Religions > Atheism > 'It Was Worth It' Editor Reflects on Denmark's Cartoon Jihad
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Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"stoney" |
| Date: |
04 Feb 2006 08:58:51 PM |
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'It Was Worth It' Editor Reflects on Denmark's Cartoon Jihad |
SPIEGEL ONLINE - February 2, 2006, 04:07 PM
URL: http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,398717,00.html
'It Was Worth It'
Editor Reflects on Denmark's Cartoon Jihad
By Roman Heflik in Aarhus, Denmark
In Aarhus, Denmark, an editor says the societal debate unleashed by his
paper's controversial decision to publish political cartoons of the
prophet Muhammad has justified his move. In the town, many residents are
standing behind Jyllands-Posten.
The call came at five o'clock in the evening. A man warned the
receptionist in English: There's a bomb in the building and it's going
to go off in 10 minutes. A few seconds later, more than 200 employees --
editors, secretaries and printing staff -- fled the offices of
Jyllands-Posten in Denmark's second-largest city, Aarhus. The police
quickly turned up on the scene, as did the journalists, photographers
and satellite trucks.
Bomb-sniffing dogs sleuthed through the editorial offices and the
adjacent printing plant for traces of a bomb. A short time later, the
police gave the all clear signal -- no bomb had been found.
It was the second bomb threat within 24 hours, the result of a foreign
policy crisis of a scale unlike any Denmark has ever seen before. "We
expected these kinds of threats," said Jyllands-Posten spokesman Tage
Clausen, looking calm, composed and almost peaceful given the commotion
surrounding his newspaper. The bomb threat, he said, just served to show
how relevant the debate that the newspaper unleashed four months ago is
in contemporary society. In September, Jyllands-Posten, Denmark's
highest-circulation newspaper, published 12 caricatures of the Prophet
Muhammad -- one showed him wearing a bomb as a turban with the fuse
already burning.
Clausen said the paper did not intend to provoke Muslims by running the
political cartoons. "Instead we wanted to show how deeply entrenched
self-censorship has already become," he said. After the explosive
reaction to the drawings, however, you would be hard pressed to find a
Danish cartoonist willing to risk drawing any caricatures relating to
Islam.
Shortly after the publication of the comics, representatives of
Denmark's Muslim population began a storm of protests. Though not
explicitly stated in the Koran, the Muslim religion forbids drawings or
other graphic depictions of Muhammad -- and any image that spoofs the
prophet is seen as an affront by many Muslims. A group of Danish Muslims
unsuccessfully sought to sue the newspaper for publishing the comics.
When that initiative failed, a delegation of Muslims living in Denmark
took their complaints to the Middle East, where they sought help from
Muslim leaders.
The resulting wave of outrage in the Arab World washed over Denmark this
week unrelentingly. Saudi Arabia temporarily recalled its ambassador,
Syria removed its top diplomat and Libya closed its embassy. In Arab
countries, Danish products were boycotted and its trademark red and
white flag burned in public demonstrations of outrage.
The Jyllands-Posten office received bomb threats and its employees were
flooded with death threats by telephone and post, the paper's political
editor, Joern Mikkelsen confirmed. But Mikkelsen said the editors at the
paper remained strong. "We're not afraid," he said, "but this has made
us more reflective."
Free speech proponent or provocateur?
For his part, Mikkelsen also seemed at relative ease on Wednesday, at
least given the stakes the crisis could have for Denmark's image abroad.
It may be seen as a pariah in the Arab world, but the conservative
Jyllands-Posten will be seen by some now as a trailblazer in the fight
freedom of the press. "Was it worth it?" Mikkelsen asked rhetorically
and pausing briefly before answering: "Yes, it was worth it."
Mikkelsen said the subsequent debate over who is or isn't entitled to
criticize a religion only served to further legitimize his paper's
decision to run the comics.
Mikkelsen said the paper had not violated ethics or even the law, but it
had nevertheless apologized to all those who were offended by the
caricatures. "Of course you can ask yourself if the drawings were a bit
naive," he concedes. "But in the end, this doesn't have to do with the
pictures anymore -- I mean, who has even seen them?" Instead, the issue
has been transformed into a conflict of civilizations.
Mikkelsen said he was pleased by the fact that other European papers,
like Paris's France Soir or Berlin's Die Welt had chosen to print the
caricatures in solidarity.
The regional newspaper Stiftstidende is located just a few kilometers
down the road from from Mikkelsen's office. The paper's editor-in-chief,
Flemming Moenster, said the comic scandal had also been felt in his
newsroom. "The intense reactions to the J-P drawings have certainly
frightened us," he admitted. But he said the paper wouldn't permit
itself to be muzzled under pressure. "We could still write a critical
article on the issue of Islam tomorrow," he said, assuringly.
Nevertheless, he said the scuffle had created a situation that would
force newspapers to take more time in the future to consider whether
stories they publish would hurt people's feelings -- and whether the
story is important enough to take that risk. "But we will continue to
print stories that are important and necessary," he said.
"Censorship isn't our aim"
Meanwhile, Imam Akkari, who led the delegation that sought help from the
Arab World in dealing with prejudices against Denmark's Muslim
community, said it wasn't his intention to stymie the right of free
speech to the country's journalists.
"Our intention was never to introduce censorship or to ban criticism of
issues related to religion," Akkari emphasized. In recent years though,
he points out, the Danish media focused an inordinate amount of
attention on Muslim communities. "But now we are worried that the
problem is escalating and that some people might get the wrong idea," he
said. Akkari strongly condemned the bomb threat levelled against
Jyllands-Posten and is quick to emphasize that he is dedicated to "the
political path of discussion."
But despite his conciliatory tone, Danish repugnance for the harsh
reaction to the caricatures among Denmark's Muslims is growing. "I can
understand if someone feels their religious sensibilities have been
offended," said Martin, a 25-year-old bicycle salesman. "But burning the
Danish flag? That's going too far."
"In Denmark, we love irony and sarcasm," said Eminie Ehlers, 23. "I
can't imagine living in a country where I am no longer allowed to voice
my free opinion." Her companion Tonni Soerensen agreed. "The Muslim
reaction was exaggerated in the extreme," he said. "When these imams go
around telling everybody how bad we are, it's like a stab in the back."
After all, he adds, the door was opened to Denmark's immigrants.
Other Aarhus inhabitants went even further. "If they don't agree with
the freedom of the press, then they should go back home," said Anne
Grethe, a 59-year-old who refused to give her last name. Jen, too,
wanted to remain anonymous. "Most Muslims don't want this conflict," the
33-year-old said. "But I can't help thinking, if Danish companies have
to lay people off as a result of the boycott, then it should be the
Muslim employees who are let go first."
The escalation that concerns Akkari seems already to have arrived.
© SPIEGEL ONLINE 2006
--
Fundies and trolls are cordially invited to
shove a wooden cross up their arses and rotate
at a high rate of speed. I trust you'll
be 'blessed' with a cornucopia of splinters.
.
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| User: "" |
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| Title: Re: 'It Was Worth It' Editor Reflects on Denmark's Cartoon Jihad |
22 Feb 2006 12:55:45 AM |
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If these fucking cartoonist Christo Armagaddon crusader pigs want to
exercise freedom of speech they must make cartoon for on one of
following
1. Any assertion "that the Jewish community controls government, the
media, international business and the financial world" is anti-Semitic.
2. "Strong anti-Israel sentiment" is anti-Semitic.
3. "Virulent criticism" of Israel's leaders, past or present, is
anti-Semitic. According to the State Department, anti-Semitism occurs
when a swastika is portrayed in a cartoon decrying the behavior of a
past or present Zionist leader. Thus, a cartoon that includes a
swastika to criticize Ariel Sharon's brutal 2002 invasion of the West
Bank, raining "hell-fire" missiles on hapless Palestinian men, women
and children, is anti-Semitic. Similarly, when the word "Zionazi" is
used to describe Sharon's saturation bombing in Lebanon in 1982
(killing 17,500 innocent refugees), it is also "anti-Semitic."
4. Criticism of the Jewish religion or its religious leaders or
literature (especially the Talmud and Kabbalah) is anti-Semitic.
5. Criticism of the U.S. government and Congress for being under undue
influence by the Jewish-Zionist community (including AIPAC) is
anti-Semitic.
6. Criticism of the Jewish-Zionist community for promoting globalism
(the "New World Order") is anti-Semitic.
7. Blaming Jewish leaders and their followers for inciting the Roman
crucifixion of Christ is anti-Semitic.
9. Calling Israel a "racist" state is anti-Semitic.
10. Asserting that there exists a "Zionist Conspiracy" is anti-Semitic.
11. Claiming that Jews and their leaders created the Bolshevik
Revolution in Russia is anti-Semitic.
12. Making "derogatory statements about Jewish persons" is
anti-Semitic.
13. Denying spiritually disobedient Jews the biblical right to
re-occupy Palestine is anti-Semitic.
14. Alleging that Mossad was behind the 9/11 attack is anti-Semitic.
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| User: "stoney" |
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| Title: Re: 'It Was Worth It' Editor Reflects on Denmark's Cartoon Jihad |
22 Feb 2006 09:05:38 AM |
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On 21 Feb 2006 22:55:45 -0800, wrote in alt.atheism
If these fucking cartoonist Christo Armagaddon crusader pigs want to
exercise freedom of speech they must make cartoon for on one of
following
***** and eat your bacon while it's hot, swine semen swallower..
--
Fundies and trolls are cordially invited to
shove a wooden cross up their arses and rotate
at a high rate of speed. I trust you'll
be 'blessed' with a cornucopia of splinters.
.
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