Cartoons are republished as a show of support It is unreal that people can get so worked up over a cartoon....... What a joke. DD
(CNN) -- Newspapers across Europe Wednesday reprinted the controversial cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed that sparked worldwide protests two years ago. The cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed provoked widespread outrage in the Muslim world two years ago. The move came one day after Danish authorities arrested three people allegedly plotting a "terror-related assassination" of Kurt Westergaard, the cartoonist behind the drawing. Berlingske Tidende, was one of the newspapers involved in the republication by newspapers in Denmark. It said: "We are doing this to document what is at stake in this case, and to unambiguously back and support the freedom of speech that we as a newspaper always will defend," in comments reported by The Associated Press. Newspapers in Spain, Sweden and the Netherlands also republished the drawing Wednesday as part of their coverage of Tuesday's arrests. The image, by Morgenavisen Jullands-Posten cartoonist Westergaard, was one of 12 cartoons about the Prophet Mohammed originally published in September 2005. Westergaard's cartoon depicted the prophet wearing a bomb as a turban with a lit fuse. Violent demonstrations erupted across the world in early 2006 after other newspapers reprinted the images as a matter of free speech. The uproar came as some Muslims believe it is forbidden by the Quran to show an image of the prophet. Many protesters directed their ire at Denmark, prompting the closure of several Danish embassies in predominantly Muslim countries, including Indonesia and Pakistan. There were also attacks on other diplomatic missions in Iran and Syria among others. The Danish Foreign Ministry has said it is keeping a watch on the situation at its embassies and has yet to report any incidents. "No blood was ever shed in Denmark because of this, and no blood will be shed. We are trying to calm down people, but let's see what happens. Let's open a dialogue." The Danish Security and Intelligence Service Tuesday said police arrested a 40-year-old Dane of Moroccan origin and two Tunisians in the Aarhus area of western Denmark following lengthy surveillance. The Danish citizen is charged with a terrorism offense, the intelligence service said, and the Tunisians will be deported. Police have not yet released the names of the three. The target of the plot, the intelligence service said, was the cartoonist for the Danish newspaper Morgenavisen Jullands-Posten, which first published the controversial drawings in September 2005. The paper identified the cartoonist as Kurt Westergaard. Watch how threats have targeted cartoonists ยป "Not wanting to take any undue risks [the intelligence service] has decided to intervene at a very early stage in order to interrupt the planning and the actual assassination," the statement by Jakob Scharf, the agency's director general, said. "Thus, this morning's operation must first and foremost be seen as a preventive measure where the aim has been to stop a crime from being committed." Westergaard has previously said that he wanted his cartoon to say that some people exploited the prophet to legitimize terror. However, many in the Muslim world interpreted the drawing as depicting their prophet as a terrorist. "Of course I fear for my life after the Danish Security and Intelligence Service informed me of the concrete plans of certain people to kill me," Westergaard said in a statement posted on the newspaper's Web site. "However, I have turned fear into anger and indignation. It has made me angry that a perfectly normal everyday activity which I used to do by the thousand was abused to set off such madness." CNN's Paula Newton said the arrests reinforced growing fears in Europe that radical Islam was trying to suppress free speech. "More and more Europeans feel that Islam is a threat to their way of life," Newton said. A recent Gallup poll for the World Economic Forum showed a majority of Europeans believed relations between the West and the Muslim world were worsening. According to the poll this sentiment was strongest held among Danish. Westergaard remains under police protection and does not know whether it will continue. "I could not possibly know for how long I have to live under police protection; I think, however, that the impact of the insane response to my cartoon will last for the rest of my life," he said. "It is sad indeed, but it has become a fact of my life." Carsten Juste, the paper's editor-in-chief, said staffers have been "deeply worried" for several months. "The arrests have hopefully thwarted the murder plans," he said on the newspaper's Web site
Europe is really paying for their liberal policies of allowing these folks into their countries. Expect a big backlash against Muslims over there....Euros aren't half as tolerant as Americans are in this regard.
No, they are looking to show that free speech means...."FREE SPEECH" If they don't like it they can.....avoid looking at them. DD
first they came for my 'toons. then they came for the cartoonists. i think you know what happens next...
I would generally agree, except that a number of European states have laws against 'hate speech' (pretty much limited to Antisemitism; Islamophobia has been largely overlooked). For all their chest-thumping about how wonderfully liberal and 'enlightened' they are, Europe is still by and large a Xenophobic continent. We have 'pockets' of that here in America as well (mostly on the right), but overall America has made considerable strides in that area compared to the majority of European countries (with possible exception of Britain). But this also might have to do with the fact that America is much more of a multicultural society.
Why wouldn't these countries have liberal immigration policies in regard to Arabic or African countries after they colonized them and subjugated their peoples? How is this any different than the English commonwealth's immigration policy?
so what you are saying .. is there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING a cartoonist can do that will ever upset you??? Rocket River
If someone is publicly insulting me, saying the most vile and hurtful things they can think of because they know it greatly upsets me and they want to maximize my grief, I'd be hard-pressed to just look the other way. The cartoonist says he wasn't doing that and he was misunderstood. Fine, but the publishers know the message they are sending. They are not demonstrating their freedom, they are exploiting their freedom to let Muslims know how much they are hated.
Which is ironic, because denying the Halocaust is a felony in many European states... There is a limit to free speech. I think this crosses it. What valid point does this make, other then that publishing anger-inciting articles will incite anger?
I'd like to think that letting muslim fanatics know you can't bully/scare civilized states into recanting long-held fundamental rights such as free speech is a good thing. Too bad america played it wrong.
Offending just for the sake of offending is certainly not conducive to improving relations, that's for sure. But a certain part of me feels like its important to let these barbarians know that western civilization won't let either threats or avant-garde political correctness undue the right to say whatever the heck you want. It's like standing up to the bully. It may incite him momentarily, but it will also reveal his fragile ego and intense cowardice.
