Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy

File:Jyllands-Posten Muhammad drawings.jpg

The Face of Muhammed - The controversial cartoons of Muhammad, first published in Jyllands-Posten in September 2005. Larger versions of the image are available off-site.

The Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy began after twelve editorial cartoons, most of which depicted the Islamic prophet Muhammad, were published in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten on September 30 2005. Danish Muslim organizations staged protests in response. As the controversy has grown, some or all of the cartoons have been reprinted in newspapers in 40 other countries. This has led to unrest around the world, particularly in Islamic countries where the cartoons are seen as culturally insensitive.

Background

The drawings, including a depiction of Muhammad with a bomb inside or under his turban, were accompanied by an article on self-censorship and freedom of speech. Flemming Rose, the cultural editor of Jyllands-Posten, commissioned twelve cartoonists for the project and published the cartoons to highlight the difficulty experienced by Danish writer Kåre Bluitgen in finding artists to illustrate his children's book about Muhammad. Artists previously approached by Bluitgen were reportedly unwilling to work with him for fear of violent attacks by extremist Muslims.

Several death threats have been made against those responsible for the cartoons, reportedly resulting in the cartoonists going into hiding. The foreign ministries of eleven Islamic countries demanded action from the Danish government, and several Arab countries eventually closed their embassies in Denmark in protest after the government refused to censure the newspaper or apologise. The Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen said, "The government refuses to apologize because the government does not control the media or a newspaper outlet; that would be in violation of the freedom of speech".

A large consumer boycott was organised in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and other Middle East countries. The foreign ministers of seventeen Islamic countries renewed calls for the Danish government to punish those responsible for the cartoons, and to ensure that such cartoons are not published again. The Organization of the Islamic Conference and the Arab League have demanded that the United Nations impose international sanctions upon Denmark. Numerous protests against the cartoons have taken place, some of them violent. On 4 February, the buildings containing the Danish and Norwegian embassies in Syria were set ablaze, although no one was hurt. In Beirut the Danish General Consulate was set on fire, resulting in the death of one protestor inside the complex. Deaths have also been reported in riots in Afghanistan. As of February 10 2006, at least 11 people have been killed in the protests.

Timeline

Main article: Timeline of the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy

Debate about self-censorship

On September 17 2005, the Danish newspaper Politiken ran an article under the headline "Dyb angst for kritik af islam" ("Profound fear of criticism of Islam"). The article discussed the difficulty encountered by the writer Kåre Bluitgen, who was initially unable to find an illustrator who was prepared to work with Bluitgen on his children's book Koranen og profeten Muhammeds liv ("The Qur'an and the prophet Muhammad's life"). Three artists declined Bluitgen's proposal before an artist agreed to assist anonymously. According to Bluitgen:

One [artist declined], with reference to the murder in Amsterdam of the film director Theo van Gogh, while another [declined, citing the attack on] the lecturer at the Carsten Niebuhr Institute in Copenhagen.

In October 2004, a lecturer at the Niebuhr institute at the University of Copenhagen was assaulted by five assailants who opposed the lecturer's reading of the Qur'an to non-Muslims during a lecture.

The refusal of the first three artists to participate was seen as evidence of self-censorship and led to much debate in Denmark, with other examples for similar reasons soon emerging. The comedian Frank Hvam declared that he did not dare satirise the Qur'an on television, while the translators of an essay collection critical of Islam also wished to remain anonymous due to concerns about violent reaction.

Publication of the drawings

On September 30 2005, the daily newspaper Jyllands-Posten ("The Jutland Post") published an article titled "Muhammeds ansigt" ("The face of Muhammad"). The article consisted of 12 cartoons (of which only some depicted Muhammad) and an explanatory text, in which Flemming Rose, Jyllands-Posten's culture editor, commented:

The modern, secular society is rejected by some Muslims. They demand a special position, insisting on special consideration of their own religious feelings. It is incompatible with contemporary democracy and freedom of speech, where you must be ready to put up with insults, mockery and ridicule. It is certainly not always attractive and nice to look at, and it does not mean that religious feelings should be made fun of at any price, but that is of minor importance in the present context. [...] we are on our way to a slippery slope where no-one can tell how the self-censorship will end. That is why Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten has invited members of the Danish editorial cartoonists union to draw Muhammad as they see him. [...]

After an invitation from Jyllands-Posten to around forty different artists to give their interpretation on how Muhammad may have looked, twelve caricaturists chose to respond with a drawing each. Some of these twelve drawings portray Muhammad in different fashions; many also comment on the surrounding self-censorship debate. Four of these twelve cartoons were illustrated by Jyllands-Posten's own staff, including the "bomb" and "niqaab" cartoons. In the clockwise direction of their position in the page layout:

• The Islamic star and crescent partially symbolizing the face of Muhammad; his right eye is the star, the crescent surrounds his beard and face.
• Muhammad with a bomb in his turban, with a lit fuse and the Islamic creed written on the bomb. This drawing is considered the most controversial of the twelve.
• Muhammad standing in a gentle pose with a halo in the shape of a crescent moon. The middle part of the crescent is obscured, revealing only the edges which could resemble horns.
• An abstract drawing of crescent moons and Stars of David, and a poem on oppression of women "Profet! Med kuk og knald i låget som holder kvinder under åget!". In English the poem could be read as: "Prophet, you crazy bloke! Keeping women under yoke"
• Muhammad as a simple wanderer, in the desert, at sunset. There is a donkey in the background.
• A nervous caricaturist, shakily drawing Muhammad while looking over his shoulder.
• Two angry Muslims charge forward with sabres and bombs, while Muhammad addresses them with: "Rolig, venner, når alt kommer til alt er det jo bare en tegning lavet af en vantro sønderjyde". Translated in English: "Relax, friends, at the end of the day, it's just a drawing by an infidel South Jutlander".
• A 7th grade Arab-looking boy in front of a blackboard, pointing to the Farsi chalkings, which translate into "The editorial team of Jyllands-Posten is a bunch of reactionary provocateurs". The boy is labelled "Mohammed, Valby school, 7.A", implying that this is a second-generation immigrant to Denmark rather than the founder of Islam. On his shirt is written "Fremtiden" (the future). Valby is a district of Copenhagen known for having a concentrated population of immigrants.
• Another drawing shows Muhammad prepared for battle, with a short sabre in one hand and a black bar censoring his eyes. He is flanked by two women in niqaabs, having only their wide open eyes visible.
• Muhammad standing on a cloud, greeting dead suicide bombers with "Stop Stop vi er løbet tør for Jomfruer!" Translated in English: "Stop, stop, we have run out of virgins!"), an allusion to the promised reward to martyrs.
• Another shows journalist Kåre Bluitgen, wearing a turban with the proverbial orange dropping into it, with the inscription "Publicity stunt". In his hand is a child's stick drawing of Muhammad. The proverb "an orange in the turban" is a Danish expression meaning "a stroke of luck": here, the added publicity for the book.

And in the centre:

• A police line-up of seven people wearing turbans, with the witness saying: "Hm... jeg kan ikke lige genkende ham" ("Hm... I can't really recognise him"). Not all people in the line-up are immediately identifiable. They are: (1) A generic Hippie, (2) politician Pia Kjærsgaard, (3) possibly Jesus, (4) possibly Buddha, (5) possibly Muhammad, (6) generic Indian Guru, and (7) journalist Kåre Bluitgen, carrying a sign saying: "Kåres PR, ring og få et tilbud" ("Kåre's public relations, call and get an offer").

Jyllands-Posten response

In respone to protests from Danish Muslim groups Jyllands-Posten published two open letters on its website, both in Danish and Arabic versions, and the second letter also in an English version. The second letter was dated 30 January, and includes the following explanation and apology:

In our opinion, the 12 drawings were sober. They were not intended to be offensive, nor were they at variance with Danish law, but they have indisputably offended many Muslims for which we apologize.

Meeting with Arab Ambassadors refused by Danish Prime Minister

Having received petitions from Danish imams, eleven Arab ambassadors asked for a meeting with Danish prime minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen in 12 October 2005, to register their protest[1]. The government declined because the ambassadors apparently wanted Rasmussen to punish the newspaper, and the government did not see this as an acceptable basis for a meeting.

Police investigation of Jyllands-Posten

27 October 2005, a number of Muslim organizations submitted complaints to the Danish police claiming that Jyllands-Posten had committed an offence under section 140 and 266b of the Danish Criminal Code.

Section 140 of the Criminal Code prohibits any person from publicly ridiculing or insulting the dogmas of worship of any lawfully existing religious community in Denmark. Section 266b criminalises the dissemination of statements or other information by which a group of people are threatened, insulted or degraded on account of their religion. Danish police began their investigation of these complaints on 27 October 2005.

On 6 January 2006, the Regional Public Prosecutor in Viborg discontinued the investigation as he found no basis for concluding that the cartoons constituted a criminal offence. He stated that, in assessing what constitutes an offence, the right to freedom of speech must be taken into consideration. That while the right to freedom of speech must be exercised with the necessary respect for other human rights, including the right to protection against discrimination, insult and degradation, no apparent violation of the law had occurred.

Danish Imams tour the Middle East

Main articles: Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy 43p dossier and Dossier of Danish imams touring the Middle East

Unsatisfied with the reaction of the Danish Government and Jyllands-Posten and feeling provoked additionally in particular by

• pictures from Weekend Avisen which they called "even more offending" (than the original 12 cartoons),
• hate-mail pictures and letters that, according to the dossier's authors, have been sent to Muslims in Denmark, and were indicative of the rejection of Muslims by the Danish,
• a televised interview with Dutch member of parliament and Islam critic Hirsi Ali, who had just received the Freedom Prize “for her work to further freedom of speech and the rights of women” from the Danish Liberal Party represented by Anders Fogh Rasmussen

a group of Danish imams from several organisations created a 43-page dossier. This appears to have been assembled and added to until some point after 8 December 2005, with the first lobbying visits to Egypt having taken place before finalization.

It consists of several letters from Muslim organisations explaining their case, multiple clippings from Jyllands-Posten, multiple clippings from Weekend Avisen, some clippings from Arabic-language papers, and three additional images.

Pig-face - This picture of a French pig-squealing contestant, taken from the imams' dossier, was incorrectly identified by the BBC as one of the Jyllands-Posten cartoons.

Some claim that the group of imams misrepresented the origin of the latter three images. On February 1 BBC World incorrectly reported that one of them had been published in Jyllands-Posten. This image was later found to be a wire-service photo of a contestant at a French pig-squealing contest, although the dossier's version also included the caption Here is the true face of Muhammad (in Danish, with an Arabic translation). The other two additional images portrayed a muslim being mounted by a dog while praying and Muhammad as a demonic pedophile (referencing the Aisha controversy). Note that both the pig and the dog are considered impure animals in Islam.

The group set out for a tour of the Middle East to present their case to many influential religious and political leaders, and to ask for support: The dossier oscillates wildly between diplomatic statements such as:

• We urge you [recipient of the letter or dossier]to - on the behalf of thousands of believing Muslims - to give us the opportunity of having a constructive contact with the press and particularly with the relevant decision makers, not briefly, but with a scientific methodology and a planned and long-term programme seeking to make views approach each other and remove misunderstandings between the two parties involved. Since we do not wish for Muslims to be accused of being backward and narrow, likewise we do not wish for Danes to be accused of ideological arrogance either. When this relationship is back on its track, the result will bring satisfaction, an underpinning of security and the stable relations, and a flourishing Denmark for all that live here
• We call your [recipient of the letter or dossier] attention to this case, and place it in your hands, in such a way that we together may think and have an objective dialogue regarding how an appropriate exit can be found for these crises in a way which does not violate the freedom of speech, but which at the same time does not offend the feelings of Muslims either.

and misinformation:

• The faithful in their religion (muslims) suffer under a number of circumstances, first and foremost the lack of official recognition of the Islamic faith. This has led to a lot of problems, especially the lack of right to build mosques [...]
• Even though they [the Danes] belong to the Christian faith, the secularizations have overcome them, and if you say that they are all infidels, then you are not wrong.
• This [the publication of the 12 cartoons] happened in connection with the promotion of a book, which has recently been published, and which contains these inappropriate cartoons

It is notable that the letters in the dossier that long predate the tour to the Middle East are solidly within the diplomatic and concillatory range and are free of misinformation, while that later letters use a more urgent language.

Not exactly misinformation, but possibly a misunderstanding was the inclusion in the dossier of the aforementioned cartoons from Weekend Avisen. These cartoons were more likely to be parodies on the pompousness of Jylland-Posten's cartoons than cartoons of the Prophet in their own right, these consist of reproductions of works such as the Mona Lisa (caption: For centuries, a previously unknown society has known that this is a painting of the Prophet, and guarded this secret. The back page's anonymous artist is doing everything he can to reveal this secret in his contribution. He has since then been forced to go underground, fearing for the wrath of a crazy albino imam, a very obvious pun on the Da Vinci Code), or Composition VIII by Russian abstract artist Kandinsky (caption: Bellowing Prophet by a Forest Lake, a pun on "Bellowing Deer by a Forest Lake", an image associated with very poor taste.)

At a 6 December 2005 summit of the OIC, with many heads of state in attendance, the dossier was handed around on the sidelines first, and eventually an official communique was issued.

Reprinting in other newspapers

El Fagr's Headline Page for 17 October 2005 - One of the controversial cartoons of Muhammad, as it appeared on the first page of the Egyptian Newspaper El Fagr.

Further information: List of newspapers that reprinted Jyllands-Posten's Muhammad cartoons

In 2005, the Muhammad cartoons controversy received only minor media attention outside of Denmark. Six of the cartoons were reprinted in the Egyptian newspaper El Fagr on 17 October 2005 along with an article strongly denouncing them, but publication, even during Ramadan, did not pique any reactions from Islamic religious and government authorities. January 2006 saw some of the pictures reprinted in Scandinavia, then in major newspapers of nearby countries to the south including Germany, Belgium and France. Very soon after, as protests grew, there were re-publications around the globe, but mostly in continental Europe.

Notable by their absence were re-publications from major newspapers in the USA and the United Kingdom, where editorials covered the story, but almost unanimously took a stance against re-publication of the Mohammad cartoons.

Several editors were fired for their decision, or even their intention,to re-publish the cartoons (most prominently the managing director of France Soir, Jacques Lefranc), some were stopped by publishers or courts.

Three of the cartoons were reprinted in the Jordanian weekly newspaper al-Shihan. The editor, Jihad Momani, was fired, and the publisher withdrew the newspaper from circulation. Jihad Momani issued a public apology, was arrested and charged with insulting religion. Several of the cartoons were reprinted in the Jordanian newspaper al-Mehwar. The editor Hisham Khalidi was also arrested and charged with insulting religion. Both charges were dropped two days later.

Al-Hurreya newspaper in Yemen was closed down after publishing some images. Owner/Editor Abdul-Karim Sabra was arrested.

In Malaysia, Lester Melanyi, an editor of the Sarawak Tribune resigned from his post for allowing the reprinting of a cartoon. The chief editor was summoned to the Internal Security Ministry. The Malaysian government has also shut down the newspaper indefinitely.

International reactions

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"To our dear customers: As a result of mockery towards The Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him), Al Tamimi Markets announces its boycott of all kinds of Danish Products"

Main article: International reactions to the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy

What started with the problem of a Danish author trying to find an illustrator for his forthcoming book about Islam has become an international crisis. It has led to violence, arrests, international tensions, and a renewed debate about the scope of free speech and the place of Muslims in the West, and the West in Muslim countries. Many governments, organizations and individuals worldwide have issued statements, trying to define their stance.

Conflicting traditions

Danish journalistic tradition

Freedom of speech in Denmark was obtained in a new constitution with democracy in 1849 and parliamentarism in 1901 together with other liberties, including freedom of religion. These freedoms have been defended vigorously ever since. Freedom of speech was abandoned temporarily only during the German occupation of Denmark during World War II.

Section 77 of the Constitutional Act of Denmark (1953) reads: “Any person shall be at liberty to publish his ideas in print, in writing, and in speech, subject to his being held responsible in a court of law. Censorship and other preventive measures shall never again be introduced.”

Under international law, freedom of expression in Denmark is also protected by among others the European Convention on Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Section 140 of the Danish Penal Code prohibits blasphemy. However, this law has not been enforced since 1938. Section 266b of the Danish Penal Code prohibits expressions that threaten, deride or degrade on the grounds of race, colour, national or ethnic origin, belief or sexual orientation. The Danish public prosecutor determined that the Muhammad cartoons did not violate either law.

Jesus and other religious figures are often portrayed in Denmark in ways that many other societies would consider illegal blasphemy. In 1984 the artist Jens Jørgen Thorsen was commissioned by a local art club to paint the wall of a railway station. The work displayed a naked Jesus with an erect penis. In 1992 Thorsen directed the film Jesus vender tilbage which showed Jesus as sexually active and involved with a terrorist group. While Thorsen’s work provoked much public debate and his painting was removed from the public building, he was not charged with any legal offence.

Danish newspapers are privately owned and independent from the government. There are no restrictions on the political viewpoints that may be published. There are frequent caricatures of priests and politicians as well as of Queen Margrethe II.

Although the Danish press is free to satirise, a 2004 report by the European Network Against Racism concluded that a disproportionate amount of editorial space is devoted to negative reporting on ethnic minorities.

Islamic tradition

Main article: Aniconism

The Qur'an, Islam's holiest book, condemns idolatry, but has no direct condemnations of pictorial art. Direct prohibitions of pictorial art, or any depiction of sacred figures, are found in some hadith, or recorded oral traditions.

Views regarding pictorial representation within several religious communities have varied from group to group, and from time to time. Among Muslims, the Shi'a Muslims have been generally tolerant of pictorial representation of human figures, Sunni Muslims less so. However, the Sunni Ottomans, the last dynasty to claim the caliphate, were not only tolerant but even patrons of the miniaturists' art. Many Ottoman miniatures depict Muhammad; they usually show Muhammad's face covered with a veil or as a featureless void emanating light (depicted as flames). Pictorial surveys of Muhammad can be found on the internet. Note that the last site also contains some modern depictions, offensive to some, of Muhammad.

Most contemporary Muslims believe that ordinary portraits and photos, films and illustrations, are permissible. Only some Salafi and Islamist interpretations of Sunni Islam still condemn pictorial representations of any kind. Offensive satirical pictures are a somewhat different case — disrespect to Islam or to Muhammad is still widely considered blasphemous or sacrilegious.

According to the BBC "It is the satirical intent of the cartoonists, and the association of the Prophet with terrorism, that is so offensive to the vast majority of Muslims."

Opinions

Main article: Opinions on the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy

Comparable incidents

Main article: Freedom of speech versus blasphemy

Throughout history, believers from a multitude of faiths have called for boycott, arrest, censorship or even murder of critics, artists and commentators whose works they considered blasphemous. Some have been punished for comitting a criminal offence (hate speech), censored or killed, others walked free.

The following incidents of alleged blasphemy have seen frequent mention in connection with the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy:

• Dieudonné M'bala M'bala (comedian, tried for anti-semitism)
• Ecce Homo (exhibition)
• Great Lawgivers (frieze in U.S. supreme court building)
• Life of Brian (film)
• Piss Christ (photo)
• Snow White and The Madness of Truth (installation)
• Submission (short film)
• The Satanic Verses (novel)
• The Last Temptation of Christ (film)
• The life of Jesus (book)
• The Virgin Mary (painting)
• Jerry Springer - The Opera (play, then a television programme)

See also

• Timeline of the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy
• International reactions to the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy
• Censorship by organized religion
• Controversial newspaper caricatures
• Freedom of the press
• Freedom of speech and freedom of the press in Denmark
• Freedom of speech versus blasphemy
• Hate speech
• Islam in Denmark
• List of newspapers that reprinted Jyllands-Posten's Muhammad cartoons
• Separation of church and state
• Clash of Civilizations

External links

• How this Wikipedia article evolved

Official correspondence

• The letter to the Prime Minister from the Muslim ambassadors (PDF)
• First open letter in Arabic to the Muslims of Saudi Arabia from Jyllands-Posten (PDF)
• Second open letter to the Muslims of Saudi Arabia from Jyllands-Posten
  • In Arabic (PDF)
  • In English
• Photocopies of the Imams' dossier

Islamic views

• IUMS Statement on Publishing Anti-Prophet Cartoons
• Sri Lankan Muslim View
• Danish cartoons and sacred imagery

News sites

• BBC News article: Q&A: Depicting the Prophet Muhammad
• The Guardian special reports: cartoon protests
  • The Guardian Cartoon
• Jyllands-Posten--related items in English
• World press review by BBC Monitoring
• Protests over images
• Viewpoints: Cartoon row BBC News, 3 February 2006
• At Mecca Meeting, Cartoon Outrage Crystallized - New York Times

Images

• The page of Jylland-Posten that contains Muhammad cartoons
• All the Mohammed drawings in full size
• Mohammed Image Archive
• Enlargeable images link
• Picture series - burning of the Danish embassy in Syria
• Caricatures of Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, published by the Danish newspaper Information
• Arab cartoons from the past few years showing anti-semitism images in Arab newspapers

Academic analysis

• Complexity and Social Networks Blog at Harvard University discusses and applies various social network theories to the recent event.

Mixed Viewpoints

• Muslim Says: Let's Make More Cartoons Of The Prophet
• A letter from Another Denmark
• rezgar.com – It is enough now!
• BBC Viewpoints – Discussion about the cartoon row
• The limits to free speech – Economist.com - An article supporting free speech
• The Counterterrorism BLOG

Reconciliation

• SorryNorwayDenmark Muslim groups petition for reconciliation
• Forsoning nu! Danish petition for reconciliation