The Guardian 15 February, 2006
Anti-Muslim cartoons provoke furore
Marilyn Bechtel
Religious and political leaders around the world appealed for respect, dialogue and an end
to violence as protests continued in many countries against publication of caricatures
depicting the prophet Muhammad as a terrorist.
Initially published in September in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten and then in a
Norwegian publication last month, some or all of the cartoons were reprinted last week, largely in
right-wing newspapers in France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland. The
resulting outrage among Muslims has taken many forms, from vigorous street protests to
diplomatic sanctions, economic boycotts, and a wave of violent attacks against Danish, Norwegian
and other diplomatic facilities in several countries. Several protestors have been killed and others
injured as authorities sought to put down the actions.
Jyllands-Posten's culture editor, Flemming Rose, claimed the cartoons were in the tradition
of satirical caricatures and were not meant to be offensive. Newspapers and others defended their
publication, citing freedom of the press. But observers pointed out that the cartoons were published
in a climate of rising anti-immigrant agitation and pressure by far-right parties in Europe, including
in Denmark. In a February 6 article, the London Guardian pointed out that three years ago,
Jyllands-Posten refused to run cartoons lampooning Jesus Christ, saying they would offend
readers and were not funny. In a February 3 statement, bishops from the Evangelical Lutheran
Church in Denmark joined their Norwegian counterparts in urging increased dialogue with the
Muslim community. "To provoke and offend the individual's faith for the sake of provocation in itself
serves no purpose", a church committee stated. "We should dissociate ourselves from the
drawings as well as from the burning of the Danish flag", the Bishop of Copenhagen, the Reverend
Norman Svendsen, said on the same day.
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said he shared Muslims' distress over the cartoons,
adding that freedom of speech "entails responsibility and judgement". Annan called on Muslims to
accept the apology offered by Jylland-Posten, and urged "everybody not to take any
measures that will inflame an already difficult situation."
"I share the anger of Muslims following this publication", France's chief rabbi Joseph Sitruk said on
February 2, after French newspaper Le Soir published the cartoons. "I understand the
hostility in the Arab world", Sitruk added. "One does not achieve anything by humiliating religion.
It's a dishonest lack of respect." Le Soir's owner dismissed its main editor after the paper
carried the drawings.
In a January 6 statement, the French Communist Party (FCP) said that while freedom of
expression, including freedom of the press, "is one of the pillars of democracy, it nonetheless has
limits", notably concerning publications with a defamatory character or inciting to hatred. The FCP
said the cartoons "legitimately arouse indignation and anger among Muslims", which they "have a
right to express freely". But, the party said, this does not justify violence and threats, which it
"condemns … with the greatest firmness".
Meanwhile, French Prime Minister Chirac issued a statement on February 3 defending free speech
but also appealing for "respect … to avoid anything that could hurt other people's beliefs." But
Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy said he preferred "an excess of caricature to an excess of
censure".
In Jerusalem, the Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy
(MIFTAH) said it "views with grave concern and alarm the recent wave of hostilities by Palestinian
activists" protesting against the cartoons. Emphasising that it "fully appreciates the sensitivity of the
issue" MIFTAH urged activists to "refrain from taking matters into their own hands". While
upholding press freedom, MIFTAH also condemned publication of material disparaging any
faith.
In Washington, DC, leaders of American Muslim organisations met on February 7 with Danish
Ambassador Friis Arne Petersen to discuss the cartoons. Mahdi Bray, executive director of the
Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation, called for listening to local Danish Muslim
community voices, to understand what he called an anti-immigration backlash in Europe, as
immigrants are scapegoated for joblessness and lowered living standards. Bray emphasised,
however, that responding with violence "does not uphold the dignity of our faith", adding, "Muslims
united and using their economic leverage, now that's something the world can respect."
The Bush administration said on February 3 that it understood the anger of Muslims over the
images. However, it defended the right of the papers to publish them.
Most US newspapers, with the exception of the Philadelphia Inquirer, did not publish the
caricatures, and the only television network in the US to show an entire cartoon was
ABC.
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