The Great Danish Mohammed Cartoon Controversy
01 Feb
Posted by Deep Keel as Cartoons, Islam, Europe, National Defense, Guns and Freedom, Politics and News
The publishing of 12 cartoons by the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten began a firestorm of controversy that is just growing with time. A great clash of culture and religion between the West and Islam is now under way. There are many in the West only too happy to surrender rights and freedom in the interest of ‘tolerance’ and ‘respect’ towards Islam, gestures these Western leaders are unwilling to show to Christianity for example. And who would want them to? Wester culture is based on openness and freedom of the individual, not authoritarian control of speech and ideas. Muslims are not interested in respecting our culture and traditions, and are quite ready to use murder and terror to show their disgust with it.
Attempts to threaten only work when others stand by and do nothing, and then change their own behavior so as to be ’safe’. This is the goal of all terrorists, and we must deny them. Only through strength in our own convictions will the terror stop, when they realize it can not work.
I will not be intimidated, or stand by while others are without taking some sort of action. I should have done this months ago. In solidarity with others and in the interests of proving the futility of the threat of violence to silence those Muslims wish to intimidate, I am publishing the original 12 cartoons. They will appear after clicking the link to ‘continue reading>>‘.
For previous posts on this and other subjects effecting Europe, click on the this link, which leads to the Europe Post Category.
Update: Michelle Malkin has a roundup of other blogs either partially or fully publishing these photos, link here.
Update #2: In answer to some comments made in this post I have written more about why I posted these cartoons, click on this link if you are interested.
Update #3: There is a collection of images of Mohammed collected from throughout history, from within both inside Islam and outside. Click on this link to see examples of how Mohammed has historically been illustrated.
Update #4: I have written a series of articles here on Deep Keel about the controversy and its developments that you may find interesting:
Why We Need to Criticize Islam
Highlighting Hypocrisy
The Cartoon Controversy is a Political Manipulation of Religion
Choices
194 Responses
Tanvir
February 2nd, 2006 at 12:51 am
1I can see here clearly that how far one may go to get the cheap publicity.
Our Prophet(PBUH) is the most lovable personality in every muslim’s heart, we love him and can do every thing to save his honor.
I thankyou this news paper as due to his i am now practicing my religion more stirctly as ever before as i am clear in my mind that west will never understand islam, rather they want us to be like them as they treated their religion making it a joke………
I would like to request everyone who hates islam that this is the only way to lead successful and peaceful life whether anyone accept it or not.
Jimmy
February 2nd, 2006 at 2:58 am
2I am from Denmark.
I don’t disagree that this is partly a publicity stunt. But it is in my opinion also an attempt to comment on an ongoing debat in Denmark.
We (as most other countries in europe) are living in a society where freedom of speech is given by law. Of course this right causes problems. Extremists regularly proclame right winged opinions, that most danes oppose. Left winged extremists voice there opinions likewise. That is a part of a democratic society.
As you state, Islam is a loving religion. I agree in general. But I don’t understand how that agrees with the threats of violence coming from Palestine, with the degradation of women (in Saudi Arabia women are not allowed to vote or drive a car among other things) and with Sharia (its a complete mystery to me that muslims tolerate it).
About the drawings - They don’t represent Denmark! They represent a newspaper. My personal opinion is, that they degrade a religion and that they shouldn’t have been printed. But never the less, the newspaper have the right to do so.
I hope you keep on practising your religion and live a long and peacefull life. Please respect my rights as a dane, to believe in what I want and say what I want. I don’t dictate how you should live your life and I will not have my life dictated either.
By the way - it isn’t the first time that someone has made drawings of that kind. And doesn’t the Quran only ban making drawings of Allah? I haven’t seen the prophet mentioned in that context in the Quran…? But I am course not an expert in the Quran (but I am willing to learn and open minded about your religion and your opinion as most other danes)
Chris Jones
February 2nd, 2006 at 7:47 am
3Recently, Muslims, albeit extremist factions of Muslims, have been living up to the “bomb throwing Arab” paradigm. And, while this doesn’t by any means represent the whole of the Muslim world community it is certianly the most visible and vocal. The question is not whether extremists are doing what they are doing or whether they are doing it in the name of Islam. The question is what is the rest of the Islamic community doing about it. They are quick to become inflamed over satirical cartoons but are conspicuously silent when a suicide bomber kills a couple of dozen innocent people.
I say “go Jyllands-Posten.” Keep up the pressure, with no applogies. Maybe at some point all of the religious extremists in the world, Islamic or otherwise will try some introspection and realize the what they are doing is wrong. Violence in the name of religious belief, oppression in the name of some god or gods, hatred justified by scriptural dogma is all just born of ignorance and backwardness. Poking fun at a bunch of subhuman animals who kill in the name of their own version of some sky-dwelling super being just isn’t going far enough. At least the cartoonist(s) have the balls to say what we are all thinking but haven’t the backbone to come out and say.
Jimmy
February 2nd, 2006 at 11:10 am
4Even though I do agree that its the bombers who gets the headlines, I don’t think that “an eye for eye” is the way to go. You can’t reason with extremists and I don’t think introspection is probable.
We (as europeans) shouldn’t encourage hate and violence, simply because an ingnorant minority disrespects (or kills) non-muslims. Of course we cannot tolerate violence and other crimes - that is why we have the law/government, police and courts.
So how do we go on from here…
We use our democracy, diplomacy and - of course - our free press. As individuals we should be understanding and helpfull towards all.
So whatever religion you believe in - use it to promote peace and understanding. Violence only promotes violence.
If you think that this is naive, think of the alternatives. Wars, riots, violence, hunger and the likes. Not a pretty picture.
smitty
February 2nd, 2006 at 11:28 am
5Will all intolerant religous people just go away to another planet and let the rest of us get on with our lives. You are all irrational idiots ( yes, ALL religions) and you are NOT WANTED on Planet Earth any longer.
Ali
February 2nd, 2006 at 12:02 pm
6bull**** from the ppl who have no religion to believe in. Stop this crap. If you cant respect anyones religion, dont make fun of it. Maybe thats a reason u guys are athiests.
Danish dumbos stop this crap or the whole world will be against you.
The best way is to apologize and promote peace. And dont mess around with someones religion.
You dont understand ppl’s sentiments. better not fool around.
HAMID
February 2nd, 2006 at 12:03 pm
7THE SUN WILL SHINE NO MATTER HOW MUCH DIRT PEOPLE THROW AT IT.MOHAMMAD IS OUR SUN.
Khurram
February 2nd, 2006 at 12:05 pm
8I am an American but believe that no one has the right to publish crappy irrelevant pictures of anyones religion. We dont care what debate goes on in Danishland. Keep your problems to yourself and dont display it to the world or the world will backfire and then you will suffer
Anne
February 2nd, 2006 at 12:06 pm
9Danish ppl you should stop this.
Anne
February 2nd, 2006 at 12:08 pm
10Danishland, learn the difference…
Religion is sacred. Dont play with it
Juan Guerra
February 2nd, 2006 at 12:21 pm
11hi i´m from caracas, venezuela and as a photographer and freelance journalist I’ll send all my support and solidarity with the paper, the editors, cartoonist, photographers, reporters, writers, columinsts, designers and all the staff memebers.
Juan D. Guerra
Juan Guerra
February 2nd, 2006 at 12:29 pm
12Stop racism from all colors
When hear talking about racism we basically thinks in the one from the caucasian over the blacks or indians, but that religious intolerance reproduces exactly the same and the only difference are the actors and they supporting roles.
For a people’s free of speech
Jimmy
February 2nd, 2006 at 12:40 pm
13To Ali. We are not atheist - at least not all of us. And as I wrote earlier, most of us respect all religions. What a news paper decides to print is their responsibility, and not a statement of the opinion of all danes.
To Khurram. How can you (as an american) disagree with the free press and freedom of speech? That is what makes dialog possible. Should it be illegal to print something just because some disagree?
To Anne. How should we stop it? The politicians are trying to get the message across to the middle-east - The politicians (and danes in general) are not responsible for what is printed by the free press!
Tonight the danish prime minister gave an interview on Al Arabiya (http://www.statsministeriet.dk/Index/dokumenter.asp?o=2&n=0&d=2508&s=1). If you want to understand the situation as seen by the danish government, try reading it.
To Hamid. I absolutely agree. The drawings shouldn’t have an impact on muslims. Nothing has changed since before the drawings. Islam is still Islam, and Mohammad is still the prophet.
Turner
February 2nd, 2006 at 1:29 pm
14I fully support the right to free speech. I also respect peoples rights to their opinions. These two things are what make the great countries great and the lack of makes a country look bad. Oppressive societies never last or haven’t you figure that one out by now? If your Muslim, grow up and get over it. Stop acting like little children. Quit trying to impose your ways and beliefs on the rest of the world. If your ways are so much better, then why don’t civilized counrty’s that are prodominently white wage war on each other? Personally, you way stinks and most Muslim’s don’t live much better than dogs. You don’t even have the ability to feed the majority of your race’s let alone put a man on the moon. Musilum’s are at the root of every conflict around the world. And you wonder why white’s don’t care for you. Perhaps you need read more. The answer is on the bathroom walls!
Farhan
February 2nd, 2006 at 1:34 pm
15To Jimmy:
Well my friend i guess your understanding of Islam is construed. You gave examples of Palestine and Suadi Arabia. Dont want to start another debate but people in Palestine are fighting for freedom and Saudi Arabians, though keepers of the holy sights are not perfect examples of muslims. Islam also promotes free speech however never has it provoked insult to any other religion.
What Danes are doing and trying to prove I fail to understand, There are many countries who have freedom of speech but i dont recall any such thing happening.
The drawings do have an impact on muslims. Yes Islam wont change because some idiots think its funny to degrade a religion which is so far beyong their comprehension but insulting an exalted figure is not appropriate (to put it mildly).
I would also appreciate if you keep your observations on Quran to yourself. If you want any clarifications do seek the right source before publishin your views.
Turner
February 2nd, 2006 at 1:44 pm
16To Muslim friends, i am extremely sorry for what i wrote. Islam does promote peace and free speech. We shouldnt have done this. My question to editors of newspapers: Why did u choose Islam and why not Christianity or Hinduism.
Again guys, sorry from the great Turner !
Farhan, I agree with you dude.
Farhan
February 2nd, 2006 at 1:47 pm
17Well generalizing muslims to have a beard and wear turbans is insane.
The ppl who are blowing up themselves and up in arms against western culture is a small minority. But this is a result of the west not accepting our culture and our religion and thus them reacting to that.
I condone violence and so does Islam in every possible way, but depicting muslims and insulting our faith and religion isn’t a natural solution.
So he should be apologetic and learn to respect ppl from all culture and ethnic backgrounds.
Hary
February 2nd, 2006 at 1:53 pm
18Its about time islam is put down for once and for all. They seem to want everything their own way, yet they do not want anyone else to exist. They commit sin after sin, yet a non muslim cannot enjoy the same freedom as western muslims, in the Middle East. Its time for Islam to wake up to the world, live with us and let us live, the world is not yours and never will be.
Jimmy
February 2nd, 2006 at 1:55 pm
19To Farhan. Yes most people in Palestine is fighting for freedom - I agree. I know, since my country has been supporting it for years.
And - once again - it is NOT the danes who are trying to prove ANYTHING. Its a NEWSPAPER!
About my knowledge of the Quran. I asked a question, that still stands unanswered. Does the Quran ban drawings of the prophet? Yes or no? If it doesn’t, this whole discussion is based on ill will, and not on something that actually is written in the Quran.
Hari Bharwa
February 2nd, 2006 at 1:56 pm
20Hary…….the world will be conquered by muslims. pick up anybook….be it muslims holy book, hindu holy book, bible, whatever.
they all say muslims will rule the world in the end. so dude - better find your way out - or convert into a muslim. ISLAM will never be down. The religion promotes peace as guys mentioned.
And your comments show the sort of mentality you have.
Embarrasing !!
Hary
February 2nd, 2006 at 2:01 pm
21Is it a wonder why the islamic world is in a mess. Brother killing brother etc, etc. Rule the world, dream on. As for books - which idiots wrote them, relgion has become a weapon, the end is near for those who think they can rule the world.
Hari Bharwa
February 2nd, 2006 at 2:17 pm
22and you are the first one on the list.
time shall tell.
world is filled with ppl like you who can never promote peace.
Hari Bharwa
February 2nd, 2006 at 2:18 pm
23and cos of the muslims, US and UK were saved from Russia or else western countries wouldve been wiped off the map!
think before u write now …
AII
February 2nd, 2006 at 2:22 pm
24Brother killing brother….what you talking about. You cant differentiate between the good ones and the bad ones, the real ones and the fake ones.
Cos all you guys know is to tarnish ones image. You cant see someone doing somethin good. Wont do and wont it happen. You are from that group of ppl. Grow up buddy!
What about the killins on 9/11 in US ??
Talk about that.
Btw muslims had the most of number of vigils for 9/11 for the dead ones. what you talking about.
Research man !!!!!
Farhan
February 2nd, 2006 at 2:25 pm
25Well u said abotu the writers of the book…..
we all know they were the greatest of the greatest unlike you idiots who cant understand a thing and wont try to understand.
Ali i completely understand and agree with you. Wont do and wont let happen. Thats why the world is filled with losers like these guys.
Jimmy
February 2nd, 2006 at 2:36 pm
26Well, these contributions is examples of free speech. We can all write what we want and in this way exercise our rights.
Now let me exercise mine…
Hary, you are an idiot. There are to many people who disrespects others - in all countries and all races.
We probably all want a peacefull world for our families. We all need to be open minded and respect each others differences… or else the world will be a bad place to live in.
Hary
February 2nd, 2006 at 2:36 pm
27i have lots of muslim friends who are fed up of whats going on, live in peace is all they are asking for, just like the rest of the religions of the world want, live in peace. Hate gets you no where, learn to accept that the world we live in is full of idiots, things will happen, but adverse reaction does not help and never will. Are my muslim friends wrong in wanting islam out of the news and back to where it belongs.
Lindsay Bangkok
February 2nd, 2006 at 8:23 pm
28I don’t think anybody complains when we see a cartoon of Jesus Christ because most of us have a sense of humour, not like some who want to get attention for no reason. Wake up and get on with life People. I am an atheist and seeing the world today I am glad.
Taoism: sh*t happens
Buddhism: if sh*t happens, it isn’t really sh*t
Islam: if sh*t happens, it is the will of Allah
Catholicism: if sh*t happens, you deserve it
Judaism: why does this sh*t always happen to us?
Atheism: I don’t believe this sh*t
Rune
February 3rd, 2006 at 1:54 am
29How amazingly smallminded the world can be.. Out there in the Internet you see Islamic websites with head lines that says “Death to all Christians”. Nobody seems to care about that. But when a cartoon is printed the entire world is suddenly on fire. I read up earlier in the text that Islam is a peace loving religion????? I have never seen that anywhere… Why don’t you muslims show that for a change??????
292
February 3rd, 2006 at 2:44 am
30Denmark is a democractic country, agreed..But democracy is the freedom of expressing your opinion and being RESPECTFUL. I don’t see any respect for Muslims or arabs in that cartoon. Every village, country, continent..etc has it’s bad people, don’t u expect to hav bad people in religion too?There are bad jews, bad christians, therefore there r also bad muslims. Seeing as though the Muslim religion is the fastest spreading thus making the muslim population more..both the good guys and the bad guys will increase. 3/4 of the muslims out there do not practice islam the right way, so before you try and condemn, why don’t u open up some books and start learning about Islam?
Now, even if this isn’t a matter about islam.. in every religion it is bad to talk about dead people..then how would u expect the world to react if u wrote about a dead PROPHET?..I do understand it is the newspaper’s responsibility not the country but an apology is not too much to ask.
Jimmy
February 3rd, 2006 at 4:33 am
31An apology by Jyllands-Posten was posted here a couple of days ago:
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=77170&d=1&m=2&y=2006
A quote: “These cartoons were not in violation of the Danish law but have irrefutably offended many Muslims, and for that we apologize,”
Now, I would like an apology for the Palestinian groups running around kidnapping people (last a german teacher) and threatens to kill danes, norweiganes and french people. I find, that they disrespect my culture and my country. I should probably get a gun, and start shooting up in the air, and proclame that I will kill anybody who disagrees with me.
Please. Get over it.
J.J
February 3rd, 2006 at 6:43 am
32J.J
Lindsaay i think u dont know the meaining of islaam i really thank everyone who really understands ur but the ppl who didnt GOD help them…lindsaay i respect ur opinion but plz respect islam and we will respect u
Israa Metwally
February 3rd, 2006 at 1:24 pm
33actually these cartoon pictures are non ethical and they caused a dilemma all over the muslims worldwide ,well is Denmark seeking a dilemma?so even if it should then be an ethical one because we should ask for peace worldwide meaning that we shouldnt hurt eachother and making fun of prophets!!if these pictures were about jescus or any of the other prophets was it going to be a freedom and democracy??
Jack
February 3rd, 2006 at 1:48 pm
34No, i belive Denmark was not seeking a dilemma.
The Newspaper Jyllands-Posten was in my opinion exploring the difference between respect and submission. If they where to really apologize that would be submission, and that would be wrong. Islam do NOT control what happens in the west, the ppl in the west does.
Just because Jyllands-Posten respect the muslim - that doesn’t mean they have to live by the Quran.
The Danes can say what they want as long as they uphold their own law - and thats it.
A. P
February 3rd, 2006 at 1:56 pm
35I dont recall any Buddhists burning flags, throwing stones, or terrorizing anybody when Buddha’s of Bamiyan statues were blown to smithereens by tank shells!! …… and I hear someone say Islam is the religion of peace, love and tolerance??
Islamists need a lesson in co-existing with the rest of the world… and the rest of the world needs a lesson in not tolerating their intolerance.
Cheers to the Danes!
Wilco
February 3rd, 2006 at 2:36 pm
361)Evil minds use the many hands of the weak minded. See 9/11, the crusades, the holocaust, etc.
2)Any faith which is threatened when exposed to scruitiny, mockery or free speech/thought is doomed.
3)The western world, rightly or wrongly, rabidly promotes free speech. ANYONE who is uncomfortable with that can voice that opinion, attempt to change it through democratic process or find somewhere more regimented to live. Kidnapping, violence and terrorism are intolerable.
Dan Thorson
February 3rd, 2006 at 4:28 pm
37Hello World,
The Danes are right. We need freedom of the press.
Although I can see why the Muslims were offended, I would be too if the Danes started in on Jesus. The world, not just the Muslims, need to recognize what is going on in the Muslim world. Terrorists are using their, the Muslims, own religion and their beloved Mohammad for their own evil purposes.
Also, this statement in yahoo news “The U.S. and British governments criticized publication of the caricatures as offensive to Muslims, raising questions about whether the line between free speech and incitement had been crossed.” is rediculous. The US had better not side with the Arab world against the Danes on a “freedom of the press issue?” That indeed would be … stupid????
Paul Corrales
February 3rd, 2006 at 4:30 pm
38The problem with the planet earth is that the human race as a whole does not know where we come from…
everybodys religion is the right one. We must stop this either by
abolishment of all religion or the return of GOD himself to set us straight once and for all, so we can get along with our lives.
I prefer GOD Whom ever he is…
GOD help us all, I think he is really pissed…
TNT
February 3rd, 2006 at 4:41 pm
39This whole incident just makes it easier to give up on Islam and Muslims and just keep one’s distance from a group that thinks it is immune from criticism and parody. Maybe the EU should simply ban Islam in the same way the Islamic countries ban everything that does not conform to their narrow beliefs.
howard
February 3rd, 2006 at 4:51 pm
40Danish media is ignorant, DON’T THEY KNOW ISLAM IS THE FASTEST GROWING RELIGION?? This is an abuse to the democracy and freedom of speech, they would’t like it if the vigin mary was having sex, so dont ACT IN AN INPROPER WAY.DANISH MEDIA WANT PUBLICITY, HOWEVER DANISH BUSINESSES SUFFER!!!!!!!!!!
MIKE
February 3rd, 2006 at 4:54 pm
41DANISH PEOPLE SUCK!THE PEOPLE SHOULD BE ARRESTED AND GIVEN LIFE SENTENCE OR EXECUTION.
POPE
February 3rd, 2006 at 5:01 pm
42DANISH PPL R MENTAL!!HEY YO U LOT NEED A LIFE!DANISH ARE MISLEADING AND PEOPLE WHO CAN NOT BE TRUSTWORTHY!!!!!!!!!!!
Hassani
February 3rd, 2006 at 5:09 pm
43Cartoons of Mohammad with a bomb in his turban is “Press Freedom”
Cartoons of hook-nosed money grabbing Jews is “Anti-Semitism”….
Morten
February 3rd, 2006 at 5:10 pm
44I am sad to see my country being taken hostage by people trying to promote their own political and fundamentalistic agendas. The cartoons have been used by certain individuals in the middle east and in europe to create division between cultures. Maybe more importantly they have been used to spark a feeling of unity internally in the different cultures affected.
The danish government and the newspaper has repeatedly tried to compromise and to approach the muslim community. In doing that they have gone exactly as far as they can without compromising the fundamental values of the danish society.
It now puzzles me to see that arab commentators have declared victory - declared that they have succeeded in bringing a western country to its knees.
I would like to clarify that the Danes are a very peaceful people. We have always opposed unneccesary conflicts, we have for many years been the worlds biggest contributor of foreign aid, we actually help fund muslim private school on danish soil and we have been strong supporters of the palestinian struggle for an independent state. We are continuing our peaceful tradition by trying solve the conflict at hand with all possible means.
But do not mistake this for weakness. Do not think that this obliging approach is due to economic pressures(danish export increased with over 50 billion dkr. only in 2005, in total the danish export to the middle east is around 9 billion). No - It is due to a good danish tradition of seeking compromises in order for all people to coexist no matter what is holy for them.
I guess what I am trying to say to the people of the world(ok - just the 10 people reading this webpage). Dont let yourself be manipulated and moved around like pawns on a chessboard. Take a stand, but be genuinely informed when you do so. Do not help create a vision of Denmark and danes as the enemy of muslims - we are really not.
Thanks for listening.
DeputyDawg
February 3rd, 2006 at 5:40 pm
45The creation and circulation of the 12 caricatures of Mohammad is harmless. What does the Muslim community fear about someones depiction of their God? Are you afraid that maybe these cartoons hit a little too close to home?
If they are truly confident in their faith, they should not be angered…. they should try spending their energy elsewhere, like praying about the situation. If your God is great, then your God will see you through this. He doesn’t need you fighting his battles for him. Yet, here you are, thousands of you outraged and protesting, many violently I might add, proving that you are indeed wearing your rabid emotions on your sleeve. You have a choice on how to react to this and are CHOOSING to act out venomously. Take a look at yourselves; fixing the situation is an “INSIDE JOB” my friends.
Jose from USA
February 3rd, 2006 at 8:07 pm
46While it may be forbidden for a Muslim to depict Mohammad, no one outside that religion has that prohibition. Moral outrage? What more Muslims need more than anything else is a sense of humor.
king
February 3rd, 2006 at 8:12 pm
47The cartoons may have been in bad taste, and th e impact was indeed underestimated by the editor.
However, it is Extremely sad to see muslims who have total faith in their religion react in an uncivilized and barbaric manner.
1) It was ONE DANESH editor who made the error and NOT ALL the DANISH people. Put your thinking caps on and don’t disgrace mohammad’s name with your acts of violence. If one muslim blew up a bomb or a towers, are you ALL muslims saying that all muslims should be considered terrorist for blowing up towers in USA or train in spain or the bombing in UK. If the answer is NO, then don’t blame ALL the Danish or the westeners.
2) To all muslims I would say, if you have absolute faith in mohammad, what is one man’s stupidity compared to the almight powers of Allah or mohammad. Why do you mortal beings thing you need to protect Mohammad or his name. Is he not mighter then you and a piece of paper and one editor sitting in a Danish publishers office. Is he not protecting you, who are you to protect him. Is he not mighter and then you belivers.
3) All great man in all religions talk of peace, Do you muslims thing mohammed was a violent and revengful as you are trying to be, over something far trivial the the almighty. Do you think that mohammed would have agreed with actions by muslims around the world.
4)Faith is a personal think in the heart of a beliver and if teh belive is strong enough, it does not sway with on cartoon on paper, and in a paper of another country. Faith is in the heart of believer no matter what the religion
Slave
February 3rd, 2006 at 9:41 pm
48All,
The damaged has been done and there’s nothing that we can do about it. Let it be a lesson to the writers/editor for what they had done.Stop the finger pointing. Allah knows better and will punish the culprit for their sins. Don’t blame Danish people, Muslims all over the world and the people who are offended by this article. Retaliating, killing each other is also not encourage. Let us unite together and respect, learn and better understand each others religion and faith. Only then, the world will become peace. But remember, the SATAN will not allow this to happen and will always find a way to make us hate one another so that we will kill each other, hate one another and that is his primary aim. You want to know more, please read the Quran…
Shahril
February 3rd, 2006 at 9:49 pm
49I enjoy living in Malaysia, an Islamic country with multiraces living peacefully. Here, under the Islamic rulers, the Muslims, Christians, Hindus, Buddhists and others can practise their believes freely and peacefully. Well, what is the formula to live peacefully with people of different believes, skin colour & religions? The answer is RESPECT TO EACH OTHER’S BELIEVES, CULTURES & RELIGIONS. That is why, Malaysian government never tolerate some individuals who tries to do something that can hurt the sensitivity of other religions. Never!
Freedom of speech is allowed…as long as no religion or race is offended. We respect each other and take care of each other, for the sake of our families, country and the future generation. If we know that we are doing something that offended other people, why do we need to keep on doing it? If we hurt other people, why do we expect for the person to just keep quite and let people hurt them more? People fight when they are threatened. Even the mother chicken will fight if you try to steel its chicks.(forgive my broken English) Lastly, what I want to say is: RESPECT OTHERS, AND YOU WILL BE RESPECTED
Begsam
February 3rd, 2006 at 10:10 pm
50For those who telling stories about Islam when they don’t know nothing about it, READ ABOUT ISLAM:
The Life of The Prophet Muhammad
Begsam
February 3rd, 2006 at 11:13 pm
51Muhammad teached his fellows to respict all religions and prophets. For those who telling stories about Muhammad when they don’t know nothing about him, READ ABOUT MUHAMMAD:
The Life of The Prophet Muhammad
haytham
February 3rd, 2006 at 11:16 pm
52hi, i am a muslim, am proud of that though, one thing i wante dto let the world knmow, we have the right to think the way we want, we didnt criticise you the way you did, its humilating, beware of your problems then come to ours. what happened is really something bad and god know what will happen after
Begsam
February 4th, 2006 at 12:18 am
53Promoting peace is the core of Islam.
In the morning we don’t say good morning,
We say Peace Upon You.
In the noon we dont say good afternoon,
we say Peace Upon You.
In the evening we don’t say good evening ,
we say Peace Upon You.
We dont say Hi or Hello anywhere ,
we say Peace Upon You.
That’s our hail anytime , anywhere , our motto upon time. It’s not fair to judge on Islam from those who misunderstand Islam causing 9/11 or any thing else. Our holly Quran says:
“Who kill an innocent soul prohibited by God will face the destiny of hell for ever”.
Dr. Simi
February 4th, 2006 at 12:23 am
54I’m a Muslim alhamdulilAllah. but i also respect other religions and other peoples faith and belief. Prophet Muhammed(Peace be upon him) was The Greatest man ever lived in this world. He was for all mankind. He taught us to respect other religions and not to literally force anyone to accept Islam. we surely can preach and one has to accept Islam with his own will and understanding. Islam has every solutions for everyday problems in our life. LITERALLY. Just about anything. BUT But But ……. how many of us muslims follow Islam correctly and truthfully?? those who follow MashaAllah, thier life is blessed and sooner or later he surely will be rewarded, inshaAllah. but not everyone’s the same. there are definitely bad muslims, who are evil by nature, who are not scared of ALlah’s word of peace and His punishments of wrongdoings. these muslims are the ones causing most of the trouble in the present time that we see. will you blame Islam or Prophet Muhammed(PBUH) for it? most certainly not.
whtever happened in Denmark, in thier newspaper shouldnt have happened. surely everyone has the right of freedom. free to speak up. but one has to know his limits. one has to draw a line. if freedom means insulting others,hurting others faith, hurting others feelings,and not jus any feelings, hurting something so pure and so pious, then in no means i’ll call this freedom. if we all keep doing this, then surely one day there wudnt be anything called humanity…..faith….belief….respect!!!!!
if the newspaper people think they made a mistake. realise they shudnt have gone this far. surely they will apologize. and if they do apologize i ask all the muslims brothers to forgive them. to give them another chance. we as muslims shouldn’t forget that ALlah Himself is so kind and merciful and asks us to forgive others also.
May Allah’s blessing be upon all of us.
Dr. Simi
February 4th, 2006 at 12:46 am
55Dear chris jones, how do u know that the muslims leaders rnt doin anything to suppress terrorism, to catch the terrorists? those leaders who sincerely believe wht they hav to do, those who fear ALlah, those who have the ability to make a change in the society …. they all are doing it. but unfortunately some greedy unfaithful leaders are there also who indirectly encourages the terrorists to takeover, by simply not doing anything.
dear jimmy, we muslims are not allowed to draw any kind of pictures of ALlah and prophet Muhammed (PBUH). also not make any kind of jokes or humor abt Allah. no matter how funny or clean it is.
its all due to one simple reason ….. RESPECT. if u really love and respect sumthing, u wud never like it to be hurt or made fun of, isnt it?
likewise we were told not to do or say any such things which,in a small way even, disrespects our beloved ALlah and His prophet (PBUH). and we solemly believe it.
Ejazur Rahman
February 4th, 2006 at 1:12 am
56It is a deep psychological design to shift the focus from somewhere to Europe to play the safe game of hatred. Please be patient and matured, it is my humble request to all human beings.
Saman
February 4th, 2006 at 4:00 am
57I have had enough of this. I am surprised people still are in confusion over ‘terrorism’. People can be so blind, so narrowminded and they just worsen the situation. Itz simple. Even the gentlest of people react when they are constantly oppressed, hurt, treated unfairly, not given their rights, when their self respect is trampled, when their loved ones are killed. Notice that ‘terrorism’ in Palestine started when their land is constantly encroached upon and they are left homeless (itz nearly gone to house the ‘poor’ ‘innocent’ isrealis), when they are unarmed yet killed mercilessly, when they have nothing left to lose except their lives. And all retaliations happened where people were troubled. Before all the world resorts to such acts to be heard, please learn to respect people’s rights, care for their sentiments. Make the world a better place to live in. And I laugh how people are foolishly watching (and supporting) USA ‘fighting’ for peace. And I can see how much peace they generate! Wake up!
shahnawaz
February 4th, 2006 at 7:16 am
58Really! is that a "Freedom of Speech"?! First of all it is not a "Speech" that you mentioned here it’s a "Slur"! And what does "Freedom" mean to you? irresponsible behaviour? No! in the East it means "More Responsible behavior"! So take the two words together and what does the phrase "Freedom of Speech" means? it means "Responsible way of communication or a dialogue" What you did here is "Travesty" (Grotesque immitation) of your own self, full of prejudice and simplistic to the point of "Double Standard" Wait … Wait… did I overload your simplistic brain?! Okay, here we go, Jyllands Posten or all European Newspapers will never post Anti-Semitic or Pope in a terribly insulting cartoon! Forget that, you will never even make a cartoon that will insult Christian And Jewish sentiments! Freedom Of Speech is for others to follow! You follow Orwellian democracy in Denmark where some people are more equal than the others (Muslims!)
John
February 4th, 2006 at 7:31 am
59Truth hurts doesn’t it. I find these cartoons a comical version of the reality that is going on throughout the world today. And I’m sure that the Author isn’t directing his thoughts towards the peaceful Muslims but the mentally, distrurbed, psychopathic ones. Thank my GOD, you can’t terrorize thoughts and ideas and thank my GOD I live in a society where freedom comes in all shapes and sizes and colours.
Finally…The Muslim world should look at their own cartoon strips. I have seen a few and they are much worse than this “CONTROVERSY”.
Thank you!
Philip
February 4th, 2006 at 8:13 am
60I think we are all forgetting one thing here. The Cartoonists wanted this type of reaction to tere drawings. It’s all in the good name of public attention. At the same time, it’s also a Newspaper publication, in a country not dominated by Muslims, so the entire Muslim world should not stand up and make this a bigger issue then it is. When the Saudi’s chop off the hand of a hungry young man, who stole a piece of bread, and that to me deserves Public Attention. Those same people who stood up and marched against the Cartoon, I ask you to do the same in the name of Islam to the innocents of Saudi Arabia.
Anne T. Haight
February 4th, 2006 at 9:00 am
61So the Muslim’s are irate over the fact that these cartoons depict them as voilence-mongers, and denegrate their religion? How apros-pos they would respond by burning down the Danish embassy. Way to prove your point. “Voilent? We’re not violent, we hate violence. Call us violent again and I’ll kill you”.
Arab Chrsitain
February 4th, 2006 at 9:10 am
62hello all im palestinian and i live in an arab muslim soceity and i dont deny being a christian and i will never deny that,me my self dont have any problem with islam,in the other hand i do respect Islam very much ,and believ me if the Islamic world had the right people to deal with , nothing well happen in the world.Let us as Arabs and Muslims live alone as the style we like we have all the abiliteis to be liberated and free from all American and Europeans economical occupation i dont deny that we take some financial aid but if it well make us pay that from our Arabian Pride and we have to pay it from our Reliogenal belives we DONT NEED IT so i wish that the people who are trying to anything to gain any prophts from those action are really in deep false life and thank you for this chance
Daniel
February 4th, 2006 at 10:03 am
63Thanks for publishing these cartoons online! (New York resident here.) Yours was the first website I could find this morning to see exactly what the fuss was about.
My main response is that I’m surprised by how tame they are. I expected them to be really a lot more inflamatory. We commonly have political cartoons here satirizing our political leaders, historical figures, religious icons, and so forth much more harshly than this.
Zezinho
February 4th, 2006 at 10:22 am
64tanks for cartoon for Brasil
Me
February 4th, 2006 at 10:44 am
65The radical islamists are really over-reacting to these cartoons. They have a right to be angry and upset, but in Syria, they torched the Danish Embassy. That shows you just how barbaric this culture can be when put in perspective. On one side are the offensive cartoons, and on the other rioting and burnt buildings! So it is extremely hard for me to feel sympathy for any religion or culture that has a knee-jerk reation to violence when they don’t get their way. Here’s an idea all of you fundamentalist radical islamists of the world: instead of destroying something or rioting or killing and threatening, why don’t your PRAY for the people you have a problem with?! Whatever happened to righteousness? I know several people who happen to be Islamists who are devoted to their religion and I have the utmost respect for them and love them dearly as friends. When they have a disagreement though, they DEBATE, not DESTROY. This all makes me sick.
Mr. Bill
February 4th, 2006 at 10:45 am
66Help me understand!
I would like to hear from a thoughtful, articulate Muslim to explain why a group of people can “high jack” your religion, use it for their own political purposes. In the process, they chop off the heads of innocent journalist, kidnap and kill innocent people, fly airplanes loaded with innocent passengers into building filled with hard working fathers, mothers and children. They take over schools in Russia and shoot innocent school children in the back.
They do all of this in the name of Islam and yet the Muslim masses do not burn the flags of the countries that harbor and support their activities. They do not threaten to kill them for falsely stating that they are following the teaching of Mohammed. I have not seen one mass protest against these individuals, not one angry crowd of Muslims burn them in effigy.
In my mind, I would be far more outraged at the people who would hide behind my religion and use it as a platform for such abuses.
I also think that the rest of the world would be far more concerned about respect for Mohammed and his followers if you would at least show as much concern and angst over those who would twist your religion into a hateful murderous knot as you do to those who draw cartoons which you deem to be offensive.
Please know that I am honestly asking for a thoughtful, measured response to my question. I mean you no harm. I am only seeking to understand.
Mr.Bob
February 4th, 2006 at 11:21 am
67When will people start to realize that the only real god is Mr.T.
o'noor
February 4th, 2006 at 1:02 pm
68I born and live in a muslim country,and let me say that I don’t like Islam,also I don’t like the other religions.If a person wants to believe let her believe.Respect the non-believers,respect the freedom of speech or drawing.
All the atheists,it is time to support Denmark!
Global
February 4th, 2006 at 1:09 pm
69I agree with Mr. Bill,
When crazy people flew planes into buildings containing innocent people in the Name of Allah, we did not see these kind of heartfelt protest actions, just deafening silence, but now that someone publishes some silly cartoons, it is as though the world has come to an end.
Shame on you hypocrites, human life has absolutely no value to you….and you claim to be acting of behalf of God? Were you celebrating when the twin towers came down by the way?
Deep Keel
February 4th, 2006 at 1:41 pm
70I am tolerant of dissenting opinions in these comments and I will allow many things, but obscenity is not one of them. Also outright hate and calls for genocide will not be tolerated. Comments with obscene words that somehow make it through the filter I have to prevent them from being posted will be deleted regardless of their content. Comments with calls for genocide will be deleted.
Please be polite even in opposition. This forum exists to further discussion and debate, to foster the exchange of ideas. Advocating mass murder or spewing obscenities is not within the bounds of civil debate.
I welcome the exchange of ideas and perspectives happening here, thanks to all who take the time to think and contribute.
Global
February 4th, 2006 at 2:13 pm
71Israa Metwally YOU SAY: actually these cartoon pictures are non ethical and they caused a dilemma all over the muslims worldwide , I SAY: They caused a dilemma?? Are you serious!!!!?? What about all the murders being committed in the Name of ALLAH and Mohammed??? Are they causing you any "dilemmas"??? YOU SAY: well is Denmark seeking a dilemma? I SAY: Is the entire Denmark seeking a dilemma just because one paper publishes some cartoons??? YOU SAY: so even if it should then be an ethical one \: I SAY: DOn’t talk to me about ETHICS, man, I’m surprised you can even spell it. YOU SAY: because we should ask for peace worldwide meaning that we shouldnt hurt eachother …/ I SAY: AMEN.. AND OUT..
Sara
February 4th, 2006 at 3:36 pm
72As a muslim, I would like to try to explain as to why the muslim world is outraged by these cartoons. It is one thing to criticize muslims for their actions - it is quite a diffrent thing to insult the religion itself. I have heard Osama bin Laden criticizing non-muslims, but I have never heard him or any other “fanatical” degrade Jesus, Moses, or any of the other prophets of God. And the reason for that is this: while non-mulsims do not believe in the honor of the prophet of Islam, we belive in the honor of all the prophets of Judaism and Christianity or else we would not be Muslims. If I saw a cartoon depicting Jesus in a degrading way, I would be just as upset as if it were Mohammed. So, criticize muslims all you want- but stay away from degrading Mohammed and Islam.
Dick
February 4th, 2006 at 3:59 pm
73Grow a back bone. Was Mohammed such a big wet vagina that he wouldn’t be able to take a little satirical ribbing? It’s sad, this kind of reaction to an act of free speech. Why should anyone be tolerant of anyone elses’ religion when the religious are such whiny cry-babies throwing fits over anything they disagree with: No lobster! No condoms! No menstrual blood!
Well, I have a rule too:
No tolerance for the intolerant!
foobar
February 4th, 2006 at 4:30 pm
74i’d like to see jesus, mohammed, and abraham in a nasty threesome. why? it would loosen them up a bit, literally. and we could all live with a bit more slack from the religeons of sin and punishment.
Sara
February 4th, 2006 at 4:44 pm
75To foobar: Well, it’s obvious that you don’t respect your own religion, so how could you possibly be expected to respect others.
foobar
February 4th, 2006 at 5:05 pm
76to sara: who said i have no respect. the religions of hatred of the body maybe is what i should have said. why do you immediately assume that mentioning sex is a form of disrespect, yet another indication of the backwardness of most of the thinking coming out of these religions. i respect all three of the prophets as great ethical thinkers and moral innovators, not the representatives of some imaginary God who has happened to pick the human ANIMAL (what a coincidence) to make in His image.
oh yeah and while i’m at it i’ll let some of the self righteous yanks here who think that muslims are terrorists to just have a quick look at the last hundred years of american foreign policy. so dropping an atom bomb on civilians is ok? so dropping tons and tons and tons of napalm on vietnamese farmers is ok? so killing countless thousands in a televised fiasco called shock and awe ok? yes of course because it’s in the name of freedom of democracy and of course jesus YOUR lord. we aren’t the bad guys, we’re the good guys. when we kill we have nice uniforms on and shiny new weopons.you all make me sick with your twisted contorted ideas, based on hearsay and hatred and mostly just plain ignorance. sara and the rest of you just go and get an education, come back and then maybe we can talk.
Sara
February 4th, 2006 at 5:16 pm
77Foobar, you are not the only one aware of american foreign policy. If it were not for the actions of the West in the Middle East after World War II, ex. breaking up the Ottoman empire into many un-united regions and placing dictators at the head of each one, supporting the creation of Israel on top of another people’s country, and so on, there would not be any terrorism coming out of that region now. Leaders of the world should learn that they reap what they sow.
foobar
February 4th, 2006 at 5:29 pm
78you don’t really get it sara. terrorism is coming out of YOUR region now AS MUCH AS out of any other, and it was doing so way before 9/11. it just doesn’t have such a horrifying name because it has state and media sanction. with every other word you betray your prejeduces.
Jimmy
February 4th, 2006 at 5:30 pm
79To Dr. Simi. Dear friend. Thanks for a voice of reason, and thanks for the answer to my question.
Could you please clarify, if your answer is a general interpretation of the Quran, since I’ve been told otherwhise by my neighbours, who happens to be Shiia muslims (my neighbours - and now friends - has moved to Denmark from Egypt).
They explained it, as if it was only drawings of Allah that was banned - not drawings of the prophet…?
Could you please quote a passage of the Quran or the likes or - if it is to complex a matter - try to explain why it is banned to make drawings of the prophet (as I’ve read, its been done through history, see Jami al-Tavarikh and http://www.zombietime.com/mohammed_image_archive/).
I sense there is a difference of opinions, even among muslims.
No matter what the answer, I still agree with you more or less. The essence of the conflict is respect or the lack of it. And as I’ve said before, most danes do respect muslims (as much as we respects any other kind of religion, that be christians, hinduist, buddhist…) I urge all to be open minded and respectfull about each others faith.
To shahnawaz. I almost lost interest, while reading… must be my simplistic brain. I’ll skip to the last part you wrote, since the rest is a waste of time: “You follow Orwellian democracy in Denmark where some people are more equal than the others”. Orwellian democracy in Denmark you say…?
Are you from Denmark? Do you even know what you are talking about? Please do explain why “danes” are more equal than “danes who happens to be muslims”. I do agree though, that we all are different in Denmark, as well as in the rest of the world… please do elaborate.
To Mr. Bill. The use of religion as an excuse for violence is not solely for the radical muslims, as you probably agree. I.R.A. has been using it for years (with a mix of politics). Religion has been used as the reason for war and violence since the beginning of time. Your question is valid though, but i doubt you will get an answer, since the answer you are after only can be given by the extremists - and they are all mad (in my opinion).
Its about time we all do something about it… and by that I mean respect, dialog and forgiveness. After having read all the contributions on this site, it seems we all (more or less) wants the same thing.
Mr. Bill
February 4th, 2006 at 5:44 pm
80Sara, Please don’t let Foobar ditsurb your thought process. He is obviously over the edge.
Don’t give him another thought. He is not worthy of your consideration.
Now, let me be sure that I understand your response. You said that bin Laden would not “degrade Jesus, Moses, or any of the other prophets of God”. Does it not degrade Mohammed to assert that he condones or even demands the murder of thousands of innocent individuals.
Sara
February 4th, 2006 at 5:45 pm
81Foobar, YOU are not getting what I’m saying. I KNOW that terrorism is coming out of the U.S. The deaths of tens and tens of thousand of Iraqis as a result of an illegal war is TERRORISM. Supporting the occupation of Palestinans and the stealing of their land is TERRORISM. That is what I meant by world leaders reaping what they sow. Back in 1982, the current prime minister of Israel, Ariel Sharon, who was then the defense minister of that country was found guilty by his own governmnet of being responsible for the deaths of at least 3,000 women and children in the Palestinian refugee camps of Sabra and Shatalia in Lebanon. The U.S. financed that massacre and yet almost no American is aware of it. The U.S. was partly responsible for that “9/11″ and Americans are unaware and yet they are “disappointed” in Muslims for not being more angry at the American “9/11″.
Kill an American and you are a terrorist. Kill a Muslim and you are a “Man of Peace” as President Bush has recently described Ariel Sharon.
OOKEE.com » Blog Archive » Danes Gone Wild
February 4th, 2006 at 5:49 pm
82[…] In case you missed it, jihad has been declared on Denmark because one of their newspapers printed cartoon images of the prophet Mohammed. Meanwhile, this controversy has sparked all kinds of imitators, including this one which probably deserves a bit of hell but I’m laughing anyways. […]
Sara
February 4th, 2006 at 5:53 pm
83Mr. Bill,
The point I was trying to make was that even a man like Osama bin Laden who has done horrifying things that are against Islam has his limits when it comes to degrading the prophets themselves.
Even though he is attacking Christians, I do not believe that the root of his anger is Christianity. It is american foreign policy. The point where religion comes in is that in Islam, if Muslims are transgressed upon they do not just have the right to fight back, but the DUTY to fight back. In doing his duty to fight back, he has unfortunately decided to disregard all the Islamic laws which govern how a fair war should be fought - mainly that civilians should NOT be targeted.
Global
February 4th, 2006 at 5:54 pm
84Sara, you say: I have heard Osama bin Laden criticizing non-muslims, but I have never heard him or any other “fanatical” degrade Jesus, Moses, or any of the other prophets of God.
I say: Thank you for raising up Osama Bin-Laden as a symbol of the goodness and respect of the Muslim religion, now I can rest peacefully at night knowing that Osama has no intention of degrading Jesus, Moses or even ANY OF THE OTHER PROPHETS OF GOD!! I would have been happy with Jesus only (Moses was a real bonus), but ANY of the PROPHETS? That is really way too much generosity. THank you, thank you, thank you. Is this something I should be telling my children, in case one of them gets blown up in the next terrorist attack? “Well, you know he is a really great man, he would never, ever degrade Jesus, Moses, or ANY of the prophets… ” I’m sure that would be a very big relief to them…
Also interesting you use the term “we” in reference to him. Do we have a slight case of schizophrenia here?
Sara
February 4th, 2006 at 6:01 pm
85Global, I was simply making the point that if someone like Osama bin Laden can refrain from degrading the prophets, then surely a “civilized” Denmark newspaper can do the same.
foobar
February 4th, 2006 at 6:05 pm
86sara ok, maybe you get it :)
Mr. Bill
February 4th, 2006 at 6:06 pm
87Jimmy:
I understand what you are saying. I would just like to try to understand why Moslems would give the bin Ladens of the world a pass. These guys have twisted the words of the profit into evil hideous knots. They get a pass while a cartoonist gets 10,000 Moslems in the streets asking for his head while they burn his country’s embassy.
Global
February 4th, 2006 at 6:10 pm
88Sara,
You missed my point, I am saying, please talk to Osama (since you seem to be so close to him and his motives) and tell him that most of us believe that Jesus would prefer to be degraded rather than seeing the hair of one innocent child being hurt.
Thank you.
foobar
February 4th, 2006 at 6:18 pm
89mr bill,
over the edge? actually my post about self-righteous yanks was mostly provoked by your misdirected righteous fury. i won’t repeat myself again, but if you want a story of a masacre of the innocents you just have to have a look at your own foreign policy. not that the muslim right does not have a great deal to answer for but you seem to only see one side.
if you want a story of the hijacking of a religion you can just have a look at the very powerful right wing christian, pro-israely (meaning pro-occupation, not pro-israely people which occupation and constant annexing only ultimately work against) movement and lobby which is at this very moment daily shaping u.s. policy. these people believe that israel should annex what would was given them by the lord so that the second coming of christ and the book of revelation can literally happen. these people are in close contact with high level republicans and right wing israelies alike.
no not over the edge just informed. as another poster commented, the truth hurts.
Sara
February 4th, 2006 at 6:20 pm
90Global, again, YOU are missing my point. One last time: Killing of innocents is wrong AND so is degrading of the prophets.
Global
February 4th, 2006 at 6:43 pm
91Sara,
You still don’t get it…
The Bible tells in detail how Jesus was “degraded” in the worst way possible. He was spat on, whipped in public, hit, insulted, crowned in thorns, dressed in a false kingly robe, made to carry a cross, stripped, finally crucified in full view of his mother, some of his friends, and some of his enemies. If the Romans were to have drawn cartoons of him (they may have done so, but it is not registered in the Bible), this would have been considered certainly one of the “lighter” punishments and probably not worth mentioning. My point is, you or I cannot degrade a prophet. How can we? It’s like me bursting into tears because I feel that my five-year old son has insulted me. It is nonsense to think that we can in some way “degrade” prophets.
Most important of all, I really resent the fact that you use Osama Bin Laden, a mass murderer, as an example in this forum for how “decent” a man can be and compare him favorably to a relatively harmless cartoonist. In my humble opinion, you have a very twisted and hate-filled mind and you need some help. I will not waste any more of my time on you anyway.
Sara
February 4th, 2006 at 6:50 pm
92Global, I have not written one hate-filled comment nor have I called Osama bin Laden decent. You are either pretending not to understand my points or you are just close-minded person.
Mr. Bill
February 4th, 2006 at 7:24 pm
93Sara:
Hang in there. I am still listening.
I would just like to try to understand why Moslems would give the bin Ladens of the world a pass. These guys have twisted the words of the profit into evil hideous knots. They get a pass while a cartoonist gets 10,000 Moslems in the streets asking for his head while they burn his country’s embassy.
I understand why degrading the profit is unacceptable. I don’t understand why the bin Ladens of the world don’t get the 10,000 Moslems in the street asking for his head.
Sara
February 4th, 2006 at 7:50 pm
94Mr. Bill, the killing of innocent people has unfortunately become something that many people in the Middle East have long ago gotten used to. Long before Iraq, long before 9/11. Many more muslims in Iraq have died because of terrorism (by both Americans and insurgents) than have non-muslims around the world. And yet, the reaction from muslims that you are looking for in regards to the bombings that are directed towards non-muslims have been the same as those bombings that are done towards muslims. Don’t you agree?
Muslims are not giving bin Laden a pass - but many think that bin Laden is not any different than many of the world’s leaders. Accept when world leaders kill innocents it’s considered collateral damage.
The reaction to the cartoons by muslims should have been just limited to boycotts of the countries that printed the cartoon. Affecting people’s pockets would have been effective enough. Violence and torching embassies is not the answer. But muslims, like other people are not perfect. I remember a qoute I read once, though I do not remember who wrote it: “Judge a religion not by its people, but by it’s book.”
foobar
February 4th, 2006 at 8:29 pm
95I don’t understand why the bin Ladens of the world don’t get the 10,000 Moslems in the street asking for his head.
they do. whenever W bombs and mames muslims, they protest. you really have blinders on bill. what you can’t understand is what your country actually does in your name perhaps. maybe you should travel a little.
Mr. Bill
February 4th, 2006 at 8:49 pm
96Sara:
Thank you for your thoughful, articulate and direct response.
alan
February 5th, 2006 at 3:38 am
97when will the islamic world chill out and stop taking everything so personally and seriously.i respect every person’s right to religion however ,i feel,the RADICAL MINORITY of fanatical intolerant muslim halfwits despise everyone who is not a chauvinist or hater of every person who is not a muslim.i wish you guys would get a life.your muslim factions can’t even co-exist amongst yourselves without wanting to kill, one another.try and practice peace and goodwill to your fellow man!!.
Danes Fan
February 5th, 2006 at 3:51 am
98Dear Danish Media,
I am a Croat, a catholic, and most importantly a human being, keep up the good work, you are the artists of freedom and your articles and cartoons give us the true meaing of “Freedom to THINK!” I am in full support of your editors, journalists, and cartoonists. WE STAND BY YOU!
Giacomo
February 5th, 2006 at 3:56 am
99Dear Danes,
Italy stands by you! We may not agree in football and our temperament :) but we stand by you on this one… America and Europe UNITE and nuke the bastards!
Charlie
February 5th, 2006 at 4:33 am
100I cant believe people… over a cartoon people make violence to ‘protect mohammad’. Just becuase I that, I wouldnt mind seeing newpapers around the world publish it… Its humor people! When humor is brought into my religion I laugh, I dont create violence! Burn down the creator of the cartoons house, not anything else. And still thats wrong… has anyone ‘in your group’ kindly talked to the publisher about his postings without a threat? Your actions are clearly making people like this post these cartoons… In america, the similar method of violence is a lawsuit, in europe, the similar method is to spit on the person. Don’t you understand that your actions make people hate your kind even more than already, it makes the ignorant hate the innocent.
Damnit! its cloudly out today and the weatherman said that it was going to be sunny….. I’ll be back later, need to go burn down the weatherstation, then get my cousin to suicide bomb the broadcasting corperation, then steal his dog… WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE… get some humor, relax, and try world peace before a hitler comes and wipes out ever race and belief but his.
Cheers,
Brother from down under
Danish citizen
February 5th, 2006 at 6:26 am
101Someone asked what would happen if we in Denmark published ridiculing pictures of the Christian or Jewish God - to that I can only say : has been done lots of times - no burned embassies over that. That is one of the ways we communicate in Denmark - a lot of the time we use sarcasm and irony, it’s a very important part of our freedom of speech. Every time you open a newspaper or turn on the television at least 100 people can find some kind of offence towards them - that doesn’t mean that they burn down something or put out death-threats towards an entire country.
We’re also a multi-religious country, and we’re trying so hard to make it work (or at least most of us are), but if you categorize all of us as the ones to blame in this case, how can you ever demand of us that we show respect for your religion, when it reacts to these cartoons with violence and destruction.
If you, Muslims, feel offended about our drawings of Mohammad tell us how we should feel about you burning down our embassies and threatening our lives…
If I were a Muslim I would seriously consider this quote from Jihad al-Momani the former editor of the Jordanian newspaper Shihan : ”What brings more prejudice against Islam — these caricatures or pictures of a hostage-taker slashing the throat of his victim in front of the cameras?”
Aghast in California
February 5th, 2006 at 9:00 am
102Unfortunately some Muslims are living up to the stereotype of irrational, emotional, illiterate, people with violent reactions to the world around them. Where are the educated moderate muslims that recognize that a world exists around them that includes other beliefs and fredoms (excluded by extremist Islam)?
Why do the more civilized proponents of Islam remain silent, thus, implicitly, condoning the violence of Islamic extremists?
In the States at least there are those amongst us that are critical of the equally irrational and extremist Christian right (spell that wrong).
If there are Muslim people don’t like their lot in life, they should apply themselves, peacefully, to improving their lot — not simply blame their situation on the Western “devils.”
Similarly American Christian zealots need to stop using religion as a tool for trying to make themselves feel as though they’re better than other people. They are Pharisees and do not understand the teachings of Christ any more than Islamic extremists understnd the words of their Prophet. A pox on both.
Ozan Turkoglu
February 5th, 2006 at 10:07 am
103The discovery of Americas in 15th century was to exploit scarce resources as sovereigns did to findout unuseds as the civilization started whom were Europeans from 15th to 21st century and the undevelopeds were the colonies. Today, besides all, the scarcity forces sovereigns to find out more in order to be sustainable according to economic theory such as Afganistan, Iraq are one of the new discoveries. The political destabilization will empower to get involved to virgin resources like Syria is the next coming one which the others follow to get in sovereigns’ hands soon. This is the name of the game played today. The following social events happened in the undeveloped muslim countries will empower the open minded, criticism accepted brights to get the right to invade terrorists’ resources. In that case civilizeds won’t be acted like terrorists, or invaders or human rights opponents but they will just be asking for human rights!!! This is the contrary of today’s world.
Global
February 5th, 2006 at 10:59 am
104Can’t you guys differntiate between politics and religion? This has nothing to do with religion, you are murdering in the Name of God. Hypocrites all of you!!
You are proud of the fact that you burn down an embassy because of a drawing in a newspaper you probably never saw? you need to get your heads examined all of you!
Alene Holland
February 5th, 2006 at 11:08 am
105“A cartoon started it”
That will be the headline to come in some history book, that started World War III.
For God sake it was only a cartoon.
They should learn the children’s poem
Sticks and stones may break my bones
but words (cartoon) can never harm me.
Charlie
February 5th, 2006 at 11:31 am
106Now a terrorist escape in Yemen… Makes ya think… why does america try to help these countries… they help they help they help… then people start to attack them…. They arrest the people because america is to ‘politically correct’ to pull the trigger, and being that they are not allowed to throw em in their prisons, they only escape the prison they are in, becuase teh security of the other country is crap… W T F?
Noone has respect anymore… I say the world needs an internation “moral” agreement, where people are tought respect, kindness, helpfullness…. religion or not, the 10 commandments are respected all of the world… what the heck happened to that? Are these people too bored to live a kind life? Are they doing these things to be heard? Someday every country is just going to close them borders off to their own people, and america, they will close off to new people and the muslims will only feel uncomfortable, and leave.
Cmon people… 10 commandments… please obey before the world has more useless laws that stupid politicians can use against you.
Peace! please?
Chuck Yeager
February 5th, 2006 at 1:06 pm
107This has gotten to the point of insanity. If any of you care about your right to free speech, spread the word: www.DrawMohammad.com
Jen
February 5th, 2006 at 1:38 pm
108I just wanted to bring to your attention about the 11th piture which is spreaded all over the world saying it’s a cartoon/carcature of Mohammad. It’s is a WRONG FACT. In every newspaper I’ve read is saying is the depiction of Mohamad which is not true at all. That arabic writing on his forhead (on back turban) if translated in english only means “Mohammad is a prophet of God” that’s all it means. The cartoon is not saying it is the prophet of Mohammad. In fact, a lot of muslim people when go to war they actully wear a cloth around their forehead which says the same statement, ” Mohamad is a prophet of God”. I want to say Muslims are makeing a big deal out of it saying it’s a cartoon of Mohammad which is not.
Danish citizen
February 6th, 2006 at 6:09 am
109To Global…
You ask people to differentiate between politics and religion. As far as I know that isn’t possible in Islam since the religion itself also contains the laws of the country - and laws and politics interact so closely that it can’t be differentiated - perhaps that’s one of the main problems here ?!
DeputyDawg
February 6th, 2006 at 7:12 am
1104 people die in Afghanistan. An embassy is set on fire. Many more hurt in protests…. over what? A cartoon. Not one Muslim leader has stepped forward….this eqates to silent approval IMO. These fear based acts are a product of spiritual and emotional insanity. Change starts with the individual. Each person must have the willingness to change and turn over their fears to the God of their choice. Fear is the greatest killer of men and these radicals are afraid of losing someone or something. Act don’t react.
NURMALA
February 6th, 2006 at 7:26 am
111just how much more does the western media all around the world want to desicrate,humiliate islam/muslims!!!…something like this was bound to erupt!
i think before you go on about how important freedom of expression,at least first find out the truth of what your commenting on ‘coz you know jack all about Islam.try to re-educate yourself and do something about your reeking ignorance please.instead of criticizing,try to understand why they’re fuming ‘coz the more you feed you on your arrogance&superiority complex the more it won’t be surprising to see more chaos,violence,muslim backlash-ALL OF YOU
Danish citizen
February 6th, 2006 at 10:13 am
112To NURMALA…
So we have to understand and educate ourselves on your religion and belief ? How about turning that demand around and making the muslim world understand how our world works… How we’re allowed to say almost anything (according to our freedom of speech) and how we use sarcasm and joking as a way of expressing ourselves. In Denmark we make fun of just about anything - nothing is sacred when it comes to making jokes.. not even our own religion, our royal family, or other things that mean a lot to most people.
Why do WE have to adjust and adapt to your world, if you’re not willing to do the same ? We don’t live under muslim law in Denmark, so why should we obey it ?
It’s just too easy to lean back and say - “Oh no we were insulted so greatly, noone understands us and they don’t want to!” Why does this only work one way ? Do you want to make my everyday life a life where I have to go around all day long, thinking about what I can and can’t say because it might offend someone ?? People all around the world are so different - in mind, culture, and religion (and thank God for that) - every single time I open my mouth to express an opinion about something, I’m insulting someone because they think differently. That’s just the way things are - and if we can’t express our own personal opinions freely without having to fear that we set off world war 3, we’re definitely not too far away from a society that controls our every move and thought.
I’ve talked to muslims before that had a very different view of women’s place both in the family and the society - and to be quite honest I found it extremely insulting that he clearly saw me as an inferior human being only because of my genes - but that doesn’t make me want to start a riot, destroy property, or threaten people’s lives..!!
Understanding and tolerance is definitely the way to peace, but doesn’t it go both ways ?
Francesca
February 6th, 2006 at 11:43 pm
113In the Western Worlds, we have the right to freedom of speech and the newspaper has the right to publish what they want. If the Muslim world takes offense then they are immature and hypocritical. Because the media always insults other people’s religion and beliefs. Everyonee gets offended one way or another but we do not lash out in violence. Yet the Muslim world insults Christianity and every other religion - Isn’t that wrong??? They are a bunch of hypocrites!!! They say they are a people of peace yet they bring violence to the world when we do not see as they do, when we do not believe their beliefs, which are wrong.
As the Bible states, “you shalll know them by their fruits.” Obviously, their fruit (actions) shows that they are not a people of peace. Their ultimate goal is to get rid of everyone who does not practice their religion or beliefs. That is what they are taught. To kill Christians and everyone who will not conform to their ways. What upsets me is that they try to push their beliefs onto eveyone else and if we do not follow they react in violence, which is evil in itself but yet they defame the U.S. and other countries, they make fun of our beliefs, our way of living, they make fun of Christianity (born again believers, not Catholics as they are not the same religion. Christians had nothing to do with the Crusades or anything else) True Christians are followers of Christ those that have accepted them as their Lord, Savior and God)).
That is hypocritical. And NO muslims will not take over, the Bible clearly states that the JUST shall inherit the earth. Mohammed was just a prophet and he cannot get you into Heaven. There is only one way, to repent of your sins and conffess with your mouth that JESUS CHRIST IS LORD!! He is the Way, the Truth and the Life - there is no other way. The Muslim religion and every other one that religion created by man are in error — read your bibles and seek the truth and you shall be free.
alan
February 7th, 2006 at 1:15 am
114to you muslim fanatic cavemen-IF THE HEADWEAR FIT’S WEAR IT-you know who you are.if Allah and/or Mohammed are all seeing and all knowing why do you unbalanced psycho terorist minions have to do his bidding.surely he will sort everything out in heaven himself without your help-no??.as has been said numerous times above-the catalyst for all this latest muslim hysteria is A BLOODY SERIES OF CARTOONS-that’s all.to all the so called martyrs i.e.suicide bombers-why don’t you all go to a deserted island with your bombs and blow yourselves up and leave the rest of us ‘infidel non believers in peace’.peace and love and don’t forget to take a chill pill.a message from the evil empire of australia.
Global
February 7th, 2006 at 2:43 am
115When Muslims went round blowing up buildings, killing innocents in the (desecrated?) Name of God, I did not pass judgement on them, I just saw them as sad, sick individuals. I was able to differentiate between Islam and what they were doing.
But in this case, where some primitive farmer in the mountains of Afghanistan feels he has the right to impose his backward and degrading beliefs on others, I feel a different line has been crossed and perhaps that this time, Islam is revealing its true nature: as a belief system that basically has no respect whatsoever for other forms of society. It is revealing itself as a belief system that has no respect for human life and is willing to wipe out masses of people, just in order to make sure that God’s Name is not “desecrated”.
Yes, I realize that religion and politics are more closely interrelated in some systems than in others (look at the history of the Catholic Church, or of Ancient Egypt, just to mention two examples), but after thousands of years of oppression in the name of God, Western society is trying to go along a different path.
Danish citizen, yes! maybe this is the fundamental difference here. Although I don’t know the answer, just like I don’t know the answer to the fundamental problem of the fact that one of the holiest shrines of the Muslims is located right in the middle of Jerusalem, right on top of where the holiest shrine of the Jewish religion (The Temple) is. Go figure……
Ben
February 7th, 2006 at 3:23 am
116When I moved to the UK from a mainly Catholic country, I was initially shocked by the seeming “godlessness” of this country. Even more so when I was confronted with articles, jokes and, yes, cartoons, satirizing Jesus in one way or another. Unthought of, where I came from.
Throughout the four years I’ve lived here I’ve come to realise that their satire is not really aimed at the heart of Christianity. It is not their aim to desecrate a faith. It is aimed at stripping the true faith from its warped human interpretation.
I’ve realised that this society is in many ways much more true to the principles that lie at the heart of my faith than the society I came from, for all its Sunday Church-going, signs of the Cross, and often fake love of thy neighbour.
However, there is still a part of me that gets slightly…offended…when I see desecrated images of my faith. I guess it’s a little bit like someone making fun of your father or your mother, or your brother or sister. Someone you hold very dear to your heart, and whom you may yourself criticise but feel rather inflamed when they are criticised or ridiculed by someone else, someone to whom evidently they are not dear.
For what I’ve discovered with interest and awe here in the UK is that a lot of people don’t grow up with the strong sense of faith that I and a lot of people back home seem to have grown up with. How to explain that there are people who grow up being taught not just to believe in a prophet and a God but to actually love them like they were your father, mother, brother or sister, because that’s what they represent. And that despite all the inconsistencies of any religion, there is this relationship between human and divinity which can be as strong as the love of family.
And, like it would happen with a member of your family, sometimes one can take external criticism with humour, but sometimes one can take it very personally, and with very little humour. This, to non-God lovers (for many people here consider themselves believers and yet they don’t seem to have this love for God), may often come across as narrow-mindedness, lack of reasoning, hipocrisy, not to mention a lack of the capacity for self-criticism.
And it may be all those things. I do ask you: wouldn’t you be inclined to be narrow-minded, irrational, hipocritical and very un-self critical if a neighbour decides to make humour that desecrates and ridicules a person you love, like your own father for example? Even if these reactions go against the very teachings of your father?
Admittedly, you probably wouldn’t decide to go and burn your neighbour’s house…who knows, maybe you’d take the air out of their car tyres!
At any rate, we shouldn’t demonise Islam as the root of all evil. Christianity and Catholicism in particular have done their fair share of atrocities in the name of God and Jesus. And Democracies have committed a fair share of them too, in the name of Freedom.
Angel Rodriguez
February 7th, 2006 at 4:24 am
117“The ink of a scholar is more sacred than the blood of the martyr.”
— Mohammed
Jennifer
February 7th, 2006 at 6:29 am
118Grow up, is all I have to say to everyone offened by these cartoons! EVERY religion is targeted in some way shape or form. Tv shows like south park often make jokes about jesus, being catholic and such, but do you see the christains going nuts and killing people? NO!!! Its 2006, GROW UP!!!
mostafa beder
February 7th, 2006 at 7:42 am
119in the name of allah
peace on every one read that reply
iam amuslim and i loved mohamed so much more than my father or my mother or any one on the world i think that i dont loved any one before him or after him he is the one who gets us from dark to light
at last i wanted to say one thing to who draw all of that bad things our god (allah)wont let you allah will be get mohameds right from you
Benjamin Silva
February 7th, 2006 at 8:03 am
120Throughout history, more humans have died over religion that all the wars combined, and now I can understand why. Why is it that in all religions we worship peace and the practice of the “Golden Rule” yet with the slightest provocation we use religion as an excuse to kill people? I guess the purpose of religion was always to promote fanaticism, and it is working.
qutamoliapantrionastrlominiawerge
February 7th, 2006 at 8:25 am
121OK my view.. will this post? dunno.
No spElSjecker either.
So, fomr a reality point of view: tha texpericne of
lave you feel (or felt) is WITHING YOU.
Both Mohammed and Jesus and Krishna and Budha and
likely many many others have show this to people.
It is easy to confuse the teacher with the experience.
That experience in not depending on is drawn by anyone, and those people Mohammed and Jesus are dead now.. so in the past.
Find the truth witin yorself, teh life force, and be happy.
No need for a religion.
Yes in a way it is ‘demonizing’ to drw pictures like that.
Plz realize we are living in the times of GWBush
and his papa who are both slaves of the Saudi
oil barons and are out to ‘up’ the world oilprices.
So first Iraq should expert no oil, and no Iran must be destroyed.
They (US policy) create unrest and war and duality everywhere in the world, bomb innocent people,
and then put on a tie and shirt and play nice guy.
So religious leaders will use Islam to unite pople against this.
But always rememeber, I have read for example mohamed fought wars too.
Bush thinks he is the new Ceasar ?
Other say we are on the start of WW3, and it won’t be nice with nukes and all that.
I say all this is inescapbaple, because it is part of human nature.
I personally do not care about thse pictures, but i would not draw them either.
It is drawn by those who want to ‘polarize’ or have no clue they are being used for that.
So become free, look inside yourself for the answers and bliss, and leave the ages of the tree worshippers, be independent of the stupidity others do.
But it is no rason not to fight those who bomb y y your counties and your friend .. all that for some
cheap protests.
The world IS in fact ruled by all the money from Saudia Arabia, just a few people, they have bought US.
allotolla kameni
February 7th, 2006 at 12:40 pm
122death to osama bin hidden you cowards, why do terrorist blow them selves up because their not smart enough to use timers lol. death to all terrorist. meet us in person u cowards fight like men not boys
American Mom
February 7th, 2006 at 1:15 pm
123Freedom is sacred in our country. With freedom comes responsibility. We are responsible to defend the freedom of others even if we disagree. Christianity is satarized, mocked and lampooned in the American media and around the world. Yet all that is likely to happen is some empassioned letter writing, boycotts, and sunday morning rants from the pulpit. We don’t take to the streets and commit acts of violence. I am glad I don’t worship a GOD that would demand I strap a bomb to my son in his name.