The Face of Mohammed cartoons

[CaptRenault]

Here are a couple links to blogs which have the now infamous Face of Mohammed cartoons:

Face of Mohammed Cartoons

SUPPORT DENMARK: WHY THE FORBIDDEN CARTOONS MATTER

My favorite is:

Stop! Stop! We have run out of virgins!

 

[EagerBeaver]

Oh boy! This is a sure fire controversy starter and likely to offend our Muslim members.

Captain, get set for a barrage of hateful PMs!

I take no position on this issue!

 

[pinkworm]

Governments are not reprinting the cartoon, newspapers are. I'm sure the governments in those countries are not happy about this, but do you honestly think we should have standards as to what a newspaper can say? We would have newspapers filled with blank pages for fear of offending someone.

 

[CaptRenault]

Where did all those Danish flags come from?

Blogger and columnist Michelle Malkin continues her coverage of the controversy over the cartoons:

THE "INTERNATIONAL DAY OF ANGER"

I have one question...how did the fanatics in the Muslim world quickly get their hands on so many Danish flags so that they could trample on and burn them? I know that they must keep on hand a good supply of American flags destined to be trampled on and burned all the time, but it's impressive how quickly the supply of Danish flags expanded to meet the growing demand.

I think I'll see if I can find a Danish flag today. But instead of burning it, I'll be displaying it outside my house.

 

[Board Stiff]

Beavis,
No true Moslem would sleep with an escortesan. Infidels!

 

[General Gonad]

Very dumb cartoon...and nothing to do with free press

Alright, so we have managed to spark geopolitical tensions in the Middle East once again. But this time it was those 'violent' Danes, not the world's favorite whipping boys, the Americans, that managed to stir up a hornets nest.

I consider myself to be secular but this whole controversy just displays the racial tensions that are ever present in Holland and Norway. Europeans are generally racist and some countries are worse than others. But the facade of the Dutch living in harmony with their Muslim neighbors is utter crap.

One other thing: this whole fiasco just shows how insensitive and hypocritical the press can be when dealing with controversial issues. In most countries, you would land in jail if you had a cartoon of the Jewish Holocaust, and rightly so. But why don't we poke some fun at Mohammed? All in the name of freedom of the press? Please, give me a break!

GG

 

[EagerBeaver]

Beavis,
No true Moslem would sleep with an escortesan. Infidels!

Board Stiff,

Obviously you are not very in touch with the Montreal scene, or reality. There is a fairly legendary Muslim hobbyist whose exploits in Montreal were recently discussed on the other Board by Doc Holliday. He has spent more money hobbying in Montreal than you will probably make in your life. I would like to see you tell him to his face that he is not a "true Moslem [sic]". I will also make sure to mention to him that according to you, he is a fake "Moslem."

Actually, our friend just posted a review on the other Board, first time in about 4 years.

 

[Cosmo]

South Park has made fun of Jesus or God.
How many threats?
How many burned flags???
It seems to me that some people in some religions are rather intolerent.
Many cartoonist,humorist,tv shows ect routinely parody the Pope.
Once again how many protestations????

 

[daydreamer41]

Beavis,
No true Moslem would sleep with an escortesan. Infidels!

Sure. HAHA. Why did Mohammad Atta and gang go to the GoGo bars before they went to meet their 72 virgins? THese radical Islamists are the biggest crock of crap and hypocrasy on the face of the earth.

 

[EagerBeaver]

I thought ''Doc'' was Fr Can? Too bad he's not on this board

Doc is French Canadian. I said that he was talking about another hobbyist who is a Muslim.

 

[CaptRenault]

The hypocrisy of the Arabs

One can question whether the Danish newspaper used good judgement in publishing these cartoons, though I find most of them to be in line with normal standards of editorial cartooning in countries that enjoy true free expression. I think the real importance of the cartoon controversy is that it exposes the extreme hypocrisy of the Arab world about the issues of free expression, prejudice and intolerance, as pointed out by the Anti-Defamation League:

ADL Statement on Danish Cartoons Depicting Mohammed

"...What has been overlooked in the controversy is the fact that despicable anti-Jewish caricatures appear daily in newspapers across the Arab and Muslim world. While invoking the supposed "freedom of the press" in their countries, Arab and Muslim leaders have refused to take any action to stem the drumbeat of anti-Semitism in widely circulated newspapers, many state-sponsored. Indeed, leaders of regimes such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia have virtually ignored appeals from the United States and Jewish organizations to put an end to incitement in their media, excusing it in the name of "freedom of the press." One would hope that leaders of Arab and Muslim countries would turn all of the anger being aimed at the European press into a larger lesson for their own people about the power of images..."

Here are examples of the kind of anti-Semitic and anti-American propaganda that appears everyday in the Arab media:

Arab Media Review: Anti-Semitism and Other Trends July - December 2005 Saudi Arabia

 

[Galactica]

Well, considering my perspective (those who read my Hammas response), I can only roll my eyes on this. EVERY major religion gets this kind of jabbing, ribbing, and sometimes outright insults. BUT, what sets apart the animals from the civilized is the RESPONSE. It's time to get a thick skin and drop the PC crap.

I've read the article that started this whole mess. One must get the full context before one goes "Jihad ape-s**t". Did I find the image insulting...well...it did make me cringe a bit. I didn't like the insinuations but I can understand what the article is about...using religion to advance a philosophy of anger, violence and hate. It's tame considering how Jesus (peace be upon him) has been treated by liberal, secular-humanist movements.

Do I like the response. NO. Burning Danish flags, making threats, and rioting is way overboard. I admire the west in its rights of free speech and press. It's something my former homeland should have. If something is offensive, there are more peaceful, civil and open-dialogue responses that can be taken.

Remember filmaker Theo Van Gogh who was killed a few years ago because he made a film critical of Islam's treatment of women? The man sentenced in the crime had no remorse whatsoever and even had the gaul to look at Theo's mother and call his son an infadel.

http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/famous/theo_van_gogh/

Remember an author named Salman Rushdie who had a contract placed upon him by Iran? Several of Salman's friends (who worked on the book) were either killed or injured in assasination attempts.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Satanic_Verses_(novel)

 

[General Gonad]

BUT, what sets apart the animals from the civilized is the RESPONSE. It's time to get a thick skin and drop the PC crap.

Galactica,

The response of a few religious fanatics should not be generalized to all peace loving Muslims. What happened to Theo Van Gogh was a tragedy. Salman Rushdie is alive but undeniably fears for his life. But to castigate all Muslims is just plain wrong and you know it. Don't dismiss this as "PC crap."

Religious extremists are all over the world, including the good old USA. Hell, they are running the country along with Karl Rove. A religious extremist assassinated the former PM of Israel, Yitzak Rabin.

Everywhere you look around the world, its Jihad vs. Jesus. We are losing it and it is deeply disturbing. God help us!

GG

 

[Cosmo]

...but you can make fun of them without fear of death threats and flags being burned.

 

[Galactica]

20 years ago, I would had agreed that it's a "few"...but not anymore. I've seen it, I've experienced it, and I've talked/walked/shouted with it. Trust me on this. I've been there, done that, got the t-shirt. Open your eyes. Let Europe be the "canary in the mine-shaft". There are movements afoot and it's GROWING.

Sure, there are some good Muslims. Problem is, most are too silent or too scared to speak up. When they do, they might as well put a bull's eye on their back (like my family). Most in the Middle East has no or little exposure to balanced media, are ruled by theocracies or dictatroships and have a pretty biased opinion on the west. Add some economic and cultural clashes and you've got a time bomb on your hands. The French found this out the hard way a few months ago.

Theo Van Gogh was not a tragedy...it was a HATE CRIME. Mr. Rushdie is essentially a quasi political prisoner because his writings made certain Iranian clerics uncomfortable. Both men challenged and questioned the Muslim status quo....and both paid dearly for doing it.

 

[CaptRenault]

...The response of a few religious fanatics should not be generalized to all peace loving Muslims...Religious extremists are all over the world, including the good old USA. Hell, they are running the country along with Karl Rove...

I'm getting tired of the "peace loving Muslims" line. Here's what one Canadian Muslim leader had to say about that in The Globe and Mail:

Cartoons offensive, but so is violence, Canadian Muslims say

“The protests in the Middle East have proven that the cartoonist was right,” said Tarek Fatah, a director of the Muslim Canadian Congress.

“It's falling straight into that trap of being depicted as a violent people and proving the point that, yes, we are.”

And for once let's not drag the U.S. government into the middle of a controversy like this. A spokesman for the U.S. State Department has already publicly criticized the decision to publish the cartoons. This conflict is mainly about European secular values vs. Muslim religious values. In our politically correct society, it's highly unlikely that any major U.S. newspaper would have printed these cartoons. They would have been legally free to do so, of course, but no newspaper editor would have dared.

 

[General Gonad]

CaptRenault, Galactica,

I am glad to see that Europe's leaders are more diplomatic, sensitive and reasonable on this controversy:

In London, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw criticized the decision of a number of European publications to reprint the cartoons.

"I believe the republication of these cartoons has been unnecessary, it has been insensitive, it has been disrespectful and it has been wrong," he said.

Mr. Straw praised the British media for showing what he called "considerable responsibility," and refraining from reprinting the cartoons. But BBC television briefly broadcast them on Thursday.

In France, President Jaques Chirac balanced the right of free speech with the need to respect the values of others. Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin offered a similar reaction in remarks, Friday.

Mr. de Villepin said his country was founded on democracy and liberty. But he said respect is also necessary - and a concern for not needlessly doing harm particularly, when it came to religious convictions.

Like their counterparts elsewhere, a number of religious leaders in Europe have also denounced the reprinting of the cartoons.

Inayat Bunglawala, spokesman for the Muslim Council of Britain, condemned acts and even words of violence from Muslims in reaction to the cartoons. But he also told British radio Friday that newspapers should have exercised better judgment.

"This is a situation that extremists will be looking to exploit and it is important that this row is defused and the way forward is for these newspapers to recognize the hurt they have caused and say so plainly," he said.

And in France, the Union of Islamic Organizations said it would press charges against the French newspapers that have published the images. French Catholic as well as Jewish leaders joined Muslims in criticizing the reprinting of the cartoons.

France's Chief Rabbi Joseph Sitruk told France Info radio that while he did not believe in either Christian or Muslim prophets, it would never occur to him to make fun of them. "Our societies need to learn respect," he said. But Rabbi Sitruk also said violence and threats in reaction to the cartoons cannot be justified either.

 

[CaptRenault]

CaptRenault, Galactica,

I am glad to see that Europe's leaders are more diplomatic, sensitive and reasonable on this controversy...

More diplomatic, sensitive and reasonable than whom? Than me and Galactica? Well, obviously yes--they are afraid of seeing Muslim terrorists descend on their countries. At least the prime minister of Denmark has the balls to stand up for the principle of free expression by refusing to interfere with the right of a private newspaper to publish what it wants.

Or more than the U.S. government? The U.S. government condemned the cartoons. What more should it do? Launch cruise missiles against downtown Copenhagen?

 

[Reppy]

Oh please! Don't tell me that if the caricatures were mocking Jews or Christians, the same outrage wouldnt happen. I believe the Moslem people are justified for their reaction.

Only intellectually challenged people would thrown oil into fire to see what happens....exactly what these Danish newpapers did.

If you know something is gonna cause problems, why go with it and mask it as freedom of press?

I think some people are just plain dumb in this world...

 

[Galactica]

Kudos to btyger.