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== Opinions and issues ==
{{seealso|Opinions on the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy}}
{{seealso|International reactions to the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy}}
===Danish journalistic tradition===
] was obtained in a new Danish constitution<ref>{{PDFlink||120&nbsp;]<!-- application/pdf, 123774 bytes -->}} </ref> in 1849, and has been defended vigorously ever since. It was suspended for the duration of the German ] in ]. Freedom of expression is also protected by the ] and the ].


The ] are privately owned and independent from the government, and Danish freedom of expression is quite far-reaching, even by Western standards. In the past, this has provoked official protests from Germany about printing ] propaganda, and from Russia for "solidarity with terrorists."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2369083.stm| title=Chechen rebels seek talks with Moscow|publisher=BBC News|date=28 October, 2002}}</ref> The organization ] ranks Denmark at the top of its Worldwide Press Freedom Index for 2005.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rsf.org/rubrique.php3?id_rubrique=554|publisher=Reporters Without Borders|title=World Press Freedom Index, 2005}}</ref>

Religion is often portrayed in ways that other societies consider illegal blasphemy.<ref></ref><ref> on Internet Movie Database</ref><ref></ref> While '']'' has published ] cartoons depicting Christian figures,<ref></ref> it did, in 2003, reject unsolicited ] cartoons depicting Jesus,<ref></ref> opening them to accusations of a ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1703501,00.html|title=Danish paper rejected Jesus cartoons|publisher=The Guardian|date=February 6, 2006|author=Gwladys Fouché}}</ref> In February 2006, ''Jyllands-Posten'' also refused to publish ] offered by an Iranian newspaper.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jp.dk/login?url=english_news/artikel:aid=3548990|title=
No Holocaust Cartoons in Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten|publisher=''Jyllands-Posten''|date=2006-02-09|accessdate=2006-09-17}}</ref><ref></ref> Six of the less controversial entries were later published by '']'', after the editors consulted the main rabbi in Copenhagen,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5327852.stm|title=Paper reprints Holocaust cartoons|publisher=]|date=2006-09-08|accessdate=2006-09-08}}</ref> and three cartoons were in fact later reprinted in ''Jyllands-Posten''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jp.dk/login?url=kultur/artikel:aid=3961206|title=
Holocaust-konkurrence flopper|publisher=''Jyllands-Posten''|date=2006-09-15|accessdate=2006-09-17}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://epaper.jp.dk/16-09-2006/demo/JP_01-16_17.html|title=
Holocaust-konkurrence flopper (p. 16)|publisher=''Jyllands-Posten''|date=2006-09-16|accessdate=2006-09-17}}</ref> After the competition had finished, ''Jyllands-Posten'' also reprinted the winning and ] cartoons.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://epaper.jp.dk/03-11-2006/demo/JP_01-20_21.html|title=
Iran varsler endnu flere Holocaust-konkurrencer (p. 20)|publisher=''Jyllands-Posten''|date=2006-11-03|accessdate=2006-11-05}}</ref>

=== Muslim tradition ===
==== Aniconism ====
{{main|Aniconism in Islam|Depictions of Muhammad}}

]
Owing to the traditions of ] in Islam, the majority of ] concerning Muhammad is ] in nature. The ] condemns ], and pictoral forms are seen as ostensibly close to idol worship. These are found in A] : ''"] reported Allah’s Messenger (]) having said: Those who paint pictures would be punished on the Day of ] and it would be said to them: Breathe ] into what you have created."'' <ref></ref><ref></ref><ref></ref><ref></ref>
] ]. In Jami Al-Tawarikh "The Universal History" by ], at the ] library; ] 1315.]]
Within Muslim communities, views have varied regarding pictorial representations. ] has been generally tolerant of pictorial representations of human figures, including Muhammad.<ref></ref> Contemporary ] generally forbids any pictorial representation of Muhammad,<ref></ref> but has had periods allowing depictions of Muhammad's face covered with a veil or as a featureless void emanating light.
A few contemporary interpretations of Islam, such as some adherents of ] and ], are entirely ] and condemn pictorial representations of any kind.
The ], while in power in ], banned television, photographs and images in newspapers and destroyed paintings including ]es in the vicinity of the ].<ref></ref>
<br style="clear:both;"/>

==== Prohibition to insult Muhammad ====
In Muslim societies, insulting the Islamic prophet Muhammad is considered one of the gravest of all crimes. Some interpretations of the ], in particular the relatively fringe ] group, state that any insult to Muhammad warrants death.<ref>{{cite news|title=Question #22809: Ruling on one who insults the Prophet |publisher=Islam Q & A |url=http://www.islam-qa.com/index.php?ln=eng&ds=qa&lv=browse&QR=22809&dgn=4}}</ref>

However, the ] has denounced calls for the death of the Danish cartoonist. OIC's ] told journalists in Islamabad:
<blockquote>
This is not a joke to go and say kill this and that. This is a very serious matter and nobody has the authority to issue a ruling to kill people.<ref>{{cite news|title=OIC denounces cartoons violence |publisher=BBC|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4736854.stm}}</ref>
</blockquote>

=== Associating Islam with terrorism ===
Many Muslims have explained their anti-cartoon stance as against ''insulting'' pictures and not so much as against pictures in ''general''. According to the ]:

{{quotation|It is the satirical intent of the cartoonists and the association of the Prophet with terrorism, that is so offensive to the vast majority of Muslims.|<ref>{{cite news|first=Magdi|last=Abdelhadi|title=Cartoon row highlights deep divisions|date=] ]|publisher=]|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4678220.stm}}</ref>}}

{{quotation|Why is the insult so deeply felt by some Muslims? Of course, there is the prohibition on images of Muhammad. But one cartoon, showing the Prophet wearing a turban shaped as a bomb with a burning fuse, extends the caricature of Muslims as terrorists to Muhammad. In this image, Muslims see a depiction of Islam, its prophet and Muslims in general as terrorists. This will certainly play into a widespread perception among Muslims across the world that many in the West harbour a hostility towards &ndash; or fear of &ndash; Islam and Muslims.|<ref>{{cite news|title=Q&A: Depicting the Prophet Muhammad|date=] ]|publisher=]|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4674864.stm}}</ref>}}



=== Allegations of "agendas" ===
====Agendas in the West====
Some commentators see the publications of the cartoons and the riots that took place in response, as part of a coordinated effort to show Muslims and Islam in a bad light, thus influencing public opinion in the West in aid of various political projects, for example to support further military intervention in the Middle East.<ref>{{cite news|date=] ]|title=Islam and globanalisation|publisher=Al-Ahram|url=http://www.irna.ir/en/news/view/line-22/0601317044194736.htm}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=] ]|title=Rotten in Denmark |publisher=antiwar|url=http://antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=8512}}</ref> Most commentators in Europe framed the dispute as one between Islam and freedom of expression, which was useful banner "under which the most diverse sectors of society can unite in the name of ‘European values’: ]s and ]s, ]s and ]s, ]s and ]s, ] activists and consumption-oriented ]s."

The controversy was used to highlight a supposedly irreconcilable rift between Europeans and Islam, and many demonstrations in the Middle-East were encouraged by the regimes there for their own purposes. Different groups used this tactic for different purposes, some more explicitly than others: for example ] groups, nationalists, feminists, ] and national governments.<ref>{{cite news|date=May/June ]|title=‘The journalists of Jyllands-Posten are a bunch of reactionary provocateurs’ The Danish cartoon controversy and the self-image of Europe |publisher=Radical Phillosophy|author= Heiko Henkel|url=http://www.radicalphilosophy.com/default.asp?channel_id=2187&editorial_id=21398}}</ref>

Muslim critics have also accused the west, in particular the EU, of double standards in adopting laws that outlaw ]. Denmark, along with Britain and Sweden, have particularly libertarian traditions concerning Holocaust denial and pressed for wording in a recent EU legislation that would avoid criminalizing debates about the Holocaust and would ensure that films and plays about the Holocaust would not be censored.<ref>{{cite news|date=]|title=EU adopts measure outlawing Holocaust denial |publisher=International Herald Tribune|url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/04/19/news/eu.php}}</ref>

==== Alleged Zionist agenda ====
Among others,<ref>{{cite news|date=] ]|title=Qatari University Lecturer Ali Muhi Al-Din Al-Qardaghi: Muhammad Cartoon Is a Jewish Attempt to Divert European Hatred from Jews to Muslims|publisher=Al-Jazeera/MemriTV|url=http://www.memritv.org/Transcript.asp?P1=1030}}</ref> ]'s supreme leader Ayatollah ] blamed a "Zionist ]" for the row over the cartoons.<ref>{{cite news|date=] ]|title=Cartoons 'part of Zionist plot'|publisher=Guardian|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/cartoonprotests/story/0,,1704174,00.html}}</ref> The ] envoy to Washington alleged the ] party concocted distribution of Muhammad caricatures worldwide in a bid to create a clash between the West and the Muslim world.<ref>{{cite news|date=] ]|title=PA: Likud behind Muhammad cartoons|publisher=ynet|url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3215284,00.html}}</ref> The criminalization of ] in parts of Europe received renewed interest,<ref>{{cite news|date=1997|title=Anti-Semitism in the Egyptian Media|publisher=Anti-Defamation League|url=http://www.adl.org/egyptian_media/old_egyptian_conspiracy.asp}}</ref> raising concerns over freedom of speech being asserted selectively<ref>{{cite news|date=] ]|title=Irving tests Europe's free speech|publisher=BBC|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4710508.stm}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=] ]|title=Iranian paper launches Holocaust cartoon competition|publisher=The Times|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,251-2027749,00.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=] ]|title=Iran paper plans Holocaust cartoons|publisher=Al-Jazeera|url=http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/FCE073DD-7F1B-4714-95F0-DD1F354F1D9A.htm}}</ref>, although no such criminalization exists in Denmark.

====Islamist or Mideast regime agendas====
Other commentators see ] jockeying for influence<ref>{{cite news|date=] ]|title=The Cartoon Jihad-The Muslim Brotherhood's project for dominating the West.|publisher=Weekly Standard|url=http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/006/704xewyj.asp?pg=1}}</ref> both in Europe<ref>{{cite news|date=] ]|title=Behind the cartoon war: radical clerics competing for followers|publisher=Christian Science Monitor|url=
http://csmweb2.emcweb.com/2006/0223/p09s01-coop.html?s=widep
}}</ref> and the ],<ref>{{cite news|date=] ]|title=
Islamic Activism Sweeps Saudi Arabia|publisher=Washington Post|url=
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/22/AR2006032202305.html}}</ref> who tried (unsuccessfully) to widen the split between the USA and Europe, and simultaneously bridge the split between the ] and the ].<ref>{{cite news|date=] ]|title=The Cartoon Backlash: Redefining Alignments|publisher=Stratfor|url=http://www.stratfor.com/products/premium/read_article.php?id=261960}}</ref>
<!--
=== Middle Eastern regimes' involvement ===
-->

Regimes in the Middle East have been accused of taking advantage of the controversy, and adding to it, in order to demonstrate their Islamic credentials, distracting from their failures by setting up an external enemy,<ref>{{cite news|date=] ]|title=Cartoons Tap Into Deep-Seated Grievances|publisher=Forbes|url=http://www.forbes.com/business/2006/02/27/middle-east-cartoons_cx_0227oxford.html}}</ref>
<ref>{{cite news|date=] ]|title=En uhellig alliance har bragt konflikten om det hellige ud af kontrol«|publisher=Information|url=http://www.information.dk/InfWebsite/FremvisningPHP/Webavis/WAvPrint.php?pWAvVis=1241}} {{da icon}}</ref>
<ref>{{cite news|date=] ]|title=Opportunists Make Use of Cartoon Protests|publisher=Washington Times|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/08/AR2006020802296_pf.html}}</ref> and "(using) the cartoons as a way of showing that the expansion of freedom and democracy in their countries would lead inevitably to the denigration of Islam."<ref>{{cite news|date=] ]|title=Clash of Civilization|publisher=WallStreetJournal|url=http://www.opinionjournal.com/weekend/hottopic/?id=110007956}}</ref> ] announced a Holocaust Conference, supported<ref>{{cite news|date=] ]|title= Iran plans Holocaust conference|publisher=CNN|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/01/15/iran.holocaust/}}</ref> by the ], to uncover what he called the "myth" used to justify the creation of Israel.<ref>{{cite news|date=] ]|title=Tehran faces backlash over conference to question Holocaust |publisher=Guardian|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/iran/story/0,12858,1687134,00.html}}</ref> Ahmadinejad started voicing doubt about the veracity of the holocaust at the same<ref>{{cite news|date=] ]|title=Iranian president says Israel should be moved to Europe |publisher=USAToday|url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2005-12-09-iran-israel_x.htm}}</ref> ] conference in Mecca that served to spread the ] to leaders of the Muslim world.<ref>{{cite news|title= How a meeting of leaders in Mecca set off the cartoon wars around the world|publisher=The Independent|date=]|url=http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article344482.ece}}</ref>

===Alleged political correctness===

Critics of ] see the cartoon controversy as a sign that attempts at judicial codification of such concepts as ], ] and ] have backfired on their advocates, "leaving them without a leg to stand on"<ref>{{cite news|date=] ]|title=Respectful Cultures & Disrespectful Cartoons|publisher=Counterpunch News|url=http://www.counterpunch.org/neumann02132006.html}}</ref> and in retreat again:

{{quotation|The issue will almost certainly lead to a revisiting of the lamentable laws against "hate speech" in Europe, and with any luck to a debate on whether these laws are more likely to destroy public harmony than encourage it. Muslim activists are finding out why getting into a negative-publicity fight is as inadvisable as wrestling with a pig: You get dirty and the pig enjoys it.|<ref>{{cite news|date=] ]|title=The Mountain Comes to Muhammad|publisher=Reason Magazine|url=http://www.reason.com/links/links020306.shtml}}</ref>}}


== Comparable references == == Comparable references ==

Revision as of 13:22, 29 May 2007

The controversial cartoons of Muhammad, as they were first published in Jyllands-Posten in September 2005. Larger versions of the cartoons (some translated into English) are available off-site.

The Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy began after twelve editorial cartoons, most of which depicted the Islamic prophet Muhammad, were published in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten on 2005-09-30. The newspaper announced that this publication was an attempt to contribute to the debate regarding criticism of Islam and self-censorship.

Danish Muslim organizations, who objected to the depictions, responded by holding public protests attempting to raise awareness of Jyllands-Posten's publication. The controversy deepened when further examples of the cartoons were reprinted in newspapers in more than fifty other countries. This led to protests across the Muslim world, some of which escalated into violence, including setting fire to the Norwegian and Danish Embassies in Syria, and the storming of European buildings and desecration of the Danish and German flags in Gaza City. While a number of Muslim leaders called for protesters to remain peaceful, other radical Muslim leaders across the globe, including Mahmoud al-Zahar of Hamas, issued death threats. Various groups also responded with support of the Danish policies, including numerous "Buy Danish" campaigns and various displays of support for the "free speech" of Denmark.

Critics of the cartoons described them as Islamophobic or racist, and argue that they are blasphemous to people of the Muslim faith, intended to humiliate a Danish minority, or are a manifestation of ignorance about the history of western imperialism, from colonialism to the current conflicts in the Middle East.

Supporters of the cartoons said they've illustrated an important issue in a period of Islamist terrorism and that their publication is a legitimate exercise of the right of free speech. They also claim that similar cartoons about other religions are frequently printed, arguing that the followers of Islam were not targeted in a discriminatory way.

Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen described the controversy as Denmark's worst international crisis since World War II.



Comparable references

Main article: Freedom of speech versus blasphemy

Numerous comparisons have been offered in public discourse comparing earlier controversies over propriety of speech and art with the controversy that surrounded the Jyllands-Posten cartoons. Some examples include:

See also

References

  1. "Arson and Death Threats as Muhammad Caricature Controversy Escalates". Spiegel online. 2006-02-04. Retrieved 2007-04-26.
  2. "Embassies torched in cartoon fury". CNN.com. 2006-02-05. Retrieved 2007-04-26.
  3. Cartoons of Prophet Met With Outrage Washington Post. "Kuwait called the cartoons "despicable racism."
    ° Blasphemous Cartoons Trigger Muslim Fury Iran Daily. "Although Jyllands-Posten maintains that the drawings were an exercise in free speech, many consider them as provocative, racist and Islamophobic"
    ° Muslim cartoon row timeline BBC online "Egyptian newspaper al-Fagr reprints some of the cartoons, describing them as a "continuing insult" and a "racist bomb".
  4. "Islam and globanalisation". Al Ahram. 2006-03-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. "The limits to free speech - Cartoon wars". The Economist. 2006-02-09. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. "70,000 gather for violent Pakistan cartoons protest". Times Online. 2006-02-15. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

External links

Primary sources

Islamic views

Non-Islamic views

Press reviews

Video

Images

Online petitions

Other sources

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