Newspapers Reprint Danish Muslim Cartoon

The Danish Muslim cartoons that sparked worldwide rioting, mayhem, and murder two years ago are back.

Danish Muslim Cartoon Protest Photo Newspapers across Europe Wednesday reprinted the controversial cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed that sparked worldwide protests two years ago.

The move came one day after Danish authorities arrested three people allegedly plotting a “terror-related assassination” of Kurt Westergaard, the cartoonist behind the drawing.

Berlingske Tidende, was one of the newspapers involved in the republication by newspapers in Denmark. It said: “We are doing this to document what is at stake in this case, and to unambiguously back and support the freedom of speech that we as a newspaper always will defend,” in comments reported by The Associated Press.

Newspapers in Spain, Sweden and the Netherlands also republished the drawing Wednesday as part of their coverage of Tuesday’s arrests.

The image, by Morgenavisen Jullands-Posten cartoonist Westergaard, was one of 12 cartoons about the Prophet Mohammed originally published in September 2005. Westergaard’s cartoon depicted the prophet wearing a bomb as a turban with a lit fuse.

Count me in:

Danish Muslim Cartoon Kurt Westergaard 
Muhammad with a bomb in his turban, with a lit fuse and the Islamic creed written on the bomb
See these cartoons in full size here.

Others: Michelle Malkin, Ed Morrissey, Howie@The Jawa Report, Fullosseous Flap, Y.A.C.R.W.B., PoliGazette, Andy Aplikowski, Pam@Right Voices, Laura@Pursuing Holiness, Kim Zigfeld, Susan Duclos, The World According To Carl

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Danish Muslim Cartoons - Click to enlarge

See these cartoons in full size here.

Related posts below the fold.

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James Joyner
About James Joyner
James Joyner is Professor and Department Head of Security Studies at Marine Corps University's Command and Staff College. He's a former Army officer and Desert Storm veteran. Views expressed here are his own. Follow James on Twitter @DrJJoyner.

Comments

  1. Tlaloc says:

    Tacky. Very tacky.

    I expect better from you. The newspapers were pretty odious to do the story in the first place, not because Mohammed can’t be criticized but because it is vulgar to write an entire story purely for the purpose of mocking a religion so as to drum up controversy. I’d be pretty disgusted if they printed the crucifix in a jar of urine pictures from a few years back, too (and I have no love of christianity). That kind of thing simply does not belong in the news paper.

    They were &^%holes to do it once, and bigger &^%holes to use it again to inflate sales.

    (which is not to excuse the overreaction by certain muslim communities, this is a situation where everybody looks bad)

  2. Triumph says:

    I’d be pretty disgusted if they printed the crucifix in a jar of urine pictures from a few years back, too (and I have no love of christianity).

    Thank you Mayor Giuliani.

  3. John425 says:

    Tlaloc doesn’t seem to understand “solidarity”. The kind of solidarity borne out of having a common foe.

  4. Steve Plunk says:

    Making a statement in support of free speech rights and against those who threaten death to those who do exercise free speech is not tacky.

    Religious tolerance should be a two way street. If a religion allows me to exist as a free man and to choose my own religion then it will gain my respect. I know of a certain religion that fails this test and does not have or deserve my respect.

  5. Tlaloc says:

    Tlaloc doesn’t seem to understand “solidarity”. The kind of solidarity borne out of having a common foe.

    Solidarity with aholes makes you an ahole.

    I think Mr. Joyner is better than that.

  6. Tlaloc says:

    Making a statement in support of free speech rights and against those who threaten death to those who do exercise free speech is not tacky.

    So if the NYT tomorrow has an extensive and uncritical piece on the various degrading ways that christianity can be depicted, just for the fun of tweaking christians, that’s just dandy? And if the LA Times features long excerpts of antisemitic tracts, not to disprove them but to celebrate them, well… it’s all just good fun, eh?

    This isn’t about free speech. I’m not saying the newspapaer can’t print this stuff, or should be censored. I’m saying the paper has no good reason to print it. They printed purely to attack people- which is not the function of a newspaper.

    Religious tolerance should be a two way street.

    Of course it should. But that cause isn’t helped by being a dick towards people who are already overly reactionary.

    If a religion allows me to exist as a free man and to choose my own religion then it will gain my respect. I know of a certain religion that fails this test and does not have or deserve my respect.

    Steve, which one do you mean? Christianity which has a long rich history of slaughtering anyone who disagrees? Judaism which has an even older histor of the same? Or is it only the new kid on the block, Islam, which you single out for condemnation?

    Do I wish they’d all chill the F— out? Yeah. A lot.

  7. Tlaloc says:
  8. Triumph says:

    So if the NYT tomorrow has an extensive and uncritical piece on the various degrading ways that christianity can be depicted, just for the fun of tweaking christians, that’s just dandy?

    Actually, the NY Times did this a couple of years ago. They started the War against Christmas that O’Reily talked about. Americans rose up in arms under O’Reily’s leadership and they shut up.

    Christmas is now safe.

  9. Steve Plunk says:

    Tlaloc,

    Falling back on the argument that Christians did bad things hundreds of years ago is an often used excuse for modern Islamic barbarism. It doesn’t work. Christians of today (especially in the West) seldom use suicide bombings to make a point. The don’t officially call for the execution of apostates. They don’t riot over exhibition of the “Piss Christ”. In short, they are civilized.

    Western civilization didn’t start this fight with Islamic extremists so it’s not us being the dicks. Standing up to those who would limit human rights is no vice. The fact they overreact is something they should correct not something we should accommodate.

    The media regularly attacks Christianity as a refuge of the uneducated and easily manipulated. They make fun of religious leaders and their followers. They support those who poke a finger in the eye of traditional American religion. I don’t see treating Islam different just because they are the more violent of the bunch.

  10. Tlaloc says:

    Christians of today (especially in the West) seldom use suicide bombings to make a point.

    Wow. “Seldom.” Way to raise the bar.

    The problem is if you look at the terrorist groups in the US the MAJORITY of them are Christian groups (specifically “third way” and “christian identity” white supremacist groups).

    The don’t officially call for the execution of apostates.

    uh, yeah, about that…

    Western civilization didn’t start this fight with Islamic extremists so it’s not us being the dicks.

    Who started the fight is not cut and dried, but beyond that *acting* like a dick makes you a dick regardless.

    The media regularly attacks Christianity as a refuge of the uneducated and easily manipulated.

    In what alternate universe? Cause that is most definitely not the case in this one.

  11. Spirit Wolf says:

    It’s pretty sad that people get so caught up in superstitious BS that they are more than willing to riot and kill over a cartoon of some stupid guy who lived and died over 1,000 years ago. I’m sick to death of hearing about “people of religion” (whether Muslim, Sikh, or Christian) trying to control what the rest of us read, write, draw, think, see, do or say, and I’m especially sick of them demanding special dispensation for their superstitious idiocy. These people must be stopped in their tracks with a good firm slap on the muzzle, and not acquiesed to or given exemptions to laws and rules.

    For more Mohammed cartoons, see:

    http://spiritwolf.blogspot.com

  12. Usman says:

    πŸ™‚ I don’t think I have to say any thing here to defend our selves as Muslims. Yes, it was our stupidity and biggest mistake that we took the path of violence to protest against such stupid cartoon those cant match our Prophet at any cost or any way but it was just a stupid way to show the frustration against Islam from some ill-minded cartoonists. It is a fact that Islam is a fastest growing religion in the world and its after 1900 when there was no war being fought against any of the religion by Muslims.

    I don’t know why the Christians are trying to be so stupid in this scenario by saying that Muslim’s wanted them to be dead (prophet Muhammad’s era) it was the fight against the people who were worshiping idols at that time and they don’t believe in God. So i would like to suggest Christians to open their eyes and minds to read what Islam is and I would like to suggest that please watch the Hollywood movie “The Message” if you don’t want to read Quran at your own πŸ™‚ coz many of the Christians are afraid of reading Quran but yes to listen to the stupid people only quoting the lines those say about killing but not telling the whole context. If you said that Islam was like killing people then what do you think what is happening now in the world, A crazy mad ass is killing Muslims all around the world from your own part and religion and why people expect that Muslims will not kill them if they will try to kill Muslims.

    I am a muslim artist and my message to the world is always peace, i hate what muslim’s are doing but this is not the way to answer some thing, the way people are cursing our religion and prophet. We can curse your religion but this way we will loose our own because it is must for us to be a muslim that we must be a good christain and a good jew and believe every messenger of God. Yes one more thing the God and Allah is the same πŸ™‚ its just that the difference of language ppl so plz try to know about things before you say some thing.

    Don’t be arrogant.

    Peace and Love.

    And I don’t care if some one stupid start making cartoons and tell the world that those are cartoons of my prophet because they are not the cartoons of prophet Muhammad anyway and Muslims have to understand the fact that Dogs bark at anyone who passes by the street. So don’t pick and threw stones on every dog and just ignore them πŸ™‚ which is better than getting your hands dirty.

    For the people who says any thing about my prophet I would just like to say that they must look into what they are doing and which religion they are following πŸ™‚ basically they are not even following Christianity coz Christianity is a very peaceful religion πŸ˜€ πŸ˜€ πŸ˜€ and see the things are telling us from this same website that how many Muslims are cursing Christianity and how Christians are cursing Muslims and i think it is a better comparison the whole world can see πŸ™‚

  13. Jon Davidson says:

    These were the cartoons that caused such a murderous outrage?? Most of them seem not that inspired. I’m glad they reprinted them. The one time you give in to a bully silencing you, you start a trend that will never reverse. We are at a juncture where the past is colliding with the future; and the past will win, if we don’t wake up. The fanatics are standing together; we had better too….