Worse Than You Think

The date was September 30th, 2005. It was a normal day in Denmark -- nothing out of the ordinary happened -- or so it seemed. However, it was on this day, that the New York Times of Denmark, the Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten, had printed its 12 infamous cartoons.

Jyllands-Posten had asked around 40 cartoonists to draw their idea of what Muhammad might look like. Most of the cartoonists rejected the offer, afraid that they would be killed, as have the few brave enough to try to draw or otherwise create an image of Muhammad or Allah. Islam forbids idolarity, which is the worship of an image, idea or object, as opposed to the worship of a supreme being. Although the Koran does not explicitly forbid a pictoral representation of Muhammad, most Muslims condemn these representations. Although the Shi'a or Shiite Muslims and the Ottoman Muslims are very tolerant of pictoral representations, the Sunni Muslims, which make up the majority, strongly condemn them. This is where the controversy sprouted.


It is safe to say that most of the Muslim world is furious. The Shi'a and Ottoman Muslims are furious because many of the cartoons implied that Muhammad was a terrorist, and the Sunni Muslims are furious not only because of that, but also because all of the cartoons pictured Muhammad in one way or another, which they condemn. If you would like to see the cartoons for yourself, click here, with larger versions available here. Although this should be obvious, I feel like putting out a disclaimer anyways. IF YOU PLAN TO BE OFFENDED BY THESE PICTURES, DON'T CLICK THE LINKS!

After the Muslim world was in uproar, and began a series of protests, including when Muslim protestors set fire to the Danish embassies in Syria and Lebanon, and pelted Denmark's embassy in Iran with stones, Jyllands-Posten decided to issue an apology for the cartoons, which is as follows:

Honourable Fellow Citizens of the Muslim World

Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten is a strong proponent of democracy and freedom of religion. The newspaper respects the right of any human being to practise his or her religion. Serious misunderstandings in respect of some drawings of the Prophet Mohammed have led to much anger and, lately, also boycott of Danish goods in Muslim countries.

Please allow me to correct these misunderstandings.

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.

Since then a number of offensive drawings have circulated in The Middle East which have never been published in Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten and which we would never have published, had they been offered to us. We would have refused to publish them on the grounds that they violated our ethical code.

Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten attaches importance to upholding the highest ethical standards based upon the respect of our fundamental values. It is so much more deplorable, therefore, that these drawings were presented as if they had anything to do with Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten.

Maybe because of culturally based misunderstandings, the initiative to publish the 12 drawings has been interpreted as a campaign against Muslims in Denmark and the rest of the world.

I must categorically dismiss such an interpretation. Because of the very fact that we are strong proponents of the freedom of religion and because we respect the right of any human being to practise his or her religion, offending anybody on the grounds of their religious beliefs is unthinkable to us.

That this happened was, consequently, unintentional.

As a result of the debate that has been going on about the drawings, we have met with representatives of Danish Muslims, and these meetings were held in a positive and constructive spirit. We have also sought in other ways to initiate a fruitful dialogue with Danish Muslims.

It is the wish of Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten that various ethnic groups should live in peace and harmony with each other and that the debates and disagreements which will always exist in a dynamic society should do so in an atmosphere of mutual respect.

For that reason, Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten has published many articles describing the positive aspects of integration, for example in a special supplement entitled The Contributors. It portrayed a number of Muslims who have had success in Denmark. The supplement was rewarded by the EU Commission.

Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten takes exception to symbolic acts suited to demonise specific nationalities, religions and ethnic groups.

Sincerely yours

Carsten Juste
Editor-in-Chief

Now the real question is, should Jyllands-Posten and all of the other newspapers who reprinted these cartoons after Jyllands-Posten apologize for what they did? Note that the cartoons were printed in Jyllands-Posten with an editorial article on freedom of expression. So in short, Jyllands-Posten was expressing their right to freedom of the press, and because of it, this enormous controversy got started. Should Jyllands-Posten have done this?

Now I think that Jyllands-Posten DEFINETELY has the right to do this. If there is true freedom of expression, then there should be no exceptions to this rule. Many of the Muslim clerics who aren't busy chanting DEATH TO DENMARK, the new addition to the longtime favorite, DEATH TO AMERICA, are saying that freedom of expression is good, but not when the expression is "insulting" Islam. That is complete bullshit. In a true democracy, the people have the right to say whatever the hell they want, and they have every right to humiliate whoever the hell they want.

So Jyllands-Posten had every right to do it. However, should they have exercised their right? Was this good judgement on their part, considering the fact that the entire Muslim world now hates Denmark, many are seeking to kill the cartoonists, and that the entire Muslim world has boycotted Danish goods? This is political and economic torture to Denmark. If Jyllands-Posten was smart, they wouldn't have been so bold. Now I'm not defending what the Muslim protestors are doing. Sure, they can be unhappy, nobody can stop them from doing that. And they can express their distaste in a civilized manner. But when they are burning down buildings and killing people, thats where they've crossed the fine line between acceptable and unacceptable.

However, it wouldn't have taken a genius to realize that they would have reacted like this. So when you know what the reaction is going to be, when you know what kind of a global audience you're dealing with, why provoke the irritable, when it means that the well being of your country and its people is at stake?

A bit of thought could have easily prevented all of this.