2008 Woodie Awards
Comics meaning taken too far
Depictions of Mohammad was freedom of the press
Eber Moreno
Issue date: 2/23/06 Section: Opinion
Last September Fleming Rose, the cultural editor of the Jyllands-Posten, a Danish newspaper company, asked 25 Danish cartoonists to "draw Mohammad as they see him."
Twelve responded.
That same month, Jyllands-Posten published 12 cartoons. Some of these cartoons depicted Mohammad as a terrorist.
France-Soir, a French newspaper, and other European newspapers reprinted those cartoons as well.
Muslims in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Iran, Palestine, Lebanon, and Indonesia, among other nations, were outraged. They burned Danish Flags, set the Danish embassies in Beirut and Syria ablaze, and chanted "Death to Denmark."
The Danish and French media, for various reasons including possible retaliation, or increased sensitivity towards the Muslim religion, didn't reprint the cartoons. The editor of France-Soir was fired. Back home, although the Bush Administration did acknowledge that the cartoons were "offensive," defended the media's right to publish them.
Nevertheless, magazines like Time, and newspaper companies like the New York Times, the Modesto Bee, the Tri-Valley Herald, and the San Francisco Chronicle, chose self-censorship.
It is no wonder why I had a difficult time finding the drawings when I volunteered to write about the subject. I finally found these cartoons on the internet, but that was after I searched dozens of websites.
What ever happened to freedom of press? We can't be silenced. And we can't be intimidated either. In Muslim cultures, to prevent idolatry, it's considered a sin to draw Muhammad in any shape or form even though it is not mentioned in the Koran.
Other people's taboo shouldn't be ours. Western countries exercise freedom of press because they are free.
Freedom means learning to deal with being offended.
Our freedom of expression is one of our most valued treasures. Satire is one of them.
When cartoonists mock our presidents, our governors (especially Ah-nold), and our celebrities, we get a good laugh. And that's as far as it goes. Our government doesn't send them to death row.
Twelve responded.
That same month, Jyllands-Posten published 12 cartoons. Some of these cartoons depicted Mohammad as a terrorist.
France-Soir, a French newspaper, and other European newspapers reprinted those cartoons as well.
Muslims in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Iran, Palestine, Lebanon, and Indonesia, among other nations, were outraged. They burned Danish Flags, set the Danish embassies in Beirut and Syria ablaze, and chanted "Death to Denmark."
The Danish and French media, for various reasons including possible retaliation, or increased sensitivity towards the Muslim religion, didn't reprint the cartoons. The editor of France-Soir was fired. Back home, although the Bush Administration did acknowledge that the cartoons were "offensive," defended the media's right to publish them.
Nevertheless, magazines like Time, and newspaper companies like the New York Times, the Modesto Bee, the Tri-Valley Herald, and the San Francisco Chronicle, chose self-censorship.
It is no wonder why I had a difficult time finding the drawings when I volunteered to write about the subject. I finally found these cartoons on the internet, but that was after I searched dozens of websites.
What ever happened to freedom of press? We can't be silenced. And we can't be intimidated either. In Muslim cultures, to prevent idolatry, it's considered a sin to draw Muhammad in any shape or form even though it is not mentioned in the Koran.
Other people's taboo shouldn't be ours. Western countries exercise freedom of press because they are free.
Freedom means learning to deal with being offended.
Our freedom of expression is one of our most valued treasures. Satire is one of them.
When cartoonists mock our presidents, our governors (especially Ah-nold), and our celebrities, we get a good laugh. And that's as far as it goes. Our government doesn't send them to death row.