Jyllands-Posten: “Sorry you were offended”
Carsten Juste, editor of Jyllands-Posten, makes a largely symbolic effort to calm the growing toon rage of Islamic zealots:
On 30 September last year, Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten published 12 different cartoonists’ idea of what the Prophet Mohammed might have looked like. The initiative was taken as part of an ongoing public debate on freedom of expression, a freedom much cherished in Denmark.
In our opinion, the 12 drawings were sober. They were not intended to be offensive, nor were they at variance with Danish law, but they have indisputably offended many Muslims for which we apologize.
Yeah, that should do it, Carsten.
Meanwhile, the MCB – who only two weeks ago were stoutly defending their right to free speech – has joined the chorus of condemnation:
These newspapers have printed extremely offensive caricatures of the beloved Prophet of Islam and this case, worryingly, reflects the emergence of an increasingly xenophobic tone being adopted towards Muslims in parts of the Western media. Newspaper editors must exercise due care and restraint when dealing with issues like this.
To their credit, they do add that they regard violent threats against Danish and EU citizens as “completely unacceptable”.
Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten published 12 different cartoonists’ idea of what the Prophet Mohammed might have looked like.
What, he may have actually walked around with a bomb on his head?
They were not intended to be offensive
So how were they supposed to test the limits of free expression, then? I thought that was the whole point.
At last the negative effect of the pictures was recognized; and true Freedom of expression was practised.
See http://www.breitbart.com/news/na/060130151546.v8vrasnt.html. Here’s a snip:
Maybe Bill Clinton might want to think about where this anti-Islamic prejudice comes from: ‘so-called’ Muslims blowing themselves and others up just because they aren’t Muslims. Maybe not fair on all the other Muslims but hey sometimes the brush covered in tar has to have a broad stroke when we can’t spot Terrorists from law-abiding Muslims.
There is a much differnt reason for anti-Semitism: the writing of the Bible in such a way that it leant towards the Jews being blamed for Christs death rather than the Romans(with whom the Christians writing the NT were surrounded by – good move guys!).
@Steve
Heh, technically the Bible only blames the Jewish *leaders*. Bear also in mind that most of the authors of the NT were Jews, and Jesus himself was a Jew.
I would argue Anti-Semitism is merely a jealous reaction to the fruits of certain behaviours that are encouraged in Judaism, namely hard work, selflessness, and perseverance. But that’s just my opinion and there’s really no way to test it.
The Jesus and Mo cartoons are quite entertaining now and again (http://www.jesusandmo.net). I wonder that the Muslims haven’t kicked up an international stink about those.
First of all, just so you know, in no way do I condone any kind of act of violence. Having said that, have you ever tried to understand the reason why some Muslims are blowing themselves up. Whilst you are living in the safety of your home and enjoying the debate about the freedom of speech, their mothers, sisters, daughters and wives are being raped and their sons, brothers, husbands and fathers are being killed in their country by the people who are either being funded or supported by your governmnets or a blind eye is turned to their plight for several years now. In those areas, the aggressors are getting more aggressive because no one really cares. When your brother is draged out of his house and killed on the front door for just being who he is, may be then you’ll have some empathy for us. This feeling of frustration is undoubtedly being exploited by the militant groups(the likes of which have always existed in any troubled faith,era). Killing anyone for whatever reason is absolutely wrong, but what do you do when you are being wronged and their is no judicial system to give you justice and no recognition of your plight.
The emergence of any human crisis has a long history behind it. Have you ever tried to read anything about it or do you just read the cartoons that insult Muslims and fold the rest of the paper after doing crosswords.
I would like to remind many in this forum that the word “semite” applies to any descendant of SEM, son of Noah, in the mesopotamian basin, that the jews include 20pcent of those semites with the others most of them arabs like the Iraqians, the Syrians and the Jordanians…a few more knowledge of worldly culture could bring more peace to our hearts…so jews are not the unique semites, say rather “anti-jewish” and not “anti-semite”. Many of those blasfemous cartoons against Mahommet are made by jewish medias, just go to read the name of the jornalist and cartoonists…meanwhile, if arabs depict jews in cartoons as vampires drinking blood of palestinian children, you’ll never find any cartoon made by arabs insulting Abraham or Moses.
I am not a muslin nor a christian but I’m not blind or deaf and I can just see how “double standard” laws and resolutions aplly to arabs and muslins in general…Israel just spit over all the resolutions of the UNO to abandon the land of the palestines and allow refugees back to their land in the so-called Israel state today, nobody cares, nobody menaces Israel og sanctions and pre-emptive military raids….tha’st we call full hypocrisis of those nuclear powers.