On Sun, 5 Feb 2006 21:28:50 +0000 (UTC), (Glitter
Ninja) wrote:

>Dave Smith > writes:
>>Curly Sue wrote:
>
>>> The media sources which printed and reprinted the cartoons knew what
>>> they were doing and where this would lead.
>
>>How could they know that it would lead to violent demonstrations and acts
>>of arson?
>
> Don't be disingenuous. The cartoons (there are 13 of them) are almost
>entirely negative and were the product of months of newspapers provoking
>and criticising the Muslims in their country. They did it to
>antagonize, end of story.

Bullshit. Pure, unadulterated bullshit.

The paper, with a circulation of about 150k, by the way, is a liberal
one. Below is a quote from an interview from Newsweek with the section
editor who made the decision to publish.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11179140/site/newsweek/


ROSE: I was concerned about a tendency toward self-censorship among
people in artistic and cultural circles in Europe. That's why I
commissioned these cartoons, to test this tendency and to start a
debate about it.

It was not a media stunt. We just approached that story in a different
way, by asking Danish cartoonists to draw Muhammad as they see him. I
did not ask for caricatures. I did not ask to make the prophet a
laughingstock or to mock him.

But you depicted Muhammad with a bomb in his turban, armed with a
knife and with a broken halo that resembled satanic horns.
The cartoon with horns didn't arouse special criticism; it was the
other two. The one with the bomb in his turban doesn't say, "All
Muslims are terrorists," but says, "Some people have taken Islam
hostage to permit terrorist and extremist acts." These cartoons do not
treat Muslims in any other way than we treat other citizens in this
country. By treating them as equals, we are saying, "You are equal."


And from the overall paper editor;

http://www.turkishweekly.net/news.php?id=25487
Open Letter to Fellow Muslim Citizens

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