France Soir, Die Welt publish Mohammed cartoons
The French newspaper France Soir has published the Mohammed cartoons to demonstrate that “no religious dogma can impose itself on a democratic and secular society”.
Under the headline “Yes, we have the right to caricature God” the paper has a front page cartoon depicting gods of various religions floating on a cloud. The Christian Deity is saying “Don’t complain Mohammed, we’ve all been caricatured here”.
The full set of original twelve drawings were printed on the inside pages.
Will any of our UK newspapers take a similar stand? (Apart, that is, from the dear old Freethinker, which has already published a couple of them)
UPDATE: Die Welt today joins the fun and publishes one of the offending images on its front page, and includes a slide show of others on its website. The question now is: will the Saudis be able to bring themselves to boycott Mercedes? Giving up Danish milk and cheese was easy. Let’s see if they can live without their E-Class Saloons.
A News paper from Island also printed some or all of the cartoons!
[…] Some time ago the Danish Newspaper, Jyllands-Posten, published a series of cartoons, some of which caused some consternation among the world of Islam because they were caricatures of the prophet Mohammed. […]
I wouldn’t get too worried at the idea of Arab boycotts if a story I heard today is anything to go by.
A colleague in a United Arab Emirates office rang to say a massive deal due to sign off would have to be postponed. Reason was a member of the UAE royal family woke up last week and decided he wanted to change the date of a national holiday – just like that!
The entire country closed down for a day just because some prince got out the wrong side of bed – billions of dollars lost in international deals which get done there to avoid sanctions elsewhere.
According to the Beeb (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4670370.stm)
the managing editor of France Soir has been sacked.
the managing editor of France Soir has been sacked.
maybe he could get a job at the Daily Mail!
Reply to Stuart (Comment 3):
>>A colleague in a United Arab Emirates office rang to say a massive deal due to sign off would have to be postponed. Reason was a member of the UAE royal family woke up last week and decided he wanted to change the date of a national holiday – just like that!
The entire country closed down for a day just because some prince got out the wrong side of bed – billions of dollars lost in international deals which get done there to avoid sanctions elsewhere
>>
I’d like to ask you about this “colleague” of yours and whether he’s the one who got out of the wrong side of bed?
Why you ask?
Because I’ve been living all my life in the UAE and true we’ve had some national holidays recently but none of them were due to a “Change” from a “UAE Royal family member”?
I can’t believe its the same story all over again..People always conjur up reasons for what they believe in rather than believing in it as it is.
Again Freedom of Expression doesn’t mean “Freedom of Lies” or “Freedom Of insult”.
And two things to add:
About your comment:”I wouldn’t get too worried at the idea of Arab boycotts if a story I heard today is anything to goby”
The following news from the BBC website will answer your comment:
From http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4670370.stm
“The Danish-Swedish dairy giant Arla Foods says its sales in the Middle East have plummeted to zero as a result of the row, which sparked a boycott of Danish products across the region.”
Also:
“The owner of one of the papers to reprint – France Soir – has now sacked its managing editor over the matter.”
In a time where efforts are being made to maintain peace and global understanding why are the efforts of respecting individual beliefs curbed?
Isn’t it time for all nations to recognize that showing respect to other nations’ convictions are one of the leading steps to global peace?
Because individual beliefs often don’t deserve respect.
Andrew Nixon,
I quote the following from one of your earlier postings:
> I do, however, respect your right to HAVE that belief. You do not respect the rights of others to have a different belief.
Believe it or not I did respect that statement you made earlier; and from it I’d like to confirm that I do respect others different beliefs or non-beliefs.
The point is we have an obligation to defend our belief;since we have one and this is why those cartoons are being opposed.
No, the point is that just because you find the cartoon offensive does NOT been they should be banned.
I’d have to clarify the point of argument here; firstly forbidding the Prophet’s depiction is a measure against idolatry in our belief other than it also being offensive; i.e. opposing those cartoons is part of our core beliefs.
I understand that, but just because you are forbidden from creating images of the long dead peadophile Mohammed does not mean that no one else can do so.
Andrew – should that not be “paedophile Mohammed” ?
I’m a bit of a stickler for correct speling….
Quite right, I’m usually a stickler for spelling too, but this one got by me.
[…] Mediawatchwatch […]
Just an insignificant very small point: The owner of the France Soir is an Egyptian Muslim – I don’t think that has anything to do with anything!
to andrew nixon,
fantastic, well done… clap clap… honestly you sound so tough behind your carefully thought words.
no..seriously…. you’re a genius. the way you highlight your ignorance and lack of ethic and moral is
just wonderful..
you really describe fully the typical antimuslim that u are.. jewish lover and american suck up.
u know its people like u that we all should worry about.. and then we wonder why muppet terrorists attack
us. yeh terrorists are poor muslims that have nothing better to do, and use the cooran to justify
their attacks .. but its thanx to ignoramus ppl like ureself, that blame muslims and the islam
community rather than striking out tha fact that terrorists are not ‘islam’.
now a days its all about muslims terrorists… or that arab is a terrorist… and much more.
thx to ppl like you that no nothing about anything.. and still find themselves speaking bullshit.
look at u… u love this…. ure the typical average man that sucks up to power.
i never saw anyone take the piss out of jesus on newspapers. and id still be offended if i did…
its not a matter of liberty of speech… its a matter of common sense… if u know somones gonna
get pissed off over a drawing, then u just dont do it.
why create further trouble?
i dont believe in world peace.. i dont believe in no racism…. its just never going to happen. never.
but i do believe in common sense.. n i do beleive that avoidance of certain matters is affordable and
reachable. but yet again.. when ppl like you live in a world like ours then nothing much can be done but
to sit down and realise how sad this all is. oh well i hope you get insulted really badly and see if
ull accept liberty of speech.. i know i wouldnt. if anyone would insult me or sumthing i belive in
i wont sit back and allow liberty of speech. and neither would you.. so shut the fuck up.. and dont speak bullshit u sad sad man… with a small penis … and no gf too… hah excellent… ciaoooooo loser
Looking at your spelling ability, my 4 year old nephew is a genius comapred to you, so I won’t take that as a complement.
Do you know what plurals are? And I actually have morals, thank you very much.
I am not anti-muslim at all. I have a couple of muslim friends. I just consider muslim beliefs to be irrational.
If you consider that an insult, then you are an anti-semitic prick.
So far of the mark, it’s laughable.
I worry about people who can’t find the Y and O buttons on their keyboards.
I’ll tell you why they attack. Because they’re idiots. You’ll get on well with them.
What on earth is the cooran?
Maybe that’s because some muslims are terrorists? You ever think of that? Or do you just never think?
If you’re going to call someone stupid, it’s probably not a good idea to do so whilst being illiterate.
You’re obviously an expert on bullshit.
See what I mean. Bullshit.
I have.
As is your right.
If you’re going to piss people off by protesting about nothing, why do it? Why create further trouble?
What a sad life you must lead.
Not a religious person then? Because that would go against common sense wouldn’t it?
When people who believe in a big invisible bloke who lives in the sky live in this world of ours, then all I can do is sit back and realise just how sad a world this is.
Of course I will. Have I asked for your comment to be removed? No. Because I believe in freedom of speech. You have the right to insult me. Just as I have the right to call you an illiterate moron.
Yeah, I’d figured that out. And that’s the problem with the world today.
Actually I would.
No.
If you want to see some real bullshit, read the Bible and Koran. These people actually believe there’s this big guy in the sky watching them, making sure they don’t do anything wrong. You want to talk about bullshit? Holy shit! Note: The preceeding was paraphrased from the great George Carlin (PBUH)
Actually, my girlfriend has no complaints about my incredibly large penis. Which is why she’s marrying me in June.
I hope you’ve learnt how to spell by the time you post again.
LOL Andrew N!
All this fuss over a couple of silly cartoons. Why didnt the Muslims raise
such a fuss when Al Qaeda flew planes into the Twin Towers. They are rioting
and threatening to kill people over cartoons but were strangely quiet when 3000
americans were murdered. The Muslims protesting the cartoons in the fashion that
they are, only prove the cartoonists right. Their over the top reaction to the
cartoons has only cemented the West’s all ready poor opinion of the Islamic Faith.
The Muslims are not doing themselves any favours. I, for one, am disgusted by
this display of hostility, violence and threats in a democratic and secular society.
If you do not want to see pictures of Mohammed then dont buy the paper. If you
do not want to see pictures of Mohammed on your TV turn it off. Dont buy books that
depict Mohammed (and there are many!).
Muslims must learn to reconcile the fact that the West does not appreciate or understand their
religion and nor do we have to. But in polite society we tolerate each other’s
differences and we learn to live together. If cartoons are offensive then dont look
look at them. We cannot tolerate the criminal behaviour of rioting in the streets
in Western society anymore than a Muslim country would tolerate a Westerner
breaking the law in their country.
This has taken on the momentum of a Mexican Wave and all involved need to get a
grip on reality and focus on what is important. HINT: this isnt it!
Muslims are not terorist and we believe all prophets,i m muslim and I m so upset for these cartoons
I think they must learn Muhammed’S life and then think…please don’t believe these people who don’t know naythin gabout Islam
I am not religious, I am not english nor from the east so you may say that I am in a position to make an unbiast comment on what is going wrong between the christians and the muslims.
From the sidelines I see it as the Americans and the british wanting the oil, the muslims are wanting to take over firstly england and then the rest of europe .
I dont think the muslims have a chance because once the christians realise what they must do to save christianity they will hit back hard and not stop untill the job is done.
WTF? I can’t believe this. What does America have to do with any of this? To whom ever post on number 16,
you must be ignorant. Many Muslims are so busy hating America, It’s like you don’t even know that many
people of your own faith live there, free to practice their religion free of persecution, along side
Christians and Jews. Imagine that.
The Danish publish this cartoon about your Prophet Mohammed, and as upsetting as Muslims may see this, they
should protest it in a civil manor. I watched Muslims cut off the head of Nicholas Berg, as many Americans
did, an no one went out and started trashing all things Muslim. Many Muslim extremist have committed many
atrocious acts of violence against westerners and to their own people, but you don’t see the westerners
defacing Mosques or other Muslim based structures. The Danish publish a cartoon, and Muslims deface a
Catholic Church in Lebanon. Maybe all the Catholics of the world should start defacing all the near by
Mosques? No. All people, religion aside should be tolerant, and protest their belief’s in a civil,
obedient manor.
Some are, aren’t they?
Including the great and holy Flying Spaghetti Monster?
Remember, that this all started because Muslims didn’t want people to learn more about Islam, when a Danish author couldn’t get people to illustrate his childrens book on Islam, because illustrators feared death threats.
As a British citizen (not a muslim) and I just think we should respect the beliefs of other cultures. Yes, we have free speech, but to insult other religions is a bad thing – it’s an abuse of free speech. There’s no such thing as an absolute right of free speech anyway – you can’t just ring up people and say their wife has died, for example. You’ll get arrested. We have the right of free speech but – the old cliche – we have responsibilities with those rights. We should not abuse the right of free speech to insult and abuse others.
Can I just add that the intolerant attitude and lack of empathy and understanding of Andrew Nixon (above) is part of the reason why we have so much strife in the world.
There are a small amount of people in the world who have a deeply held religious belief that the earth is flat. I’m sure you would agree that this belief is ludicrous and worthy of ridicule.
However, you have to accept that some people find other beliefs (such as belief in god), to be equally ludicrous and equally worthy of ridicule.
I have made it very clear on this site that I respect everyones right to believe what the hell they want to. It doesn’t mean I have to respect the beliefs themselves.
They must also respect my right to say that their beliefs are a load of crap.
The problem in society isn’t that many people don’t respect peoples beliefs, it’s that many people don’t respect the right for someone to have a particular belief.
I just think we’ve just got to all learn to live together – trying to be more understanding of differing world-views – and try not to piss each other off so much. It’s like a marriage in that respect.
Andrew Nixon I completely agree with your reasoning. Well said.
Andrew, you are absolutely correct in your comments.
Also, I just wanted to mention that these acts are completely adding to my intolerance for muslims and
their faith. If we, in the Western world, were wrong about the muslims, these riots and senseless murders
would not be happening. They are proving us right! And all the while, they are perpetuating their own stereotype. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy that needs to be stopped. This is irrational, just like their beliefs.
I, too, believe in freedom of speech. I am Roman Catholic, and if I see someone making fun of Jesus
Christ, our Lord and Savior, should I then go and kill that person? Most definately not! That is the kind of action that starts world wars. Let’s pray that this ridiculous situation–begun because of A CARTOON,
remember–doesn’t end in a
massive war that consumes millions of lives.
And, yes, my name is Fatima…BUT just because it is the name of the supposed daughter of mohammed, it
DOESNT mean that I’m muslim, because I am PORTUGUESE, and ROMAN CATHOLIC. It is the name of the village
where the Virgin Mary was seen in Portugal in 1914.
(btw congrats Andrew on your wedding!)
As far as I’m concerned these cartoons are rude and offensive to Sikhs too because they don’t look anything like muslim instead depict a sikh guy with Kalma written on his turban. On behalf of the Sikh community, I demand an apology from the Jyllands- Posten and then all the other newspaper for reprinting this slander.
ADIL HAFEEZ (A MUSLIM),WHAT THE HECK IS THE MATTER WITH U IDIOTS ALL U CARE ABOUT MAKING FUN OF RELIGONS WHY, WHAT IS THE DOING OF ALL THIS I DONT SEE WHY
U SHOULD DO THIS. WHAT IS REASON FOR DRAWING A BIG BOMB ON MY BELOVED PROPHET (PEACE BE APON HIM) ALSO, IT IS VERY OFFENSIVE TO OTHER
PEOIPLE WITH DIFFERENT RESPECTS OF RELIGONS. WHY CANT THE WORLD LIVE A LIFE WITHOUT ALL THE DISHONESTY AND THE RACISM IT SHOULD NOT
BE A WORLD LIKE THIS. ALSO IN THE RESPECTS OF THE PROTESTERS I DEMAND AN APOLOGY, from the jhyllands – posten and then all the
newspaper for editing this terible slander and not ever do this aain in our world.
( by ADIL HAFEEZ )
BY CHRISTOPHER AHMED
WHY ALL THE BOTHER, THE CARICATURES DO NOT EVEN LOOK LIKE THE PROPHET MOHAMMED(PBUH). CHECK ANCIENT MANUSCRIPTS AND SEE.
“Can I just add that the intolerant attitude and lack of empathy and understanding of Andrew Nixon
(above) is part of the reason why we have so much strife in the world.”
I’m afraid I think a big part of the problem is that we show too much respect for really stupid
ideas.
There should be much less respect for ideas that clearly belong in the dark ages.
Should we, for example, turn the other way when young girls have their clitoris cut out, simply
because it is a deeply held cultural belief by certain people?
I believe there are some things that are not relative. Just because it is part of a culture or
religious ‘belief’ should not insulate it from rational scrutiny.
Religion and belief in magical deities is a very lazy way to lead your life. No uncertainty,
no discussion, no chance of really learning anything new, because you adhere to an ancient text
written by people who believed in the unbelievable.
Come on – do we really need to believe in a big daddy in the sky to get us through the day?
There is enough beauty and wonder in the real world without having to pretend that there is
some omniscient being up there that has nothing better to do all day than worry about whether or not
you ate pork or looked at a cartoon. Folks, time to get a life.