Demand freedom! UPDATED
The drawings in question were originally published, last September, by the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, after an appeal to artists to provide drawings for — get this— a children's book about Muhammed for which they had been unable to find an illustrator.
They received only 12, they say, because "certain interpretations of Islam find it inappropriate or directly forbid pictures of the prophet," and they originally published the drawings "as a contribution to the debate about self-censorship amongst journalists, authors, and artists." Link
Danish imams later carried the drawings to a Muslim summit in Mecca, where it appears that folks with agendas seized upon them for political purposes. "In addition to the Jyllands-Posten drawings, the imams brought with them highly offensive drawings that had never appeared in Jyllands-Posten and which had nothing to do with the newspaper." Link
"All hell" would be an understatement for what broke loose.
Jyllands-Posten republished the drawings, despite threats of destruction and death, and many in the world media have since supported them by doing likewise, in defense of freedom.
Sad to say, most of our papers, including the Big Five, have so far disappointed. Notable exceptions are reported to be the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Austin American-Statesman (yee-hah!), and web sites for Fox and ABC. But before you start googling, be sure to read Tim Rutten, summing it up very nicely in today's LA Times.
This is ridiculous; how, in a country that prides itself on the free flow of information, are we to understand and be able to judge for ourselves what's going on?
So take a look. If you don't have time for surfing, I have posted them here.*
They received only 12, they say, because "certain interpretations of Islam find it inappropriate or directly forbid pictures of the prophet," and they originally published the drawings "as a contribution to the debate about self-censorship amongst journalists, authors, and artists." Link
Danish imams later carried the drawings to a Muslim summit in Mecca, where it appears that folks with agendas seized upon them for political purposes. "In addition to the Jyllands-Posten drawings, the imams brought with them highly offensive drawings that had never appeared in Jyllands-Posten and which had nothing to do with the newspaper." Link
"All hell" would be an understatement for what broke loose.
Jyllands-Posten republished the drawings, despite threats of destruction and death, and many in the world media have since supported them by doing likewise, in defense of freedom.
Sad to say, most of our papers, including the Big Five, have so far disappointed. Notable exceptions are reported to be the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Austin American-Statesman (yee-hah!), and web sites for Fox and ABC. But before you start googling, be sure to read Tim Rutten, summing it up very nicely in today's LA Times.
This is ridiculous; how, in a country that prides itself on the free flow of information, are we to understand and be able to judge for ourselves what's going on?
So take a look. If you don't have time for surfing, I have posted them here.*
posted by The Voice | 9:13 AM
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