The cultural editor of Jyllands-Posten Fleming Rose commissioned 40 cartoonists and asked them to draw the Islamic prophet Mohammad as they saw him. On September 30 2005, 12 cartoons depicting the prophet were published in the Danish newspaper. The Cartoon project was specially prompted by the difficulties faced by a Danish writer Kåre Bluitgen in finding artists to illustrate his children’s book on the Islamic prophet. {Link}.
The Danish editor probably had no idea about the impact this project would have. A cartoon war soon erupted sometime in January across the Islamic world. The unity and the umbrage of the Islamists were equally matched by the liberal establishments of the west which reprinted the cartoons as an act both of defiance and as a gesture of solidarity. {Link}.
This is what Fleming Rose had to state:
The modern, secular society is rejected by some Muslims. They demand a special position, insisting on special consideration of their own religious feelings. It is incompatible with contemporary democracy and freedom of speech, where you must be ready to put up with insults, mockery and ridicule. It is certainly not always attractive and nice to look at, and it does not mean that religious feelings should be made fun of at any price, but that is of minor importance in the present context. [...] we are on our way to a slippery slope where no-one can tell how the self-censorship will end. That is why Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten has invited members of the Danish editorial cartoonists union to draw Muhammad as they see him.
********
Much of the fear that has gripped Europe and prevented most artists to work with writer Kare Bluitgen emanates from the brutal murder of the Dutch film director Theo Van Gogh. Theo Van Gogh had made a 10-minute film called Submission that dealt with the theme of violence against women in Islamic societies. On an early morning in November 2, 2004, he was shot with eight bullets, his throat was slit and then he was stabbed in the chest. The murderer was a 26 year old man named Mohammad Bouyeri.
_____________
Post imported from the State of the Nation blog.
