There have been several diaries about the drawings by twelve Danish cartoonists printed last fall in Jyllands-Posten in Denmark. In some cases, those who comment seem to not be on the same page, and this leads to unnecessary misunderstanding and quarrels.
In hopes of clearing up some of the confusion, I offer here parts of Jyllands-Posten's original article which accompanied the pictures and explained the reasoning for printing them, as well as some later quotes from Danish, Egyptian and Norwegian sources.
(My first diary on dkos is about Islam. Who'd a thunk it...)
The Danish and Norwegian quotes are excerpted and translated by yours truly, not a professional translator.
- From the article by the cultural editor Flemming Rose, 29/30 September 2005, Jyllands-Posten (Denmark) (http://www.jp.dk)
- From an article by the cultural editor Jan Nyberg in the Norwegian daily Bergens Tidende (http://www.bt.no > Karikatur-raseriet), 17 October 2005.
- An Egyptian who blogs in English
- From an editorial in Jyllands-Posten, 02 February 2006.
- From a news report i Bergens Tidende, 10 February 2006.
1) Jyllands-Posten printed the cartoons on 30 September 2005, along with this explanation of the project.
The Face of Muhammad
By Flemming Rose, cultural editor
A comedian said recently that he doesn't dare mention the Koran on television. The illustrator of a children's book about the prophet Muhammad wishes to be anonymous, as do western European translators of a collection of essays which are critical of Islam. A leading art museum removes a work of art for fear of Muslims' reactions. There are this season three bitingly satirical theatrical productions about George W. Bush, while there isn't one about Osama bin Laden and his allies. In a meeting with the prime minister, an imam urges the government to influence the Danish press to present a more positive picture of Islam.
These examples give grounds for concern, whether the fear experienced is falsely based or not. It exists, and that leads to self censure. ... The most important cultural meeting of our time, that between Islam and the secular western societies with root in Christianity, is avoided.
The modern secular society is rejected by some Muslims. They require special treatment with regard to their own religious feelings. This is incompatible with a secular democracy and freedom of expression, where one must be willing to be subjected to derision, ridicule and mockery. This is definitely not always pretty, and it does not mean that one shall always make fun of religious feelings, but that is secondary in this connection.
...[P]eople in totalitarian societies land in jail for telling jokes about or making critical cartoons of dictators. The reason usually given is that the peoples' feelings are offended. It hasn't gone that far in Denmark, but the examples above show that we are starting down a slippery slope where no one can predict what the result of the self-censure might be. ...
2) Bergens Tidende, a Norwegian daily, comments on the issue on 17 October 2005.
Can Muslims Take a Joke?
By Jan Nyberg, cultural editor
[Nyberg tells first of a fruitless internet search for "humor" + "islam", and quotes much of the Danish article above.]
The climate in Denmark is not entirely unlike that in Norway. Just last week a noteworthy book critical of Islam was published: "Koranoid". The publisher says that the author's name is a pseudonym, for safety's sake, citing the cases of Theo van Gogh and Ayan Hirshi Ali. In an interview in "Magazinet" the author says that his intention is not to mock Islam but to start a discussion about whether it is OK to mock Islam:
"It is interesting that Islam has been protected from criticism. Especially the left has made it a sacrilege to fool around with Muslims. It's misunderstood culture relativism. Christianity doesn't have the same protection. Ridicule of religion is something new for Muslim fundamentalists. If one does not want to apply satire to Islam, then one is in favor of unequal treatment," says Erik Bakken Olafsen. Whose name is not really Erik Bakken Olafsen.
Jyllands-Posten received many reactions after the 12 drawings appeared. They were "not friendly and especially not tolerant" and several contained threats, according to the newspaper. In a news release, several organizations denounced the cartoons and asked the city council in Århus to do likewise. ... The paper was asked to "apologize for" and to "retract" the drawings, which it, of course, has not done. The paper has instead given a great deal of space to discussions of the drawings....
Instead of giving Muslims' religious feelings special protection, as for example in Great Britain, Jyllands-Posten urges the government to repeal the blasphemy law "which now is invoked to protect the prophet's beard and all his symbols and deeds. It was meaningless for many years. Now it has changed and has become decidedly dangerous."
At the request of 18 Muslim organizations, a law professor and expert in criminal law at the University of Copenhagen has evaluated whether the drawings ... were unlawful according to the blasphemy paragraph. His conclusion: they were not.
3) The Egyptian blogger Sandmonkey at http://egyptiansandmonkey.blogspot.com shows scans from the Cairo weekly Al Fagr which printed a few of the Danish cartoons in October during Ramadan. There was virtually no reaction then and none of the other newspapers in the region commented.
(This blogger says he's a Muslim, but he thinks like a westerner. He's delightfully snarky.)
4) Here's the first part of Jyllands-Posten's editorial of 02 February 2006. It continues using strong language, saying that Islamic forces have won over freedom of expression, their sick motive is to create conflicts and they in effect take Danish firms hostage. (The editor does not specifically mention the several very hateful images which apparently were added to the collection and misrepresented as being from the newspaper.)
What if?
What if one had known the full consequences of the 12 drawings in the culture section of 30 September last year? Would one have printed them anyway?
Today the answer is no! If we'd known that it would end with death threats ... we would of course not have printed them. Obviously that would be too high a price for this journalistic initiative. However, since no one could have known ..., the question is meaningless.
We couldn't know that a gang of imams would travel to the Middle East and spread lies about not only Jyllands-Posten but about the whole of Danish society. ... Several ... people are busily saying, in hindsight, that anyone could have predicted the consequences. Everyone must evaluate the worth of such statements for himself.
In the same circles, the editor's statements are said to represent "regret", as though an apology for hurt feelings is the same as distancing oneself from the whole project. Jyllands-Posten has acknowledged that the paper underestimated ordinary Muslims' feelings for their prophet. The apology concerns that, and only that. The newspaper cannot apologize for those who have grossly misused the situation to advance their own purposes, which have nothing to do with the paper, and who added false information to their propaganda. ...
5) A couple of Norwegian papers printed the Danish cartoons in January. Bergens Tidende, which did not, reports 10 February on the end of the matter in Norway.
The editor of "Magazinet" apologized for printing the Muhammad caricatures at a press conference today.
The Islamic Council declares the dispute settled.
The Islamic Council of Norway states that while free speech is a basic freedom which must be respected, responsibility must also be shown. They say that they were offended both by the caricatures and by the burning of the Norwegian flag. The editor of the small Christian paper regrets printing the cartoons and he praises Norwegian Muslims for the worthy way they've behaved throughout.
- - - - - -
Wikipedia has a great deal more information and a link to the original twelve drawings as well as a description of each of them.
Kåre Bluitgen, the author of the children's book mentioned above, is featured in two of the cartoons. In both of these, the cartoonists suggest that the project gets him lots of PR for his new book. A school boy named Mohammed is shown in his classroom in Copenhagen and the message on the blackboard says that Jyllands-Posten's journalists are provocateurs. A right wing Danish politician is featured in one of the drawings. Though not all of the drawings are so innocent, it seems clear to me that they were not intended for export.
I've seen fairly detailed descriptions of 3-4 very nasty images, some of them reminiscent of the Abu Graib pictures, which are supposed to have been included with the others when they were shown around in the Middle East. So my point is: when you talk about "The Danish Cartoons", please specify whether you mean just the twelve original ones or the (rumored) larger collection.