I came across a BBC article today on a row over the printing of a few caricatures in a Danish newspaper, one of which depicted the Islamic prophet Muhammad with a headdress shaped like a bomb. Although this occurred last September, it seems to have caused a bit of outrage. I see two reasons for this:
- Representations of Muhammad are banned by the Islamic faith (to prevent idolatry)
- The caricatures (or at least one of them) portray one of the key figures in the Islamic faith as a terrorist
That's pretty harsh, if you ask me. The caricatures were re-published in other newspapers across Europe, and many Arab countries and groups have expressed their outrage. I say "rightfully so". The chief editor in charge of the France Soir paper (which re-published the caricatures) was recently fired in response to the publishing of the caricatures, and people now have their knickers in a knot because they feel it goes against the ideals of democracy, free speech and freedom of the press! Fair enough, but what about respecting other people and their beliefs?
If Jesus or the Virgin Mary were published in such a way (let's say with a bomb strapped to the chest) in an Arabic newspaper, the Western world would be up in arms about it! Swap the perspective on that and we might understand why so many Islamic people are furious. Free speech and democracy are fine, but that doesn't mean it's acceptable to go around disrespecting people and their faith.
Funnily enough, there's a Wikipedia article on this.
(via Fraser)
UPDATE:
Ehsan Masood wrote that:
As a writer, do I have the right in law to caricature other people if the net result is merely to cause offence? Absolutely. But will I exercise that right knowing that these "other people" are also likely to be my friends and neighbours, my parents' neighbours, my children's friends, people I have known for decades? The answer is self-evident. No.
I think that pretty much sums it up…
If it was a dog, a banana or another human being with that bomb then no one would have had issues with it. Once again, “faith” and religion is causing extreme reactions when there need not be any.
Am I saying it is right? No. But people need to grow a thicker skin.
The main reason why I’m really disappointed with that cartoon publication is not the “insult-to-injury” factor to the Islamic faith (although this too is significant), but mainly because it elevates discrimination, creates false ideas about who Muhammed is and therefore negatively affects people’s understanding/perception of the religion.
I have just started working in the media and visual communication industry and already my cynic and sceptic self has gone into over drive. There is a continuous media bashing of the Middle Eastern community since the Cronulla riots and headlines such as “Riot Order: avoid Middle Eastern men” would have dire consequences for these people as the wider Australian public puts up an invisible barrier of hatred and prejudice. The result? Middle Eastern men and women suffering discrimination and rejection in employment and opportunities, their children being bullied at school and the worst case scenario would see Australians divided into whites and blacks and Jews and “wogs” and Muslims where INEQUALITY is considered to be normal.
Such a blatant level of disrespect demonstrated in this cartoon just goes to show the media doesn’t give a shit as long as their sales figures prove that they’re winning the stakes.