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Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Recent History

   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
   2005- 09-30. The newspaper explained that this publication was a
   contribution to debate regarding criticism of Islam and
   self-censorship. In response, Danish Muslim organizations held public
   protests and spread knowledge of Jyllands-Posten's publication. As the
   controversy grew, examples of the cartoons were reprinted in newspapers
   in more than fifty other countries, which led to violent as well as
   peaceful protests, including rioting particularly in the Muslim world.

   Critics of the cartoons describe them as Islamophobic and/or argue that
   they are blasphemous to people of the Muslim faith, intended to
   humiliate a marginalized Danish minority, and that they are a
   manifestation of ignorance about the history of western imperialism,
   from colonialism to the current conflicts in the Middle East.

   Supporters of the cartoons claim they illustrate an important issue in
   a period of Islamic extremist terrorism and that their publication is a
   legitimate exercise of the right of free speech. They also claim that
   similar cartoons about other religions are frequently printed, arguing
   that the followers of Islam were not targeted in a discriminatory way.

   Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen described the controversy
   as Denmark's worst international crisis since World War II.

Descriptions of the drawings

   Some of the cartoons can be difficult to fully understand for those
   without knowledge of certain Danish language metaphors or awareness of
   individuals of note to the Danish public. Furthermore, certain cartoons
   have captions written in Danish and one in Persian. Detailed
   descriptions of the cartoons and translations of the captions as well
   as explanations concerning Danish cultural references are provided
   here.

Timeline

   Jyllands-Posten
   cartoons controversy

   Events and reactions
     * Timeline
     * Cartoon descriptions
     * Akkari-Laban Dossier
     * Newspaper Reprints
     * International Reactions
     * Opinions
     * Economic & human costs

   Primary parties involved
     * Jyllands-Posten
     * Islamisk Trossamfund
     * Denmark
     * Muslim world

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 (English: The Qur'an and the
   life of the Prophet Muhammad ISBN 87-638-0049-7). 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 his reading
   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. Comedian Frank Hvam
   declared that he would (hypothetically) dare urinating on the Bible on
   television, but not on the Qur'an while the translators of an essay
   collection critical of Islam also wished to remain anonymous due to
   concerns about violent reprisals.

Publication of the cartoons

   On September 30, 2005, the daily newspaper Jyllands-Posten ("The
   Jutland Post") published an article entitled "Muhammeds ansigt" ("The
   face of Muhammad"). The article consisted of twelve 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 the invitation from Jyllands-Posten to around forty different
   artists to give their interpretation of Muhammad, twelve caricaturists
   chose to respond with a drawing each. Many also commented on the
   surrounding self-censorship debate. Three of these twelve cartoons were
   illustrated by Jyllands-Posten's own staff, including the "bomb" and
   "niqaab" cartoons.

   On February 19, Rose explained his intent further In the Washington
   Post:

     The cartoonists treated Islam the same way they treat Christianity,
     Buddhism, Hinduism and other religions. And by treating Muslims in
     Denmark as equals they made a point: We are integrating you into the
     Danish tradition of satire because you are part of our society, not
     strangers. The cartoons are including, rather than excluding,
     Muslims.

   In October 2005, the Danish daily Politiken polled thirty-one of the
   forty-three members of the Danish cartoonist association. Twenty-three
   said they would be willing to draw Muhammad. One had doubts, one
   refused because of fear of possible reprisals and six cartoonists
   refused to make the drawings because they respected the Muslim ban on
   depicting the prophet. Fifteen of the thirty-one cartoonists rejected
   Jyllands-Posten's project.

Danish Prime Minister's meeting refusal

   Having received petitions from Danish imams, eleven ambassadors from
   Muslim-majority counties asked for a meeting with Danish Prime Minister
   Anders Fogh Rasmussen in 12 October 2005, in order to discuss what they
   perceived as an "on-going smearing campaign in Danish public circles
   and media against Islam and Muslims". In a letter the ambassadors
   mentioned not only the issue of the Muhammad cartoons, but also a
   recent indictment against Radio Holger, and statements by MP Louise
   Frevert and the Minister of Culture Brian Mikkelsen. It concluded:

     We deplore these statements and publications and urge Your
     Excellency’s government to take all those responsible to task under
     law of the land in the interest of inter-faith harmony, better
     integration and Denmark's overall relations with the Muslim world.

   The government answered the ambassadors' request for a meeting with
   Rasmussen with a letter only: "The freedom of expression has a wide
   scope and the Danish government has no means of influencing the press.
   However, Danish legislation prohibits acts or expressions of
   blasphemous or discriminatory nature. The offended party may bring such
   acts or expressions to court, and it is for the courts to decide in
   individual cases."

   The ambassadors maintained that they had never asked for
   Jyllands-Posten to be prosecuted; possibly, the non-technical phrase of
   the letter, "to take NN to task under law", meant something like "to
   hold NN responsible within the limits of the law". Rasmussen replied:
   "Even a non-judicial intervention against Jyllands-Posten would be
   impossible within our system".

   The Egypt Minister of Foreign Affairs, Aboul Gheit, wrote several
   letters to the Prime Minister of Denmark and to the United Nations
   Secretary-General explaining that they did not want the Prime Minister
   to prosecute Jyllands-Posten; they only wanted "an official Danish
   statement underlining the need for and the obligation of respecting all
   religions and desisting from offending their devotees to prevent an
   escalation which would have serious and far-reaching consequences".
   Subsequently, the Egyptian government played a leading role in defusing
   the issue in the Middle East.

   The refusal to meet the ambassadors has been criticized by the
   opposition, twenty-two Danish ex-ambassadors, and ex-Minister of
   Foreign Affairs, Uffe Ellemann-Jensen.

Judicial investigation of Jyllands-Posten

   On October 27, 2005, a number of Muslim organizations filed a complaint
   with 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, known as the blasphemy law,
       prohibits disturbing public order by publicly ridiculing or
       insulting the dogmas of worship of any lawfully existing religious
       community in Denmark. Only one case has ever resulted in a
       sentence, a 1938 case involving an anti-Semitic group. The most
       recent case was in 1971 when a program director of Danmarks Radio
       was charged, but found not guilty.
     * Section 266b criminalises insult, threat or degradation of natural
       persons, by publicly and with malice attacking their race, colour
       of skin, national or ethnical roots, faith or sexual orientation.

   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. His reason is based on his
   finding that the article concerns a subject of public interest and,
   further, on Danish case law which extends editorial freedom to
   journalists when it comes to a subject of public interest. He stated
   that, in assessing what constitutes an offence, the right to freedom of
   speech must be taken into consideration. He stated that 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, but no apparent violation of
   the law had occurred. In a new hearing, the Director of Public
   Prosecutors in Denmark agreed.

Danish Imams tour the Middle East

   A group of Danish imams, dissatisfied with the reaction of the Danish
   Government and Jyllands-Posten created a forty-three-page document
   entitled, "Dossier about championing the prophet Muhammad peace be upon
   him."

   The dossier consists of several letters from Muslim organisations
   explaining their case, citing the Jyllands-Posten cartoons but also the
   following causes of "pain and torment" for the authors:
    1. Pictures from another Danish newspaper, Weekendavisen, which they
       called "even more offending" (than the original twelve cartoons);
    2. Hate-mail pictures and letters that the dossier's authors alleged
       were sent to Muslims in Denmark, said to be indicative of the
       rejection of Muslims by the Danish;
    3. A televised interview discussing Islam with Dutch member of
       parliament and Islam critic Hirsi Ali, who had 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.

   Appended to the dossier are multiple clippings from Jyllands-Posten,
   multiple clippings from Weekendavisen, some clippings from
   Arabic-language papers, and three additional images.

   The group of imams said that the three additional images were sent
   anonymously by mail to Muslims who were participating in an online
   debate on Jyllands-Posten, and were circulated to illustrate the
   atmosphere of Islamophobia in which they lived. 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. One of the other two
   additional images (a photo) portrayed a Muslim being mounted by a dog
   while praying, and the other (a cartoon) portrayed Muhammad as a
   demonic pedophile.

   The group of imams 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 contains such statements as the following:
     * 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.
     * 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.
     * We [Muslims] do not need lessons in democracy, but it is actually
       us, who through our deeds and speeches educate the whole world in
       democracy.
     * This [Europe's] dictatorial way of using democracy is completely
       unacceptable.

   The inclusion in the dossier of the cartoons from Weekendavisen was
   possibly a misunderstanding, as these were more likely intended as
   parodies of the pompousness of Jyllands-Posten's cartoons than as
   comments on the prophet in their own right. They 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). This is an obvious parody of the Da Vinci Code.

   At a 6 December 2005 summit of the Organisation of the Islamic
   Conference, with many heads of state in attendance, the dossier was
   handed around on the sidelines first, and eventually an official
   communiqué was issued, demanding that the United Nations impose
   international sanctions upon Denmark.

Jyllands-Posten response

   In response to protests from Muslim groups, Jyllands-Posten published
   two open letters on its website, each of them in a Danish and an Arabic
   version. The second letter, dated 30 January 2006, also has an English
   version:

     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.

   On February 26, the cartoonist who had drawn the bomb in turban
   picture, the most controversial of the twelve, explained:

     There are interpretations of it [the drawing] that are incorrect.
     The general impression among Muslims is that it is about Islam as a
     whole. It is not. It is about certain fundamentalist aspects, that
     of course are not shared by everyone. But the fuel for the
     terrorists’ acts stem from interpretations of Islam. [...] if parts
     of a religion develop in a totalitarian and aggressive direction,
     then I think you have to protest. We did so under the other 'isms.

Reprinting in other newspapers

   In 2005, the Muhammad cartoons controversy received only minor media
   attention outside of Denmark. Six of the cartoons were first reprinted
   by the Egyptian newspaper El Fagr on October 17, 2005, along with an
   article strongly denouncing them, but publication did not provoke any
   condemnations or other reactions from religious or government
   authorities. Between October 2005 and the end of January 2006, examples
   of the cartoons were reprinted in major European newspapers from the
   Netherlands, Germany, Scandinavia, Belgium and France. Very soon after,
   as protests grew, there were further re-publications around the globe,
   but primarily in continental Europe.

   Notable for a lack of republication of the cartoons were major
   newspapers in the USA and the United Kingdom, where editorials covered
   the story without including them. Several newspapers were closed and
   editors fired or arrested for their decision or intention to re-publish
   the cartoons, including the shutting down of a 60 years old Malaysian
   newspaper permanently.

Economic and human costs

   Map shows a colored matrix of republication (blue) and violence (red)
   Enlarge
   Map shows a colored matrix of republication (blue) and violence (red)

   A consumer boycott was organised in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and other
   Middle East countries. For weeks, numerous notable demonstrations and
   other protests against the cartoons took place worldwide. Rumours
   spread via SMS and word-of-mouth.On February 4, 2006, the Danish and
   Norwegian embassies in Syria were set ablaze, though with no injuries.
   In Beirut, the Danish Embassy was set on fire, leaving one protester
   dead. Altogether, at least 139 people were killed in protests, mainly
   in Nigeria, Libya, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

   Several death threats and reward offers for killing those responsible
   for the cartoons have been made, resulting in the cartoonists going
   into hiding.. Four ministers have resigned amidst the controversy,
   among them Roberto Calderoli and Laila Freivalds. In India, Haji Yaqoob
   Qureishi, a minister in Uttar Pradesh state government announced in
   February 2006 a cash reward of Rs 51 crore (roughly about US$11
   million) for anyone who beheads the Danish cartoonist who caricatured
   Prophet Mohammad.

   On September 9, 2006, it was announced that the Muslim boycott of
   Danish goods had reduced exports to the Muslim world by 15.5%, costing
   about €134 million. However, the Guardian newspaper in the UK also
   reported, "While Danish milk products were dumped in the Middle East,
   fervent rightwing [sic] Americans started buying Bang & Olufsen stereos
   and Lego. In the first quarter of this year Denmark’s exports to the US
   soared 17%."

Further police investigations

     * The French/Algerian journalist Mohammed Sifaoui secretly filmed
       Ahmed Akkari, spokesman for the group of Danish Imams that toured
       the Middle East, in conversation with Sheikh Raed Hlayhel (head of
       the 2nd delegation), threatening to have MP Naser Khader bombed.
       Ahmad Abu Laban was also filmed, talking about a man who wants "to
       wreak absolute havoc" and "wants to join the fray and turn it into
       a Martyr operation right now." Akkari initially denied the remarks,
       then explained he was only joking. Both men were investigated, but
       no charges were brought.

     * Police in Berlin overwhelm Amer Cheema, a student from Pakistan, as
       he enters the office building of Die Welt newspaper, armed with a
       large knife. Cheema admitted to trying to kill editor Roger Köppel
       for reprinting the Mohammad cartoons in the newspaper. On May 1,
       2006, Cheema committed suicide in his prison cell. Cheema's family
       and Pakistani media claim he was tortured to death. 50,000 people
       attended Cheema's funeral near Lahore.

     * Two suitcase bombs are discovered in trains near the German towns
       of Dortmund and Koblenz, undetonated due to an assembly error.
       Video footage from Cologne train station, where the bombs were put
       on the trains, led to the arrest of two Lebanese students in
       Germany, Youssef el-Hajdib and Jihad Hamad, and subsequently of
       three suspected co-conspirators in Lebanon. On 1 September 2006,
       Jörg Ziercke, head of the Bundeskriminalamt (Federal Police),
       reports that the suspects saw the Muhammad cartoons as an "assault
       by the West on Islam" and the "initial spark" for the attack,
       originally planned to coincide with the 2006 Football World Cup in
       Germany. One of the suspects, Youssef el-Hajdib, was arrested
       heading to Denmark. Police found the phone number of Abu Bashar,
       the leader of the Danish Imams' first cartoon-related delegation to
       the Middle East, in Hadjib's pockets.. Abu Bashar denies knowing
       al-Hajdib.

Anniversary flare-up

   One year after the publication of the original cartoons, a video
   surfaced showing members of the Danish People's Party's youth wing
   engaged in a contest of drawing pictures that insult Muhammad, leading
   to renewed tension between the Islamic world and Denmark, with the OIC
   and many countries weighing in. The Danish government condemned the
   youths. Youths who were depicted on the video went into hiding after
   receiving death threats.

   Two weeks into this episode, a Danish artists' group, " Defending
   Denmark", claimed responsibility for the video and said it had
   infiltrated the Danish People's Party Youth for 18 months "to document
   (their) extreme right wing associations".

Opinions and issues

Danish journalistic tradition

   Freedom of speech was obtained in a new constitution in 1849, and
   defended vigorously ever since. It was suspended for the duration of
   the German occupation of Denmark in World War II. Freedom of expression
   is also protected by the European Convention on Human Rights and the
   International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

   Newspapers are privately owned and independent from the government.
   Danish freedom of expression is quite far-reaching, even by Western
   standards, drawing official German protests about printing neo-nazi
   propaganda, and from Russia for "solidarity with terrorists." The
   organization Reporters Without Borders ranks Denmark at the top of its
   Worldwide Press Freedom Index for 2005.

   Religion is often portrayed in ways that other societies consider
   illegal blasphemy. While Jyllands-Posten has published satirical
   cartoons depicting Christian figures, it did, in 2003, reject
   unsolicited surreal cartoons depicting Jesus, opening them to
   accusations of a double standard. In February 2006, Jyllands-Posten
   also refused to publish Holocaust denial cartoons offered by an Iranian
   newspaper. Six of the less controversial entries were later published
   by Dagbladet Information, after the editors consulted the main rabbi in
   Copenhagen, and three cartoons were in fact later reprinted in
   Jyllands-Posten. After the competition had finished, Jyllands-Posten
   also reprinted the winning and runner-up cartoons.

Muslim tradition

Aniconism

   "Muhammad" in Arabic calligraphy. Enlarge
   "Muhammad" in Arabic calligraphy.

   Owing to the traditions of aniconism in Islam, the majority of art
   concerning Muhammad is calligraphic in nature. The Qur'an condemns
   idolatry, but has no direct prohibitions of pictorial art as such.
   These are found in hadiths: " Ibn ‘Umar reported Allah’s Messenger (
   pbuh) having said: Those who paint pictures would be punished on the
   Day of Resurrection and it would be said to them: Breathe soul into
   what you have created."
   Muhammad rededicating the Kaaba Black Stone. In Jami Al-Tawarikh "The
   Universal History" by Rashid Al-Din, at the University of Edinburgh
   library; c. 1315.
   Enlarge
   Muhammad rededicating the Kaaba Black Stone. In Jami Al-Tawarikh "The
   Universal History" by Rashid Al-Din, at the University of Edinburgh
   library; c. 1315.

   Views regarding pictorial representations within Muslim communities
   have varied. Shi'a Islam has been generally tolerant of pictorial
   representations of human figures, including Muhammad. Contemporary
   Sunni Islam generally forbids any pictorial representation of Muhammad,
   but has had periods allowing depictions of Muhammad's face covered with
   a veil or as a featureless void emanating light. A few contemporary
   interpretations of Islam, such as some adherents of Wahhabism and
   Salafism, are aniconistic and condemn pictorial representations of any
   kind. The Taliban, while in power in Afghanistan, banned television,
   photographs and images in newspapers and destroyed paintings including
   frescoes in the vicinity of the Buddhas of Bamyan.

Prohibition to insult Muhammad

   In Muslim societies, to insult the Islamic prophet Muhammad is one of
   the most serious crimes anyone could commit. Some interpretations of
   the Shariah, in particular the relatively fringe Salafi group, state
   that any insult to Muhammad warrants death.

   The Organization of the Islamic Conference has on the other hand
   denounced calls for the death of the Danish cartoonist. OIC's
   Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu told journalists in Islamabad:

     This is not a joke to go and say kill this and that. This is a very
     serious matter and nobody has the authority to issue a ruling to
     kill people.

Associating Islam with terrorism

   Many Muslims have explained their anti-cartoon stance as against
   insulting pictures and not so much as against pictures in general.
   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.

     Why is the insult so deeply felt by some Muslims? Of course, there
     is the prohibition on images of Muhammad. But one cartoon, showing
     the Prophet wearing a turban shaped as a bomb with a burning fuse,
     extends the caricature of Muslims as terrorists to Muhammad. In this
     image, Muslims see a depiction of Islam, its prophet and Muslims in
     general as terrorists. This will certainly play into a widespread
     perception among Muslims across the world that many in the West
     harbour a hostility towards – or fear of – Islam and Muslims.

   According to some interpretations, the bomb in turban cartoon is also
   violent - soon the bomb will explode the head of the prophet, and this
   is presented as humorous.

Islamism and xenophobia

   Fundamentalist Islam is now seen to be a problem in Europe recently,
   while disillusionment with multiculturalism is on the rise in Denmark.
   This is further fuelled by Mullah Krekar stating that "the number of
   Muslims is expanding like mosquitoes." The UNCHR Special Rapporteur, on
   the other hand, saw xenophobia and racism in Europe as the root of the
   crisis. Denmark has been singled out in this regard.

Allegations of "agendas"

The West's or Zionist agendas

   Some commentators see the publications of the cartoons and the riots
   that took place in response, as part of a coordinated effort to show
   Muslims and Islam in a bad light, thus influencing public opinion in
   the West to support further military intervention in the Middle East.

   Among others, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei blamed a
   "Zionist conspiracy" for the row over the cartoons. The Palestinian
   envoy to Washington said the Likud party concocted distribution of
   Muhammad caricatures worldwide in a bid to create a clash between the
   West and the Muslim world. The criminalization of denial of the
   Holocaust in parts of Europe received renewed interest, raising
   concerns over freedom of speech being asserted selectively.

Islamist or Mideast regime agendas

   Other commentators see Islamists jockeying for influence both in Europe
   and the Islamic Ummah, who tried (unsuccessfully) to widen the split
   between the USA and Europe, and simultaneously bridge the split between
   the Sunnis and the Shia.

   Regimes in the Middle East have been accused of taking advantage of the
   crisis, and adding to it, in order to demonstrate their Islamic
   credentials, distracting from their failures by setting up an external
   enemy, and "(using) the cartoons [...] as a way of showing that the
   expansion of freedom and democracy in their countries would lead
   inevitably to the denigration of Islam." Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced
   a Holocaust Conference, supported by the OIC, to uncover what he called
   the "myth" used to justify the creation of Israel. Ahmadinejad started
   voicing doubt about the veracity of the holocaust at the same OIC
   conference in Mecca that served to spread the Akkari-Laban dossier to
   leaders of the Muslim world.

Political correctness

   What started with the problem of a Danish author trying to find an
   illustrator for his book, became an international crisis. Many
   governments and international organizations have issued statements.

   Critics of political correctness see the cartoon crisis as a sign that
   attempts at judicial codification of such concepts as respect,
   tolerance and offense have backfired on their advocates, "leaving them
   without a leg to stand on" and in retreat again:

     The issue will almost certainly lead to a revisiting of the
     lamentable laws against "hate speech" in Europe, and with any luck
     to a debate on whether these laws are more likely to destroy public
     harmony than encourage it. Muslim activists are finding out why
     getting into a negative-publicity fight is as inadvisable as
     wrestling with a pig: You get dirty and the pig enjoys it.

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