Déjà vu: cartoon violence (again)

By Grace

Two years ago, I blogged about the controversial cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed being published in Danish newspaper, Jyllands-Posten.

I wasn't pleased with it then because I thought it was disrespectful towards Muslims and their beliefs, and that it was irresponsible on the part of the editors to put it into print. However, I must also emphasize that I thought the violence that followed was overboard and unmerited and I do not condone any threats against the cartoonist or the publishers.

Last time, I received a lot of negative feedback and backlash over my comments because they were interpreted as being against free speech. Everyone's entitled to disagree with me (but no personal attacks, please). Believe me, I'm as pro-free speech as anyone else, but in the interest of keeping the peace, there is something called "self-restraint". But I digress.

That was then. One could argue that Jyllands-Posten did not have the foresight to anticipate the kind of controversy or world-wide protests and violence the cartoon would cause, and that would be fair. However, this time, they have no excuse.

European newspapers have reprinted the Prophet Mohammed cartoon in response to a thwarted assassination plot by against the cartoonist, Kurt Westergaard, in Denmark.

I understand the outrage towards wanting to kill an editorial cartoonist. His work was uninformed, but did not necessarily have any ill-intent. There's absolutely no justification for murder. However, re-publishing the cartoon is a foolish way to retaliate against the perpetrators and their supporters, and it's not just because they're dumping fuel on the fire.

The controversy over this issue had largely died down, but now, violence has flared up again. Call it a lesson stubbornly not learned. Since anger has been directed towards Denmark, they've put Danish embassy staff members' lives at risk. Their consulates in predominantly Muslim countries have had to close due to demonstrations and safety concerns (including those in Pakistan, Indonesia, Iran and Syria). The publishers knew this would happen, because events are unfolding in a similar, if not the same way as they did two years ago. It's completely irresponsible and thoughtless.

Muslim leaders in Denmark have denounced the plot on Westergaard's life, but are deeply unhappy that the cartoon has been re-published. Once again, they have to calm their congregations and reach out for an open dialogue.

The violence that has followed is still indefensible, especially where a peaceful discussion would be much more productive.

Want to call it free speech? Fine. It's a right and one that I deeply believe in. But by knowingly provoking violence and putting the lives of Danish government workers abroad in danger, the newspapers that have chosen to re-publish this cartoon have forgotten one very important thing: every right comes with responsibility.