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==Reception==

===Support===
The idea for the May 20 protest received support from ], an opinion columnist for '']'': "Americans love their free speech and have had enough of those who think they can dictate the limits of that fundamental right. Draw to any heart's discontent. It's a free country. For now."<ref name=kpfos/> The idea also received support from prominent bloggers and bloggers on prominent websites, such as ] at '']'' magazine's "Hit & Run" blog, who encouraged his readers to send him their drawings.<ref name="moynihan423">Moynihan, Michael C., , blog post, April 23, 2010, "Hit & Run" blog, ''Reason'' magazine website. Retrieved April 27, 2010.</ref> Moynihan stated he planned to select some of his favorite depictions of Muhammad from the protest movement, and then add them to the Reason.com website.<ref name="moye" /><ref name="moynihan423" /> Moynihan commented, "In the South Park episode that started all this, Buddha does lines of coke and there was an episode where Cartman started a Christian rock band that sang very homo-erotic songs. Yet there is one religious figure we can't make fun of. The point of the episode that started the controversy is that celebrities wanted Muhammad's power not to be ridiculed. How come non-Muslims aren't allowed to make jokes?"<ref name="moye" /> Moynihan posited that the decision of Comedy Central to enact ] of the ''South Park'' episode would have the impact of worsening the situation.<ref name="moye" />

Maayana Miskin of '']'' characterized the movement as "a mass protest".<ref>{{Cite news| last = Miskin | first = Maayana | title = Censorship Sparks 'Everybody Draw Muhammad Day' | work =] | publisher =www.israelnationalnews.com | date =April 25, 2010 | url = http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/137198 | accessdate =May 2, 2010 }}</ref> Writing for '']'', Ethel C. Fenig described the protest movement as a cause for freedom of speech.<ref>{{Cite news| last =Fenig | first = Ethel C. | title = Today is 'Draw Mohammed Day' | work = ] | date = April 26, 2010 | url = http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2010/04/today_is_draw_mohammed_day.html | accessdate =May 2, 2010 }}</ref> '']'' commented positively on the protest idea, "Sounds like an idea we'd like to frame."<ref>{{Cite news| title = Why is Denver's tax money going to Dallas? | work = ] | publisher = Denver Westword, LLC | date = April 29, 2010 | url = http://www.westword.com/2010-04-29/news/why-is-denver-s-tax-money-going-to-dallas/ | accessdate = May 2, 2010}}</ref> The editor of ''Family Security Matters'', Pam Meister, discussed the protest movement from the perspective of freedom of speech, and commented, "... I realize that in a free society, someone is always going to be doing or saying something that will offend somebody somewhere. I also realize that more free speech, not censorship, is the answer."<ref name="pammeister">{{Cite news| last =Meister | first = Pam | title = Exclusive: ‘Draw Mohammed Day’ – A Gratuitous Offense or a Legitimate Stand on Freedom of Speech? | work = Family Security Matters| language = | date = April 27, 2010 | url = http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/id.6078/pub_detail.asp | accessdate =May 3, 2010 }}</ref> Andrew Mellon of '']'' wrote in favor of the protest movement, commenting, "The bottom line is that the First Amendment guarantees free speech including criticism of all peoples. We are an equal-opportunity offense country. To censor ourselves to avoid upsetting a certain group (in a cartoon no less) is un-American."<ref>{{Cite news| last =Mellon | first =Andrew | title = Coming May 20: Everybody Draw Mohammed Day | work =] | publisher = bigjournalism.com | date = April 25, 2010 | url =http://bigjournalism.com/amellon/2010/04/25/everybody-draw-mohammed-day/ | accessdate = May 3, 2010 }}</ref> Mario Roy of '']'' discussed the incident, and noted, "it is likely that institutions will apply more and more self-censorship. Fearing a possible threat, nothing is worse than the fear of fear."<ref>{{Cite news| last = Roy | first = Mario | title = La nouvelle censure | work = ] | language = French| publisher = www.cyberpresse.ca | page = | date = April 27, 2010 | url =http://www.cyberpresse.ca/place-publique/editorialistes/mario-roy/201004/26/01-4274442-la-nouvelle-censure.php | accessdate = May 6, 2010 }}</ref>

Writing for '']'', Jeremy Lott commented positively about the protest movement: "While the suits at Comedy Central and Yale University Press have been cowed, people across the country have decided to speak up and thereby magnify the offense a thousandfold."<ref>{{Cite news| last =Lott | first = Jeremy | coauthors = | title = The Nation's Pulse – The Humorless Veto | work = ] | date =April 27, 2010 | url = http://spectator.org/archives/2010/04/27/the-humorless-veto| accessdate =May 3, 2010 }}</ref> Helge Rønning, a professor at the Institute of Media and Communication at the ], said the offense to Muslims was outweighed by freedom-of-speech concerns. "Indignation from those who claim the right to engage in criticism of religion is as important as the indignation that comes from the Muslim side," he told the ] (Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation). "I think that this is an attitude that goes deeper than whether these drawings are blasphemous or not." ], a Norwegian editor who was threatened in 2006 after he reprinted ] in his publication, supported the May 20 protest. "I think maybe this is the right way to react—with humor, and also to spread this number, so it isn't only a few who sit with all the threats and all the discomfort associated with defending our freedom of speech in this area," he said.<ref>Vold, Henrik Brattli, , article, NRK (Norsk Rikskringkasting AS—]), April 26, 2010, in Norwegian (Selbekk: "og jeg synes kanskje dette er den riktige måten å reagere på – med humor, og også å spre dette på flere, så det ikke bare er noen få som blir sittende med alle truslene "; Rønning: "Jeg mener nok at indignasjonen fra dem som hevder retten til å drive religionskritikk er like viktig som den indignasjonen som kommer fra den muslimske siden. Jeg tror at dette er en holdning som går dypere enn hvorvidt disse tegningene er blasfemiske eller ikke,"), Google translation. Retrieved April 27, 2010.</ref> In an analysis of the protest movement and surrounding controversy, staff writer Liliana Segura of '']'' noted, "In a democratic society where free speech is vigilantly protected, it is perfectly reasonable to call out censorship, particularly when it springs from some form of tyrannical religious extremism."<ref>{{Cite news| last = Segura | first = Liliana | title = Right-Wing Attacks on South Park Censorship Ignore America's Wars in Muslim Countries | publisher = ]| date =April 26, 2010 | url = http://www.alternet.org/media/146627/right-wing_attacks_on_south_park_censorship_ignore_america%27s_wars_in_muslim_countries?page=1 | accessdate = May 3, 2010 }}</ref>

===Criticism===
Law professor and blogger ] rejected the Everybody Draw Mohammed Day idea because "depictions of Muhammad offend millions of Muslims who are no part of the violent threats."<ref>Althouse, Ann, , blog post, April 24, 2010, "Althouse" blog. Retrieved April 27, 2010.</ref> ], writing in the "Best of the Web Today" column at '']'', also objected to the idea, not only because depicting Mohammed "is inconsiderate of the sensibilities of others", but also because "it defines those others—Muslims—as being outside of our culture, unworthy of the courtesy we readily accord to insiders."<ref>Taranto, James, , opinion article, ''The Wall Street Journal'', April 26, 2010. Retrieved April 27, 2010.</ref> Bill Walsh of '']'' wrote critically of the initiative, which seemed "petulant and childish" to him: "It attempts to battle religious zealotry with rudeness and sacrilege, and we can only wait to see what happens, but I fear it won’t be good."<ref>{{Cite news| last = Walsh | first =Bill | title = Respect for Religions | work =] | publisher = ] | date =April 28, 2010 | url = http://www.wickedlocal.com/bedford/news/opinions/x43876491/Respect-for-religions | accessdate = May 2, 2010 }}</ref> ] wrote in '']'', "As a cartoon, it was mildly amusing. As a campaign, it's crass and gratuitously offensive."<ref>{{Cite news| last = Albrechtsen | first = Janet | authorlink = Janet Albrechtsen | title = South Park gag makes a mockery of freedom of expression |work=The Australian | date =May 5, 2010 | url =http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/south-park-gag-makes-a-mockery-of-freedom-of-expression/story-e6frg6zo-1225862266385 | accessdate = May 5, 2010 }}</ref> Writing for ]'s Center for Religion and Media publication, ''The Revealer'', Jeremy F. Walton called the event a "blasphemous faux holiday", which would "only serve to reinforce broader American misunderstandings of Islam and Muslims".<ref>{{Cite news| last =Walton | first = Jeremy F. | title = Who’s Afraid of the Free Speech Fundamentalists?: Reflections on the South Park Cartoon Controversy | work = The Revealer | publisher = ]'s Center for Religion and Media | date = April 28, 2010 | url = http://therevealer.org/archives/3950 | accessdate = May 2, 2010 }}</ref>

Franz Kruger, writing for the '']'', called Everybody Draw Mohammed Day a "silly Facebook initiative" and found "the undertone of a 'clash of civilisations'" in it "disturbing", noting that "it is clear that some feel great satisfaction at what they see as 'sticking it to the Muslims'."<ref>{{Cite news| last = Kruger| first =Franz | title = Why draw the Prophet? | work = ] | date =May 28, 2010 | url =http://www.mg.co.za/article/2010-05-28-why-draw-the-prophet | accessdate = May 30, 2010 }}</ref> The ''Mail & Guardian'', which had itself published a controversial cartoon of Mohammed in its pages, distanced itself from the group, noting that it "claimed to be a protest against restrictions on freedom of speech and religious fanaticism, but had seemingly become a forum for venting Islamophobic sentiment."<ref>{{Cite news| last = Sapa| title = M&G regrets cartoon offence over prophet | work = ] | date =May 31, 2010 | url =http://www.dispatch.co.za/article.aspx?id=405490 | accessdate = June 11, 2010 }}</ref> ], writing for '']'', called the Facebook initiative a "grubby project": "... there’s something here that makes me twitch. I think it’s the 'everybody'. It’s the 'everybody' of a man at the back of a mob, trying to persuade other people to get lynching. If a cartoonist wants to satirise Islam by drawing Mohammed, I’m on his side all the way. But among the 13,000 pictures on the EDMD Facebook page, you have Mohammed as a dog in a veil, Mohammed as a pig and Mohammed as a monkey. That’s not resistance, but picking a fight. Issuing a death threat against somebody who drew a picture isn’t my thing, but this isn’t either."<ref>{{Cite news| last = Rifkind| first =Hugo | title = This is a poor way to draw attention to intolerance | work = ] | date =May 25, 2010 | url =http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/hugo_rifkind/article7135478.ece | accessdate = May 30, 2010 | location=London}}</ref> Bilal Baloch, writing for '']'', called the initiative "juvenile" and "an irresponsible poke-in-the-eye", while at the same time criticizing the Pakistani government's response, and calling on "Pakistan's internet community to engage in an organised and compelling dialogue: if not with the offenders, then most certainly with the rest of the world that is watching."<ref>{{Cite news| last = Baloch| first =Bilal | title = Pakistan Facebook ban not the answer | work = ] | date =May 22, 2010 | url =http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2010/may/22/pakistan-facebook-twitter-ban | accessdate = May 30, 2010 | location=London}}</ref>

In Pakistan, an editorial in '']'', the country's oldest English-language newspaper, said that there was no doubt that the Facebook initiative "was in poor taste and deserving of strong condemnation", adding that it was "debatable whether freedom of expression should extend to material that is offensive to the sensibilities, traditions and beliefs of religious, ethnic or other communities." However, the editorial called the Lahore High Court's decision to block Facebook a "knee-jerk reaction", saying that "many users feel, and rightly so, that they can decide for themselves what is or is not offensive, and choose not to access material that is repugnant to their beliefs" and that the block might "have played right into the hands of those who think nothing of displaying or publishing material that denigrates their beliefs. By reacting the way we do we only harm ourselves and, in the process, even become a subject of derision."<ref>{{Cite news| last = Staff| title = Facebook furore | work = ] | date =May 21, 2010 | url =http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/editorial/19-facebook-furore-150-hh-09 | accessdate = May 30, 2010 }}</ref>

===Analysis===
The protest movement and incidents surrounding the ] of the ''South Park'' episode were discussed on the ] program, '']'', where commentators including ] analyzed the phenomenon of Norris withdrawing from the cartoon.<ref name="douthat">{{Cite news| last =Douthat | first = Ross |authorlink=Ross Douthat | coauthors = | title = You Can't Portray Muhammad On TV| work = ] | publisher = ] | date =April 26, 2010 | url =http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126283217 | accessdate = May 2, 2010 }}</ref> Stephanie Gutmann of '']'' wrote that she had joined the Facebook group, and commented that if the ] was found to be related to the '']'' episode "]", "this sort of protest will be more important than ever".<ref>{{Cite news| last = Gutmann | first = Stephanie | title = Facebook group says make May 20 'Everybody Draw Mohammed Day' |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=UK | date = May 3, 2010 | url = http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/stephaniegutmann/100037736/facebook-group-says-make-may-20-everybody-draw-mohammed-day/ | accessdate = May 3, 2010 }}</ref> Writing for '']'', journalist Noah Lederman noted that Norris' cartoon, "was her way of supporting the show’s creators and the First Amendment."<ref>{{Cite news| last = Lederman | first = Noah | title =South Park, Mohammed, and the First Amendment | work =] | publisher = thefastertimes.com | date = May 4, 2010 | url =http://thefastertimes.com/hate/2010/05/04/south-park-mohammed-and-the-first-amendment/ | accessdate =May 5, 2010 }}</ref> Writing for '']'', John Lloyd commented on the decision by Norris to withdraw from the protest movement, and noted, "Molly Norris proposed a 'let’s everyone draw Mohammed day' – then, apparently appalled by her own audacity, backed quickly away."<ref name="johnlloyd">{{Cite news| last = Lloyd| first =John | title = Hard men and high drama: life imitating art? | work = ] | date =May 8, 2010 | url =http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/bbd083d6-595c-11df-99ba-00144feab49a.html | accessdate = May 9, 2010 }}</ref>

Writing for '']'', Austin Dacey compared the protest movement to ]: "Forget the ''South Park'' dust up; forget Everybody Draw Muhammad Day. If you want to see truly shocking anti-religious cartoons, you have to go back to the sixteenth century. Near the end of Luther’s life, his propaganda campaign against Rome grew increasingly vitriolic and his language grotesquely pungent."<ref name="austindacey">{{Cite news| last =Dacey | first = Austin | title = Satire is Religion – The debate over cartoons and prophets is not just about free of speech; it’s about freedom of religion.| work = Religion Dispatches | publisher =www.religiondispatches.org | date = May 12, 2010 | url = http://www.religiondispatches.org/archive/culture/2561/satire_is_religion/ | accessdate = May 13, 2010 }}</ref> Dacey argued, "The debate over cartoon depictions of the Prophet Muhammad is often framed as a clash between free speech and religious attitudes. But it is just as much a clash between ''conflicting'' religious attitudes, and the freedom at stake is not only freedom of expression but freedom of religion. For while Luther was surely engaging in offensive speech, he was also exercising a right of freedom of conscience, which included the right to dissent from Catholic orthodoxy."<ref name="austindacey" />

In an analysis of the protest movement for the '']'', journalist Jordan Manalastas commented, "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day is a chance to reinstate offense and sincerity to their proper place, freed from terror or silence. ... The proper (and, at the risk of looking ], American) way to combat bad speech is with better speech. To silence and be silenced are the refuge of cowards."<ref>{{Cite news| last = Manalastas | first = Jordan | title =Cartoonist criticized for creating ‘Everybody Draw Mohammed Day’ should have defended her right to First Amendment | work = ] |publisher = www.dailybruin.com, ] | date = May 17, 2010 | url =http://www.dailybruin.com/articles/2010/5/17/cartoonist-criticized-creating-everybody-draw-moha/ | accessdate = May 17, 2010 }}</ref> In an analysis of the protest movement for '']'', ] was critical of the concept of "mocking Muhammad," writing, "... these two camps – the Muhammad-knockers and the Muslim offence-takers – are locked in a ]. Islamic extremists need Western depictions of Muhammad as evidence that there is a new crusade against Islam, while the Muhammad-knockers need the ], street-stomping antics of the extremists as evidence that their defence of the Enlightenment is a risky, important business."<ref>{{Cite news| last = O'Neill | first = Brendan | title =Mocking Muhammad: a shallow Enlightenment | work =] | publisher = www.spiked-online.com | date =May 19, 2010 | url = http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php/site/article/8894/ | accessdate = May 18, 2010 }}</ref>

Several ]s quoted by '']'' blogger Michael Cavna were critical of the Draw Mohammed Day idea or declined to participate, although all supported the right of cartoonists to depict Mohammed if they chose to.<ref name=Cavna20May>Michael Cavna, , '']'' blog ''Comics Riff'' (May 20, 2010).</ref> The president of the ] opposed involvement because "something like that can be too easily co-opted by interest groups who, I suspect, have an agenda that goes beyond a simple defense of free expression."<ref name=Cavna20May/> Other cartoonists quoted in the article called the event "childish and needlessly provocative" or demurred because they dislike "choreographed punditry".<ref name=Cavna20May/>

Tarek Kahlaoui, an assistant professor of Islamic Art at ],<ref></ref> analyzed the reasons behind ] in an article on Global Expert Finder, pointing out that despite aniconism the depiction of Muhammad is not wholly forbidden in Islam, and so in principle it should be possible for non-Muslims to draw him as well, although stating: "What should be an issue, however, are all possible implications between visual representation and bigotry". He also defended ] in the way that it's an important right of all Americans.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theglobalexperts.org/comment-analysis/drawing-the-prophet-muhammad-should-not-be-an-issue|title=Drawing the Prophet Muhammad is not the issue|author=Tarek Kahlaoui|date=May 17, 2010|publisher=Global Expert Finder|accessdate=January 27, 2011}}</ref>

]]]

===Threat on Molly Norris's life===
On July 11, 2010, it was reported that Yemeni-American al-Qaeda cleric ] had put Molly Norris on a hitlist. In the English-language ] magazine '']'', Al-Awlaki wrote "The medicine prescribed by the Messenger of Allah is the execution of those involved," and was quoted as saying <blockquote>The large number of participants makes it easier for us because there are more targets to choose from in addition to the difficulty of the government offering all of them special protection ... But even then our campaign should not be limited to only those who are active participants.<ref name="hitlist">{{cite web |first=James Gordon |last=Meek |first2=Katie |last2=Nelson |url =http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/cleric-anwar-al-awlaki-puts-draw-mohammed-cartoonist-molly-norris-execution-hitlist-article-1.464988 |title =Cleric Anwar al-Awlaki puts 'Everybody Draw Mohammed' cartoonist Molly Norris on execution hitlist |publisher =Daily News |date =July 11, 2010 |accessdate=February 6, 2013 }}</ref><ref name="threat">{{cite web |first=Joshua Rhett |last=Miller |url =http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/07/12/death-threats-rattle-everybody-draw-muhammad-day-advocate/7-july-2010 |title ='Everybody Draw Muhammad Day' Advocate Rattled by Death Threats |publisher =Fox News |date =July 12, 2010 |accessdate=February 6, 2013 }}</ref></blockquote>
] officials reportedly notified Norris warning her that they considered it a "very serious threat."<ref name="hitlist" /><ref name="threat" />

Norris has since changed her name and gone into hiding. According to the '']'' (her former employer), this decision was based on "the insistence of top security specialists at the FBI."<ref></ref> According to another source, however, the FBI warned her of threats but did not specifically encourage her to go underground.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/dannywestneat/2012937189_danny19.html | work=The Seattle Times | first=Danny | last=Westneat | title=Terror threat to Seattle cartoonist should draw response | date=September 18, 2010}}</ref>

The threat against Norris appeared to be renewed when Al Qaeda's '']'' included her in its March 2013 edition with eleven others in a pictorial spread entitled "Wanted: Dead or Alive for Crimes Against Islam," and captioned "Yes We Can: A Bullet A Day Keeps the Infidel Away."<ref>{{cite web |first=Dashiell |last=Bennett |url =http://www.theatlanticwire.com/global/2013/03/al-qaeda-most-wanted-list/62673/ |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/6HtcWUniy |archivedate=July 5, 2013 |title =Look Who's on Al Qaeda's Most-Wanted List |publisher =The Atlantic Wire |date =March 1, 2013 |accessdate=March 3, 2013 |deadurl= no}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Daniel |last=Halper |url =http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/al-qaeda-mag-publishes-wanted-dead-or-alive-list_704904.html |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/6HtbXBiy8 |archivedate=July 5, 2013 |title =Al Qaeda Mag Publishes 'Wanted: Dead or Alive' List |publisher =The Weekly Standard |date =March 1, 2013 |accessdate=March 3, 2013 |deadurl= no}}</ref>


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