agenda http://agenda.smartlog.dk/ agenda http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 360 the cartoon-story Wed, 15 Feb 2006 04:39:00 +0100 http://agenda.smartlog.dk/the-cartoon-story-post42872 http://agenda.smartlog.dk/the-cartoon-story-post42872 http://agenda.smartlog.dk/the-cartoon-story-post42872#comments nobody@www.smartlog.dk (agenda) muhammed In danish media there has been a lot of stories about arab medias publishing anti-semitic cartoons all the time. The argument seems to be that since the muslim world demands respect for islam but will not give the same respect to other religions (judaism), the danish media dont have to act with any kind of sensivity or respect towards (muslim) peoples religious feelings.

Of course I will not defend any kind of hateful representation of any religious or ethnic group, but I think that there a some important differences between the two kinds of cartoons that the danish media totally ignore.

First of all, I dont think that arab medias publishing anti-semitic cartoons can justify danish media being offensive towards muslims in this way. Secondly, the two kinds of cartoons are not quite comparable for two reasons:

1) only the cartoons from danish newspaper "Jyllandsposten" are portraying a figure belonging to the religious sphere -and everyone knows, that making pictures of the prophet is a taboo in most islamic traditions. Even if its aloud in christian traditions to portray the figure of Jesus, a lot of christians get very angry or sad when this happens in an obscene or negative way. After all the anti-semitic cartoons does not portray a holy figure.

2) The two kinds of cartoons appears in totally different situations and from very different positions of power. For example a palestinian newspaper speaks from the perspective of being surpressed under israeli occupation, while a danish newspaper speaks from no such experience. This particular danish newspaper is definitly not in opposition towards the government or the existing power structures in Denmark. The newspaper"Jyllandsposten" supports the danish government and the danish business industry a lot, and it speaks from the powerful erspective of an already existing atmosphere of governmental discrimination against the small group of (muslim) immigrants in Denmark.

Now I found some cartoons from arab newspapers here:
http://www.tomgrossmedia.com/ArabCartoons.htm
and I think that most of them are anti-zionist more than anti-semitic (even if they are also anti-semitic in portraying jews as rats) The pictures compare the israelian treatment of palestinians with holocaust. What the pictures are saying is mainly "why are you doing the same thing to palestinians as the germans did to you"? and I think that is a totally reasonable question.

http://www.anotherdenmark.org/

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