I find alarming any behaviors that disregard the beliefs of others. This kind of thing is unacceptable."

___

Associated Press writers Christian Wienberg in Copenhagen, Salah Nasrawi in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and Maggie Michael and **** Amer in Cairo, Egypt, contributed to this report.

What can u call this freedom of speech or cracking joke at other's expense or altogether different ie creating nuisance.

In India some time ago, an moslem painter, renowned one at that drew some objectionable paintings on hindus gods & godessess, but then the commies & pseudo secularist said, India being a secular country such things should be allowed, now what can u call this incident. In India with 85 % of hindu population, moslem artist can make fun of hindu gods & get away, but moslems of denmark who are just 3 % of pop cannot tolerate an cartoon & not distasteful painting like we had in India. Is this tolerance shown by moslems?

The paintings controversy

giggs88 · 12-30-2005, 03:11 AM

Would they like to have some cheese with their whine?

Ob^ · 12-30-2005, 07:01 AM

One man's meat is another's poison. To some it is freedom of speech de riguer, to others is is gross sacriliege. In these times of hypersensitivities why can't people restrain themselves and let sleeping dogs lie? Have we not learn that mutual cultural respect requires yet out of bound markers.

sparten · 12-30-2005, 07:04 AM

I would bet my next paycheck, that the whole thing is staged, with the paper getting free publicity (not to mention selling more papers) and I'll also bet the "Islamic Center" also has a cut in this.

sparten · 12-30-2005, 07:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IG4U's Highlight

The Danish Foreign Ministry said the youth auxiliary of Pakistan's largest Islamic group, Jamaat-e-Islami, offered a reward of about $8,000 for killing the cartoonists

Great selective highlighting
Here the rest of the quote

Quote:

But spokesmen for the group say they have not made such threats, which Denmark's intelligence service has also downplayed.

Samudra · 12-30-2005, 07:42 AM

Quote:

Great selective highlighting

Nothing better than your selective highlighting Sparten.

Stop BS'ing.

indianguy4u · 12-30-2005, 07:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sparten

Great selective highlighting
Here the rest of the quote

I understand what made u post it. Once more a pakistani maddarssa or terrorist org has received its due publicity. Pakistani had develop a reputation, which it cannot shake off.

indianguy4u · 12-31-2005, 00:15 AM

Row deepens over Danish cartoons

Quote:

Row deepens over Danish cartoons

The cartoons have prompted protests in Copenhagen
Arab foreign ministers have condemned the Danish government for failing to act against a newspaper that published cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.
At the Arab League conference in Cairo, they said they were "surprised and discontented at the response".

Islam forbids any depiction of Muhammad or of Allah.

The Jyllands-Posten newspaper published a series of 12 cartoons showing Muhammad, in one of which he appeared to have a bomb in his turban.

The Arab League's ministers council said the cartoons were an insult to Islam.

The government's response "was disappointing despite its political, economic and cultural ties with the Muslim world", it added.

Death threats

Danish Muslim community leaders held talks with Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen in July to complain about press coverage of Islam.

At the time, Mr Rasmussen said he could not tell newspapers what to print - or what not to.

Arab ministers also said they were unhappy that European human rights organisations have not taken a clear position on the issue.

There have been street protests both in Denmark and in Muslim countries following the publication of the cartoons.

The newspaper insists on freedom of expression and says it has the right to print whatever words and pictures it chooses.

It said both the paper and the cartoonist had received death threats.

**Shek** · 12-31-2005, 00:27 AM

That the cartoons upset Muslims is understandable, as is their decision to protest. If only they would speak so forcefully against 9/11, Al Qaeda, and the violence being perpetrated in Iraq, then maybe they would earn some empathy from me.

These cartoons should provide them with an opportunity to reflect on why people portray Mohammed with a fused turban or carrying a sword and to figure out how to conduct their own struggle within Islam so that future cartoons will reflect a more positive image.

indianguy4u · 12-31-2005, 00:27 AM

BBC: Viewpoints: Europe and the headscarf. French Ban of headscarfs issue.

There are many more, but this quote is my selection.

Quote:

Binnaz Toprak is a political science professor at Bosphorous University in Istanbul, Turkey, a secular country with a Muslim majority.
I think they have got it right in France. Civil servants and schoolgirls should not wear the veil. Personally, I am against it, it is a symbol of the inferior status of women in Muslim countries. In many situations, males have great authority over under-age girls and we cannot be certain that the girls are wearing the hijab because they want to or because their fathers and brothers are forcing them to. They should, therefore, be protected.

In the case of civil servants, I think that when people refer to someone in government office, they should be able to feel that they will not be discriminated against because they do not share the same beliefs as that civil servant. A headscarf could be seen as a symbol of those beliefs.

The issue in Turkey at the moment is whether university students should be allowed to wear the hijab. Many students wear it for political reasons but others wear it for religious reasons and I think that choice should be respected.

Horrido · 12-31-2005, 02:04 AM

Screw'em if they can't take a joke. I'm tired of fundementalist whining. It's a sorry revelation of Muslim affairs that their faith is so weak that they can't handle a few cartoons, that they must protest and make death threats rather than keeping to their faith and observing patience, tolerance, and humility. As a Christian, regarding the Jesus on a cross with an erection: So what? It does no harm and only reflects on the poor taste of the originator. Too bad the tantrum-throwers are so short-sighted they can't see this simple fact.

THL · 12-31-2005, 02:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Horrido

Screw'em if they can't take a joke. I'm tired of fundementalist whining. It's a sorry revelation of Muslim affairs that their faith is so weak that they can't handle a few cartoons, that they must protest and make death threats rather than keeping to their faith and observing patience, tolerance, and humility. As a Christian, regarding the Jesus on a cross with an erection: So what? It does no harm and only reflects on the poor taste of the originator. Too bad the tantrum-throwers are so short-sighted they can't see this simple fact.

I am going to admit that I did not look at any of these links and after seeing Horrido's comment about Jesus on a cross with an erection, I am not going to, but I say this anyway...

should a few jokes about a religion be this serious? I almost bought this shirt because I thought it was funny. I showed it to a friend of mine from the temple and I thought he was going to have a stroke. He was so offended.

Jay · 12-31-2005, 03:00 AM

Actually I saw a picture of Mohammed that was published by some Euro newspaper, I think it was Danish. There was so much hue and noise over that, they had to officially take it down. But its still available in web cache though

smilingassassin · 12-31-2005, 05:53 AM

I have no simpathy for these whiners, tell it to Van Go....oh wait they can't he's dead for critisizing Islam.

Ray · 12-31-2005, 10:14 AM

You all have got me interested.

How does Mohamet look like?

Handsome and tall or short?

Or have they drawn some smelly evil looking old bazaar Arab and written "Mohamet"?

Actually, they take themselves too seriously.

“Anyone who takes himself too seriously always runs the risk of looking ridiculous; anyone who can consistently laugh at himself does not.”

Vaclav Havel

12-30-2005, 07:01 AM	#3 (permalink)
Ob^ New Member Join Date: 12-09-05 Posts: 12	One man's meat is another's poison. To some it is freedom of speech de riguer, to others is is gross sacriliege. In these times of hypersensitivities why can't people restrain themselves and let sleeping dogs lie? Have we not learn that mutual cultural respect requires yet out of bound markers. __________________ Truth is Swift and Sure

12-30-2005, 07:04 AM	#4 (permalink)
sparten Actus Reus *Senior Contributor* Join Date: 04-10-04 Location: You would like to know would'nt you? Posts: 1,695 Country:	I would bet my next paycheck, that the whole thing is staged, with the paper getting free publicity (not to mention selling more papers) and I'll also bet the "Islamic Center" also has a cut in this. __________________ "Any relations in a social order will endure if there is infused into them some of that spirit of human sympathy, which qualifies life for immortality." ~ George William Russell

12-31-2005, 00:27 AM	#9 (permalink)
Shek *Military Professional* Moderator Join Date: 02-23-05 Location: Krblachistan Posts: 7,982 Country:	That the cartoons upset Muslims is understandable, as is their decision to protest. If only they would speak so forcefully against 9/11, Al Qaeda, and the violence being perpetrated in Iraq, then maybe they would earn some empathy from me. These cartoons should provide them with an opportunity to reflect on why people portray Mohammed with a fused turban or carrying a sword and to figure out how to conduct their own struggle within Islam so that future cartoons will reflect a more positive image. __________________ "So little pains do the vulgar take in the investigation of truth, accepting readily the first story that comes to hand." Thucydides 1.20.3

12-31-2005, 02:04 AM	#11 (permalink)
Horrido Staff Emeritus Chief Subversive Join Date: 08-04-03 Location: Secure, and undisclosed. Posts: 979	Screw'em if they can't take a joke. I'm tired of fundementalist whining. It's a sorry revelation of Muslim affairs that their faith is so weak that they can't handle a few cartoons, that they must protest and make death threats rather than keeping to their faith and observing patience, tolerance, and humility. As a Christian, regarding the Jesus on a cross with an erection: So what? It does no harm and only reflects on the poor taste of the originator. Too bad the tantrum-throwers are so short-sighted they can't see this simple fact. __________________ The black flag is raised: Ban them all... Let the Admin sort them out. I know I'm going to have the last word... I have powers of deletion and lock.

12-31-2005, 03:00 AM	#13 (permalink)
Jay Tamizhanban *Senior Contributor* Join Date: 08-06-03 Location: Edison, NJ Posts: 6,507 Country:	Actually I saw a picture of Mohammed that was published by some Euro newspaper, I think it was Danish. There was so much hue and noise over that, they had to officially take it down. But its still available in web cache though __________________ A grain of wheat eclipsed the sun of Adam !!

12-30-2005, 03:11 AM	#2 (permalink)
giggs88 Banished Join Date: 05-08-05 Posts: 1,061	Would they like to have some cheese with their whine?

12-31-2005, 05:53 AM	#14 (permalink)
smilingassassin *Senior Contributor* Join Date: 12-12-03 Location: Vancouver Canada Posts: 2,751 Country:	I have no simpathy for these whiners, tell it to Van Go....oh wait they can't he's dead for critisizing Islam.

12-31-2005, 10:14 AM	#15 (permalink)
Ray Postmaster General *Military Professional* Join Date: 08-20-03 Posts: 28,382 Country:	You all have got me interested. How does Mohamet look like? Handsome and tall or short? Or have they drawn some smelly evil looking old bazaar Arab and written "Mohamet"? Actually, they take themselves too seriously. “Anyone who takes himself too seriously always runs the risk of looking ridiculous; anyone who can consistently laugh at himself does not.” Vaclav Havel __________________ "Some have learnt many Tricks of sly Evasion, Instead of Truth they use Equivocation, And eke it out with mental Reservation, Which is to good Men an Abomination." I don't have to attend every argument I'm invited to. HAKUNA MATATA

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