Since the November, 2004 murder of Dutch film director Theo van Gogh, Danish artists have become fearful of criticising Islam. Author Kåre Bluitgen is due to publish a book on the prophet Muhammad, but no one would agreed to illustrate the work for fear of reprisals from Islamic extremists. Daily newspaper Jyllands-Posten responded by asking 40 illustrators to make drawings of Muhammad as a defence for "secular democracy and right to expression." Twelve illustrators heeded the newspaper's call and sent in cartoons of the prophet. Upon their publication, some Muslims took offense, as pictorial depictions of Muhammad are banned in Islam.
"This type of democracy is worthless for Muslims," Imam Raed Hlayhel wrote in a statement. "Muslims will never accept this kind of humiliation. The article has insulted every Muslim in the world. We demand an apology!"
This is not the first time Hlayhel has created headlines in Denmark. One year ago, he infuriated the nation during a Friday prayer session by insisting that Muslim girls should cover themselves from head to toe, and must refrain from wearing perfume or going to the hairdresser if they want to have any chance of going to heaven.
The danger has escalated since then. Death threats have forced Jyllands-Posten to hire security guards to protect its employees. Journalists and editors alike have received threats by email and over the telephone. Editor Juste said the cartoons had been a journalistic project to find out how many cartoonists refrained from drawing the prophet out of fear.
"We live in a democracy," he said. "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."
Juste's opinion was not shared by Århus Imam Hlayhel, who gave an interview to the Internet edition of Arabic satellite news channel al-Jazeera, saying that he considered the cartoons derisive of Islam. The cleric described one of the drawings as showing Muhammad wearing a turbanlike bomb. He was not alone in criticizing the artwork: Several thousand Muslims demonstrated in Copenhagen against the treatment of Muslims in general and against the images published by Jyllands-Posten in particular.
"We fear that this could lead to violence and extremism, and that young people can decide to carry out extremist acts. We call upon the government to ban degradation of religions and hope that Jyllands-Posten will respond to just criticism," said Danish Muslim Katja Hansen.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Fjordman
Explaining links are included in my original post.
2 - demabloggery
DIE INFIDEL!!!!
3 - Fjordman
I love you too.
4 - Natalie Davis
Fascinating stuff. I hope people will stand and speak out for free speech.
5 - Aaman
The extremists need a sense of humor, that being said, why is it relevant to deliberately provoke the easily provoked?
6 - Bliffle
The arrogance is astonishing. People immigrate to a country, then DEMAND that the country change to accomodate their vanity and their superstition.
7 - Aaman
Yep, superstitious beliefs are that way - just look at the Albigenisian Crusades and the Protestant massacres and the Inquisition and the Islamic Jihad
8 - Aaman
Bismillah! No!
9 - Victor Plenty
It's sad to see Muslims betray Islam. These enemies of free speech are also enemies of their own faith. Islamic law forbids Muslims from depicting images of the Prophet in works of art. That much is true. However, such laws do not apply to people who are not Muslims. Anyone who seeks to enforce this law against non-Muslims is employing compulsion in matters of faith, an act which Muhammad specifically forbade to all the followers of Islam.
All the people sending death threats to the newspaper involved are false Muslims, whether they realize it or not. Any leaders advocating, condoning, or even refusing to condemn violent actions against the publishers and the artists are also betraying the heritage of Islam.
Through their actions and their lack of true leadership they bring eternal shame upon themselves.
10 - Aaman
Excellent point, Victor
11 - Victor Plenty
Thanks, Aaman. Now if some Muslims would also voice their agreement with the principle of free speech, I might feel better about the world's chances to avoid the catastrophe of a global religious conflict.
Perhaps we just don't have a very large Muslim demographic in the regular readership of Blogcritics.
I dearly hope that's the only reason we aren't seeing more Muslims comment on this story.
12 - Aaman
I assure you that blogcritics is lacking in this demographic. For those of us from more diverse communal backgrounds, it is actually odd to see these perceptions of Muslims. For us, the extremist Muslim is the oddball, and not the other way round
13 - Victor Plenty
That's good to hear, Aaman.
14 - Ruvy in Jerusalem
I've seen how afraid European papers are of reporting gang rapes and other crimes by the Moslem minorities in their countries. I suggest that those looking at this excellent article of yours also take a serious look at the book Eurabia, that you featured. This is particularly true for those of you who live in Europe.
15 - ahmed s. al-abbasi
To the Chief Editor of Jylland-Posten,
You should educate yourselves about "Prophet Mohammad" before publishing any caricature of the Great Prophet of Islam so that you will not hurt the Believers of Islam (1,500,000,000).
16 - Andy Marsh
ahmed...the only thing that would hurt you about publishing anything would be if womeone were to pick up said "published" book and smack you in the head with it...other than that...don't read it and it won't hurt you or your 1,500,000,000 friends.
17 - Nancy
Ahmed, in your opinion is Allah so weak & defenseless that He requires you to defend Him? Do you believe He doesn't have the capability of handling those He finds offensive quite on His own, without your feeble help, or that of your fellow muslims? Because that's basically what you & those who "demand" everyone behave according to their strictures are saying ... and that includes fundamentalist christians too.
18 - Ruvy in Jerusalem
Ahmed, it strikes me that you have a spot of trouble understanding what westerners call "freedom of speech".
Newspapers generally don't care whom they offend in their publications. Actually, the more people they offend, the better. Those offended BUY the paper, show it to their frinds, and then write angry letters to the editor like yours. More dinars in the newspaper's bank account.
The other side of the issue is that the Jylland Posten is not subject to Sharia law, but the civil laws of the Kingdom of Denmark. These do not forbid caricatures of public figures. And Mohammed is a public figure.
Finally, if you are truly offended, organize your friends to boycott the paper through advertising, etc. Crown Prince Abdullah threatened to pull Saudi investments from the United States because American newsmen kept talking about the danger of Wahhabi Islam. While the newsmen were right, American executives were worried about their bottom lines and talked instead about Islamic terror. Perhaps yoiur leaders should consider pulling their money out of Denmark. It strikes me that Danish executives should be about as courageous as American ones...
19 - nader
To all you that support the free speech attack on the “prophet Mohamed” remember
That you have just officially supported directly and indirectly the free speech and action of all previous , present , and future behavior of sick individuals , such as
1- Hitler in killing and torturing all the Europe jaws (free action and speech, thank you for given the Nazis a justification for their upcoming actions.)
2- Child pornography ( freedom of action , thank you for given the child abusers a justification and the necessary support for their actions. It could be your child, but you said it,it is a free democracy)
3- social violence ( freedom of action and speech, thank you for given the sick racist a justification for taken action against the black, white, women , children , chine’s , the olders,or ant thing alse )
Above are some of the thing that you consciously or unconsciously have justified and supported under than name of free speech and actions.
Note : next time you get humiliated in the street, office, home , socially or religiously just remember IT IS A FREE DENOCROSY.
Regards
20 - RyMantys
To Victor Plenty
Well I'm an atheist, but my family is Muslim, and I respect that religion very much, as I do all others. I support free speach wholeheartedly. I think it's sad that this religion in particular suffers from such a bad reputation nowadays, and Muslims don't realize how their intolerance and bigotry are contributing to that. They also definitely lack a sense of humor.
Go Jyllands-Posten, go!
21 - Nancy
Nader, you are correct: free speech involves speech by those we consider contemptible. However, it also means that we are free to mock and protest Hitler, child porn, etc. as well as any and all public personalities, including Muhammed, Jesus Christ, Buddha, the pope, the dalai lama, George W. Bush, Tom Cruise, or anybody else. Living in a free society does not give anybody the right to kill or threaten others in order to maintain "face" for themselves or their selected religions, cultures, etc. Only barbarians who are incapable of understanding the difference do that.
22 - RyMantys
Nader, you're talking about action. We're talking here about freedom of speech and thought. That means Someone is free to state his opinion about Islam, Hitler, pedophily, racism, homosexuality, democracy, war, or fried chicken. That doesn't mean anyone is free of killing Jews, raping children, physically abusing homos, or destroying a mosque.
If you're against free speach, don't complain when the situation is such that muslim imams are forbidden to make their sermons in Wetern countries when their opinions are opposed to the values of those countries, and when Moslims will have to hide their religion to continue living in those countries.
23 - troll
*If you're against free speach, don't complain when the situation is such that muslim imams are forbidden to make their sermons in Wetern countries when their opinions are opposed to the values of those countries, and when Moslims will have to hide their religion to continue living in those countries.*
well said and worth repeating
troll
24 - Nancy
This is correct, and I should have included it: freedom of speech means that Muslims are also free to engage in whatever speech they choose: sermons, rants, hate speech, whatever. So, Nader, if you want to bar derogatory comments against Muhammed, that extends to YOU being barred from making derogatory comments against Jews, Christians, Americans, or anybody else. This is a sword that swings both ways - something that most people seem to have a hard time comprehending.
25 - Nader
Dear RyMantys “ Freedom of speech and thought but not freedom of actions..is this what you are saying”.
When some one transfer his thought into written material and illustrations he have moved into actions. When Lenin wrote that “religion is the opium of society” his thought were transferred into the Russian revaluation that lead to division of the western world , that lead to break down of his own nation , that lead to one of the biggest organize crime network in the world.. When martin Luther king said “ I have a dream” the black movement started in America . So dear RyMantys and reader ,freedom of speech is fully linked to freedom of action
If some one wrote (or say in public) something that they believe in and did not take stand and action toward it , than there could only be two reason for that. First they don’t believe in what they wrote (or say) , or second they are cowards and to weak to take a stand. But the story does not end there, what will happen if some else read the published material and decided to take action?, then which person to blame when the result are destructive to the society.
Freedom of speech and thought have consequences and cascade effect and as adults we are responsible for our speech and thought specially when we publish them through public media (Unfortunately we don’t have the childhood luxury of saying anything and not held responsible.)
Imagine this
Some saw the “prophet Mohammad “ sketches and started to make fun of a Muslim teenagers and their propheat. The Muslim teenager started response back , the situation get out of hand , some get hurt, the news spread every body take a stand.
Stop .. and think who is to balm?
The artist who draw the sketches
The person how make fun of the teenagers
The teenagers
Or You for supporting the careless freedom of speech.
I am fully in support of freedom of speech and freedom of actions as long as they are in the benefit of the society and humanity. But careless un responsible freedom of speech I against, (that include the imams and Muslim speeches that spreading hate and violence in whatever country ( Muslim or non Muslim, western or eastern), they should be stop for spreading such values that don’t have any relation to Islam or any sound civilized humanity .
Dear Nancy you wrote “However, it also means that we are free to mock and protest Hitler, child porn, etc. as well as any and all public personalities, including Muhammed, Jesus Christ, Buddha, the pope, the dalai lama, George W. Bush, Tom Cruise, or anybody else”
or anybody else!.. or anybody else! does that mean I can make fun of handicap people?, or small girls with defective features?, or fat people? , or you personally?. The Islam that I was taught considerer that un civilized and un human and against the principles of brotherhood between all humans.