Danish Cartoons, The Sequel

Here we go again. Our free-press-or-die friends in Denmark have republished a cartoon depicting the Prophet Mohammed as a terrorist. The cartoon, showing the Prophet wearing a bomb for a turban, was printed not only by Jyllands-Posten, the paper that started the cartoon controversy back in 2005. Jyllands-Posten was joined by two other major papers, Politiken and Berlingske Tidende, along with a dozen or other smaller publications.

Jyllands-Posten's original rationale was to draw attention to what it viewed as Muslim intolerance and intimidation. Some author was having difficulty commissioning drawings for a book on the Prophet. Illustrators cited their fear of being targeted by Islamic extremists if they drew depictions of the Prophet, considered a blasphemous act in some Islamic teaching. Jyllands-Posten ordered up the cartoons to show that Danish liberalism would not be intimidated into self-censorship. Whether the newspaper's editors had initially intended to be provocative or not, they swiftly apologized for causing any offense to the Muslim world.

The Danish papers re-published the Prophet-as-Terrorist cartoon on Wednesday to demonstrate support for free speech in the wake of an alleged plot by alleged Muslim militants to murder the cartoon's author, Kurt Westergaard. Politiken, which itself had once criticized Jyllands-Posten for publishing the cartoon originally, argued that "the paper deserves unconditional solidarity when it is threatened with terror."

Journalists, commentators or cartoonists have every duty in a democracy to seek publication of whatever they please. You could go so far as to say that even if a publication causes grave offense to Muslims, or Jews, or Christians, or whoever, or even exposes state secrets, the media's first impulse should always be to publish and be damned. If the inclination rather is always to look around to see who might object to such and such an article, editorial or illustration, self-censorship rather than free debate would rule the day.

Yet, the Danish papers are as wrong to publish the cartoons this time as Jyllands-Posten was back in 2005. In their understandable and admirable passion to defend free expression, they are sadly oblivious or indifferent to other factors arguing for restraint.

In the dangerous atmosphere of Islam-Western tensions especially since 9/11, a cartoon that appears to ridicule the Prophet Mohammed can only be seen as an act of hate-speech by Danish Muslims and millions of their co-religionists around the world. Is insulting another religion and its followers a noble--or effective-- way of defending the precious value of free speech? A related problem with the cartoon is how it equates Islam with terrorism, stamping all Muslims as terrorists. This displays an utter ignorance about the faith that further undermines the righteous insistence of publishing the cartoons as an act of free expression. In addition, press responsibility entails judgments about the potential consequences of publishing. The original cartoon controversy led to widespread bloodshed and economic damage as well as heightened political and cultural tensions from Nigeria to Indonesia. Some estimates put the death toll in cartoon-related protests and incidents at more than 100 people. Due to Islamic world boycotts of Danish products, the livelihoods of many Danes suffered as a result of the controversy.

OK, many will argue that the fault for all this is not the cartoons, but the intolerant Muslim reaction to them. They would say that Muslims should not have protested, or burned Danish embassies, or taken steps to assassinate the cartoonists. Many Muslim leaders acted responsibly, and indeed in Denmark some imams sought and failed to reach an understanding on the issue before it blew out of control. Yet, certainly the minority of Muslims who responded with violence deserve unambiguous condemnation. Assuming there was a genuine plot to kill the cartoonist, the alleged perpetrators should be dealt with firmly under the rule of law and newspapers should write extensively about that.

If publishing the cartoon is meant to defend a front in the clash of civilizations, there are other constructive ways to do so. Surely, for instance, Danish newspapers employ some stylish writers capable of writing very eloquently in defense of free expression and Western cultural values. There is a lack of imagination in simply republishing the cartoon once again. What if the Danish papers find the need to defend free speech again next week, or next month, or next year. Just keep republishing that Prophet Mohammed cartoon over and over again, to prove that they can?

The Danish newspapers wanted to send a message that they will not permit Islamic extremists to dictate their agenda. Ironically, by reacting so rashly to a plot for which the evidence still appears slim, those newspapers have allowed the three men who are suspects in the case to do exactly that--to once again stoke Muslim anger and perhaps once again to embroil Denmark in a controversy with the Islamic world. As they righteously defend free speech, the Danish editors are handing extremists exactly what they seek--an opportunity to spread more hatred between Islam and the West.

Understanding, tolerance and peace are ideals no less dear than freedom of the press. If we're smart and good-spirited, there's no reason we can't pursue all of them. A more creative way of tackling Muslim intimidation would be for Danes to promote cross-cultural dialogue where issues are discussed and consensuses are achieved. Danish newspapers also might also want to write a little more on how to better achieve integration of fellow Danish citizens who are Muslims, rather than continuing to alienate them further by insulting their Prophet.

--By Scott MacLeod/Cairo