Before anyone wants to sue me or takes offense or whatever, I am putting up a thumbnail sketch of the Muhammed cartoons for the purpose of discussion and under the legal principles of fair use. My blog is not for profit and these pictures are posted to help educate the public and are widely available on the internet. Pictured below is a a summary of the 12 pictures that have caused much controversy and angst among the Muslim world.
(CARTOONS REMOVED OUT OF RESPECT - PEACE!)
I had to look up the cartoons myself to see what the fuss is about. And I have to admit, that these cartoons are quite offensive. Four people have died protesting over these cartoons. The Chinese say that a picture is a thousand words. And a picture can also cause thousands to riot. Clashes all over the Middle East, the storming of Danish embassies, demonstrations in India, Thailand and Indonesia. Muslims rioting everywhere.
The French Newspaper France Soir had this to say
"No, we will never excuse ourselves [the right] to free speech, to think, believe... Since these self-proclaimed doctors of the faith make a question of principle of it, it is necessary to be firm. Let us protest as much as it will be necessary to demonstrate that one has the right to caricature Mahomet, Jesus, Buddha, Jehovah and all the variations of theism. That is called the freedom of expression in a laic country ", affirms the leader-writer of the newspaper".
Its a hard line, the divide between free speech and respect for religion. As a blogger I feel that we should have free speech and the right to publish whatever we want. But on the other hand, as a creative writer/blogger, I also feel that we have to exercise some kind of self regulation.
On balance, the pictures above should not have been published because they offend people. They make fun of the Muslim religion. They were wrong and the newspaper should have known better. Of course they were going to offend people but they probably didn't see the magnitude of it. I feel that I can't post up the actual pictures since they are so offensive, so if you want to see them click here.
Even bloggers around the world are concerned about posting up these pictures. A list has developed of bloggers that have posted them up in the interest of free speech. Is this the beginning of a fatwa list?
Leave a comment and tell the people what you think.
Peace Out,
DJ Ho.
4 comments:
Geez, one side publishes some offensive cartoons. The other side has rioted, burned embassies, taken hostages, and threatened beheadings and chopping hands off. Oh, and four people in the mid east have died during rioting. Crazy!
Actually bro, after having seen them for the very first time, I think that while some of these cartoons are offensive and blasphemous (eg muhamed with a bomb on his head), several of them aren't offensive at all. The very first picture on your link shows a cartoonist sweating in fear as he draws one of the cartoons. Another cartoon has a man saying "relax, its only a picture made by a non-believing Dane" (how prophetic). One picture lampoons the beliefs of terrorists who believe they will be rewarded in heaven with virgins for their murderous deeds. One cartoon I think is questioning the subjugation of women under Islam - it has two women covered head to toe in the burqa with only their frightened eyes peeking out. In contrast the man in front of them has his eyes covered - he is really the one who cannot "see".
Secondly, I don't think the violence in the mid east has anything to do with cartoons at all. It may have started out that way but its rapidly degenerated into an I-hate-the-West free for all. I think that we are in a new Cold War, one that will probably go on for just as long as the last one. Only this time its not democracy v communism. Its become West v Islam. 9/11 really changed the world and after everything that followed (Afghanistan, Iraq, Madrid, London bombings, Bali I, Bali II, riots in france, riots in sydney beaches and now the Battle of the Danish Cartoons) I think its only going to get worse.
By the way a Jordanian editor was arrested for publishing the cartoons. Yeah he's either a stupid fool or a brave fool, but these are some of the words that got him arrested: "What hurts Islam more: these cartoons, or pictures of a hostage-taker slitting the throat of his victim before camers, or a suicide bomber blowing up an Amman wedding party?"
Hi, I'm a friend of Nate's and I occasionally stumble this way.
I agree. There needs to be some sort of regulation, hopefully one stemming from love. Like some others have said, you can't legislate against being offended, but it isn't always the wisest or most loving thing to say/write/post/publish anything. Meaningful discussion is quite different to caricatures.
That is not to say that everyone is right and we just need to understand what each other think. In fact this series of incidents flies in the face of post-modern relativism. Does everyone really think that anyone can think/believe what they want to and it's ok? A lot of Muslims certainly don't think so, and rightly so. Whether the retaliation is warranted is another issue.
For us, perhaps we should be "speaking the truth in love"?
Fool On - You are right. I was debating for a long time whether to even put up that thumbnail sketch and checked with several people whether to put them up. I do feel that they are offensive, but I want people to see them so that they can understand where the muslims are coming from. What I was trying to say was that I can't republish them in full, but I guess that's futile because I have republished them in the first place.
Oh and that fair use line i took from Wikipedia, that's the last time i rely on them! But since we are in cyberspace, do Australian IP laws apply? I just want to cover my ass though I doubt the danish newspaper will be suing people for republishing!
I support free speech but you can't just say anything. It's a very fine line because by saying anything you can offend and in extreme cases incite people.
Bro - your opinons i always highly respect. After I read your comment and then went back and understood what the pictures actually meant, I admit some of them are quite witty but I still feel the danish newspaper shouldn't have published them. Oh, and the riots are definently beyond the cartoons now. Its is a whole "hate the west" thing.
unkoh - where is the love?!! "Meaningful discussion is quite different to caricatures": so true. Free speech should have its boundaries. The question then is, where do we draw those boundaries?
My best friend is a devoute muslim and I remember an instance in high when I made a joke about Muhamad having many wives. He didn't speak to me for weeks, and his folks had an interesting conversation wih my parents. I made a peace offering but took that as a mental note of how serious some are committed to Islam.
Awareness needs to be at the forefront of someones mind when they publish things like this. You may possess the liberty to do so but the consequences are not worth the outcome.
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