C L O S E R – Cartoonesque Today
As said yesterday there are many depictions of the prophet Muhammad. Such as this one where angels visit Muhammad to prepare him for the Miraj. It’s a detail from The Progress of the Prophet, Turkey, 16th century.
Today the first company seems to be hit by the boycott: Nordic firm hit by Arab boycott
We have taken 40 years to build up a very big business in the Middle East, and we’ve seen it come to a complete stop in five days
Astrid Gade Niels
Arla spokeswoman
Also more condemnations from the Arab world, this time from 17 Arab countries.
Also the Dutch newspapers have discovered the item. In the Dutch daily De Volkskrant several artists who are reluctant in depicting the prophet. Except for Gregorius Nekschot (pseudonym) who will publish a book soon with a picture of the prophet Muhammad in a compromising situation with Aicha.
The editor of Jylland Posten has published a statement in which he legitimizes himself towards Muslims and says he regrets people felt insulted:
I am sorry that the publication of a few cartoons in the Norwegian paper Magazinet has caused unrest among Muslims. I fully understand that these drawings are seen to give offence by Muslims worldwide. Islam is a spiritual reference point for a large part of the world. Your faith has the right to be respected by us.
The cartoons in the Christian paper Magazinet are not constructive in building the
bridges which are necessary between people with different religious and ethnic backgrounds. Instead they contribute to suspicion and unnecessary conflict.Let it be clear that the Norwegian government condemns every expression or act which expresses contempt for people on the basis of their religion or ethnic origin. Norway has always supported the fight of the UN against religious intolerance and racism, and believes that this fight is important in order to avoid suspicion and conflict. Tolerance, mutual respect and dialogue are the basis values of Norwegian society and of our foreign policy.
Freedom of expression is one of the pillars of Norwegian society. This includes tolerance for opinions that not everyone shares. At the same time our laws and our international obligations enforce restrictions for incitement to hatred or hateful expressions.
This conflict seems clear: Muslims enraged about depicting Muhammad by Westerners and Westerners enraged by Muslims who disrespect freedom of speech. Nevertheless, several questions have to be asked.
1) The reason for this conflict seems clear: the twelve cartoons of the Jylland Posten. But it is not the first one; there are pictures of the prophet Muhammed that exists for ages. Such as the ones I include on every entry on this issue (made by – mostly Shia – Muslims) but also less friendly ones. Such as the next illustration taken from La vie de Mahomet, by M. Prideaux, published in 1699. It shows Muhammad holding a sword and a crescent while trampling on a globe, a cross, and the Ten Commandments.
So again, we know that this is a sensitive topic, why the conflict now and why in Denmark?
2) The conflict started in October 2005 (correct me if i’m wrong). It’s now January: three months later. Why does it escalate now? In this age of internet, mobile phones and so on, it shouldn’t be that difficult to attrackt attention in let’s say Saudi Arabia. Why do the Arab countries interfere now?
3) The conflict is represented as a conflict between Muslims and non-Muslims or Arabs and Europeans. But the picture is actually a little more diverse. Yesterday I showed comments of a Danish Muslims who disagreed with the major organizations and stated that they do not represent everyone. Also, as my good colleague Robbert told me today, the EU has protested against the cartoons:
Franco Frattini, the Deputy EU commissioner for Justice, Freedom, and Security, noting the publication as “foolishness and indiscretion” condemned the cartoons Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rassmussen backed up on the grounds of “freedom of speech and thought”.
Such publications, Frattini emphasized, will serve to radicalism by fomenting hostility against Islam and foreigners.
In response to the “freedom of press” that Mr. Rasmussen used as an excuse, the EU official said the media is not free to make a news story out of anything. Frattini assessing the issue in his personal perspective said if the publication were about his own values, it would hurt him personally as a Catholic Christian and he would have taken great offence.
To be honest, such codes of behavior will accelerate Islamophobia across Europe, said Frattini, emphasizing his respect for the freedom of speech.
Frattini emphasized the cartoons published in Jyllands Posten did not affect people’s ideas on Islam and noted despite everything he is against restricting the freedom of the press.
Also Bill Clinton protested against the cartoons.
“So now what are we going to do? … Replace the anti-Semitic prejudice with anti-Islamic prejudice?” he said at an economic conference in the Qatari capital of Doha.
“In Europe, most of the struggles we’ve had in the past 50 years have been to fight prejudices against Jews, to fight against anti-Semitism,” he said.
Clinton described as “appalling” the 12 cartoons published in a Danish newspaper in September depicting Prophet Mohammed and causing uproar in the Muslim world.
“None of us are totally free of stereotypes about people of different races, different ethnic groups, and different religions … there was this appalling example in northern Europe, in Denmark … these totally outrageous cartoons against Islam,” he said.
So on both sides the boundaries between us and them are blurred. In many newspapers (Dutch ones) there is no attention to that. Why not?
4) What kind of role does internet play? My colleague Robbert showed me an email today with several not very respectful pictures of the prophet. Some of them were from the Jylland Posten but several other ones (such as one with a pig) you can find here.
It also included two PowerPoint presentations with (I thought) a sort of bio of the prophet. And the following letter:
Danish Consulate
Dubai, UAE
Fax: 04 – 2235751To Whom It May Concern:
It is with great displeasure that I write to you to express my shock and anger at the extreme disrespect and thoughtlessness your government has shown in reaction to the offensive cartoons published in the Danish daily, Jyllands-Posten.
The blasphemous cartoons picturing Prophet Mohammed were insulting to the 1.3 billion Muslims all over the world, whose feelings you have inconsiderately ignored. What was even more distasteful was your government’s support for the newspaper’s bigotry, calling it “freedom of speech.†Perhaps you could try denying the holocaust and calling that a “freedom of speech�
The increasing anti-Muslim prejudice in your country is repulsive. It is worth mentioning that the consequences of your insensitivity and passiveness may have skipped your notice: Muslims around the world are campaigning to boycott Danish products. Flyers and pamphlets listing Danish products are being actively distributed everywhere.
As a UAE national, whose country hosts 189 different nationalities living together in harmony, respecting each others’ faiths and cultures, I wish to extend an invitation to your government to learn civilized manners from my country.
The least your government could do now is to apologize to Muslims all around the world, and take disciplinary actions against the newspaper that caused this tension. An appropriate response from your government is demanded.The authors name is left out here-MdK
That whole message is send troughout the whole world via email conflating several incidents with the prophet Muhammad with the incident of the Jylland Posten. An interesting phenomenon.
who gives a fuck if the muslims are offended, sholdn’t we still be morning the loss of so many of our good soldiers and all those people that died on 911!!!