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Thursday, February 23, 2006
U.S. Cartoonists Strike Back
A number of editorial cartoons drawn by U.S. cartoonists addressing the cartoon flap.
Posted by EclectEcon on February 23, 2006 in Humour | Permalink
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Some of these are pretty funny, unlike the Danish ones. It seems that the theme is different from the Danish ones as well. These American ones are more about the Muslim uproar, than about the prophet himself.
Posted by: dan | 2006-02-23 6:11:40 PM
The Jihad....... Interesting this appears to sum up what we are faced
>with.
>
>Muslim religion in the fastest growing religion per capita in //Canada//
>and the //United States// especially in the minority races.
>
>Allah or Jesus? by:Rick Mathes (Prison pastor)
>
>Last month I attended my annual training session that's required for
>maintaining my state prison security clearance. During the training session
>there was a presentation by three speakers representing the Roman Catholic,
>Protestant and Muslim faiths, who explained each of their belief systems.
>
>I was particularly interested in what the Islamic Imam had to say. The Imam
>gave a great presentation of the basics of Islam, complete with a video.
>
>After the presentations, time was provided for questions and answers.
>
>When it was my turn, I directed my question to the Imam and asked:
>
>"Please, correct me if I'm wrong, but I understand that most Imams and
>clerics of Islam have declared a holy jihad [Holy war] against the infidels
>of the world. And, that by killing an infidel, which is a command to all
>Muslims, they are assured of a place in heaven. If that's the case, can you
>give me the definition of an infidel?"
>
>There was no disagreement with my statements and, without hesitation, he
>replied, "Non-believers!"
>
>I responded, "So, let me make sure I have this straight. All followers of
>Allah have been commanded to kill everyone who is not of your faith so they
>can go to Heaven. Is that correct?"
>
>The expression on his face changed from one of authority and command to
>that of a little boy who had just gotten caught with his hand in the cookie
>jar. He sheepishly replied, "Yes."
>
>I then stated, "Well, sir, I have a real problem trying to imagine Pope
>John Paul commanding all Catholics to kill those of your faith or Dr.
>Stanley ordering Protestants to do the same in order to go to Heaven.
>
>The Imam was speechless.
>
>I continued, "I also have problem with being your friend when you and your
>brother clerics are telling your followers to kill me. Let me ask you a
>question. Would you rather have your Allah who tells you to kill me in
>order to go to Heaven or my Jesus who tells me to love you because I am
>going to Heaven and He wants you to be with me?"
>
>You could have heard a pin drop as the Imam hung his head in shame.
>Needless to say, the organizers and/or promoters of the
>'Diversification' training seminar were not happy with Rick's way of
>dealing with the Islamic Imam and exposing the truth about the Muslim's
>beliefs.
>
>I think everyone in the US and Canada should be required to read this, but
>with the liberal justice system, liberal media, and the ACLU, there is no
>way this will be widely publicized. Please pass this on to all your e-mail
>contacts.
>
>This is a true story and the author, Rick Mathes, is a well known leader in
>prison ministry.
>
>*Think about this, with all the Islamic people now in the //Canada// and
>the //USA//, building their //Temples//............./
>
>/Do we really feel safe here in our own country?....../
>
>/Can we reclaim our world? Or is it already too late?/
>
>
>
Posted by: ArbutusTree | 2006-02-23 6:55:44 PM
Great cartoons.
dan, these cartoons, satirize (accurately) Islam and its leaders and followers as intolerant, murderous, hypocritical, blood-thirsty lunatics. Help me out. What, exactly, do you think makes them ‘funnier’ than the Danish cartoons? That none of the cartoon Muslim crazies was actually labeled “Mohammed”?
Posted by: JR | 2006-02-23 8:14:35 PM
What makes them funny is that they were meant to be funny. The Danish ones were meant to be insulting. In my mind there is a big difference.
Posted by: dan | 2006-02-23 8:18:14 PM
http://www.edmontonsun.com/Comment/Curatolo/2006/02/08/curatolo.jpg
Posted by: Mike Jenkinson | 2006-02-23 8:21:43 PM
Oh, and Mr. Tree might want to see this:
http://snopes.com/politics/religion/allah.asp
Posted by: Mike Jenkinson | 2006-02-23 8:27:29 PM
dan,
Oh, I see, you don't think your favourite people will be insulted by these ones. Yes, I'm sure they'll be flattered and humoured.
Posted by: JR | 2006-02-23 9:10:35 PM
Mike Jenkinson,
Isn't it uncanny how much fascinating information finds its way, albeit in different form, onto both the Shotgun and Snopes.com? Waddya figure? Coincidence or conspiracy?
Posted by: truewest | 2006-02-23 9:15:25 PM
Sums up the savages pretty accurately.
Posted by: simpleton | 2006-02-23 9:56:26 PM
A Letter to Mankind
Dear fellow human,
Today humanity is being challenged. Unthinkable atrocities take place on daily basis. There is an evil force at work that aims to destroy us. The agents of this evil respect nothing; not even the lives of children. Every day there are bombings, every day innocent people are targeted and murdered. It seems as if we are helpless. But we are not!
The ancient Chinese sage Sun Zi said, "Know your enemy and you won't be defeated". Do we know our enemy? If we don't, then we are doomed.
Terrorism is not an ideology, it is a tool; but the terrorists kill for an ideology. They call that ideology Islam.
The entire world, both Muslims and non-Muslims claim that the terrorists have hijacked "the religion of peace" and Islam does not condone violence.
Who is right? Do the terrorists understand Islam better, or do those who decry them? The answer to this question is the key to our victory, and failure to find that key will result in our loss and death will be upon us. The key is in the Quran and the history of Islam.
Those of us, who know Islam, know that the understanding of the terrorists of Islam is correct. They are doing nothing that their prophet did not do and did not encourage his followers to do. Murder, rape, assassination, beheading, massacre and sacrilege of the dead "to delight the hearts of the believers" were all practiced by Muhammad, were taught by him and were observed by Muslims throughout their history.
If truth has ever mattered, it matters most now! This is the time that we have to call a spade a spade. This is the time that we have to find the root of the problem and eradicate it. The root of Islamic terrorism is Islam. The proof of that is the Quran.
We are a group of ex-Muslims who have seen the face of the evil and have risen to warn the world. No matter how painful the truth may be, only truth can set us free. Why this much denial? Why so much obstinacy? How many more innocent lives should be lost before YOU open your eyes? A nuclear disaster is upon us. This will happen. It is not a question of "if" but "when". Oblivious of that, the world is digging its head deeper in the sand.
We urge the Muslims to leave Islam. Stop with excuses, justifications and rationalizations. Stop dividing mankind into "us" vs. "them" and Muslims vs. Kafirs. We are One people, One mankind! Muhammad was not a messenger of God. It is time that we end this insanity and face the truth. The terrorists take their moral support and the validation for their actions from you. Your very adherence to their cult of death is a nod of approval for their crimes against humanity.
We also urge the non-Muslims to stop being politically correct lest they hurt the sensitivities of the Muslims. To Hell with their sensitivities! Let us save their lives, and the lives of millions of innocent people.
Millions, if not billions of lives will be lost if we do nothing. Time is running out! "All it takes for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing." Do something! Send this message to everyone in your address book and ask them to do the same. Defeat Islam and stop terrorism. This is your world, save it.
The ex-Muslim Movement
http://www.faithfreedom.org
Posted by: Humanity | 2006-02-23 10:01:12 PM
JR
I don't care who's insulted. I'm just voicing my opinion. The Danish cartoons were designed to insult Muslims. They weren't all that funny. The American cartoons were designed to make fun of Muslims. They were sort of funny.
Posted by: dan | 2006-02-23 10:07:06 PM
Dan,
If the Danish cartoon images of Muhammad are insulting to Muslims, whose claim is they are blasphemous; Then how do you explain that those very same cartoons caused no ourage when the were printed in Al Fadr, a popular Egyptian newspaper. They were printed in that paper in October of 2005, during Ramadan of all things. The silence was deafening.
Posted by: Doug | 2006-02-23 10:44:32 PM
Excuse me, the correct newspaper name is Al Fagr
Posted by: Doug | 2006-02-23 10:48:01 PM
Doug,
That ground has been gone over time and time again. Those who believe that the cartoons were drawn in a deliberate attempt to offend will not pay attention to facts and they will not change their views.
I do, however, salute your determination in trying to set the record straight. Speaking of which, the Egyptian newspaper is Al Faqr.
Posted by: Kathryn | 2006-02-23 10:57:18 PM
Kathryn,
Thank you.
Perhaps I could be more persuasive with the facts if a drew them a cartoon!
Posted by: Doug | 2006-02-23 11:11:45 PM
Doug,
As anybody who has every read a newspaper knows, context is everything. Here is some context
From a Reuters story dated Feb. 10, 2006:
CAIRO - An Egyptian newspaper editor said on Friday his weekly had published some of the cartoons of Prophet Mohammad last year in an article condemning the caricatures which have sparked a furore in the Muslim world.
Adel Hammouda told Reuters he had published the cartoons in el-Fagr in October after he said he had seen them on an Islamist Web site. He said he had not taken them from the Danish newspaper where they first appeared in September.
"We published them (the cartoons) firstly from a Saudi Web site ... and only some of them, not all of them, in order to condemn this issue. We considered that (the cartoons) would increase the strife between the West and Islam," he said.
"What reassured us further (to publish them) was that they were present on a Saudi Web site," Hammouda, a liberal journalist, said by telephone.
El-Fagr, an independent weekly which journalists say does not have a wide readership, carried the cartoons on Oct. 17 in an article that was critical of the images. It did not create a stir at the time.
Posted by: truewest | 2006-02-23 11:17:17 PM
The Danish cartoons were not intended to offend Muslims, they were intended to make a statement about the more absurd behaviour of certain sects/groups of Muslims.
Posted by: Howard Roark | 2006-02-23 11:19:04 PM
Truewest,
Thank you, I guess the perspective is that freedom of the press is okay in Islamic states but not the west. But further raises the question of why such a "blasphemous image" can somehow be viewed by Muslim eyes at all, regardless of the perspective.
Posted by: Doug | 2006-02-23 11:47:41 PM
Nearly two decades ago, Evangelical Christians were angered and outraged by Martin Scorsese’s The Last Temptation of Christ. This anger reached into Israel where part of the movie was filmed. For all their anger and outrage, Evangelical Christians never destroyed property or took any human life.
the idea that a media outlet should not run a story because it is “available across the Web” should be an anathema to any journalist or commentator. It would be like the Fox News Channel declining to run a story on the Dick Cheney hunting accident because it had already been broadcast by CNN and MSNBC. It would be like CTV not covering the Canadian election because the CBC and Global got to it first. One should see such an argument for what it is. A copout.
who exactly has been causing all the turmoil? The Danish cartoonists didn’t commit arson or murder. The Danish cartoonists did not falsify several of the cartoons in question. The Danish cartoonists didn’t offer a $1 million bounty on anyone’s head. Muslims are well within their right to object to the cartoons. There is no obligation for them to buy the Western Standard or any other publication that chooses to carry those images. But many Muslims have chosen to take the path of violence and intimidation. If that is the path Muslims choose to take they must come to understand that those of us who believe in freedom of the press are not about to be coerced by a bunch of hooligans.
Canada needs more Ezra Levants.
http://americandaily.com/article/11951
but even the Albertans should first stop hating the people who tell them the negative truths.
Posted by: Canada | 2006-02-24 12:00:25 AM
Doug,
Apparently you miss my point about context. I think its clear by now that the Danish editors didn't intend to offend. In a piece in the NP today, the paper's culture editor characterized this as a rough welcome; since the Danes abuse every from the royal family on down, it was, he said, their way of welcoming muslims to the family. Apparently, not everyone got the joke. (In fairness to all involved, this would not be the first time humour didn't translate between cultures.)
The Egyptian paper didn't run the cartoons because they thought they were pithy critiques of Muslim shortcomings; they ran them because they thought they poisoned the relationship between Islam and the West. If there was no reaction at the time, it wasn't because the paper's readers didn't find them offensive but because the paper articulated their feelings for them.
If the Danes offended innocently and the Egyptians exposed an irritant, the papers that have run the cartoons more recently have their own reasons for running the cartoons. But none could say they were unaware that the cartoons hit a hot button with Muslims both within their circulation area and beyond. And like any other paper, their wisdom and motives are open to question on the basis of what they choose to run and how.
Does that mean they had no right to run them? No, of course not, it's a free country. I do, however, think it's telling that those who praise the WS for running the cartoons the loudest are also those who think that Islam is at best a false faith and at worst a threat to humanity. The overwhelming impression was that these cartoons were employed as a stick with which to beat Muslims. Seen in that context, this is hardly freedom of the presses finest moment.
Posted by: truewest | 2006-02-24 12:03:29 AM
...the overwhelming impression was that these cartoons were employed as a stick with which to beat Muslims. This is true, these Danish cartons were made to beaten with a cup of good strong coffee, a danish and to express many people's disgust with the overly religious fanatical Muslims in Denmark on social aid, and also causing problems, unrest in Denmark. France Got sick of these Muslims. Germany next as well and great Britain as well. Worldwide Muslims are still being kicked out not cause cartoons were punished against them, but because of the selfish, inconsiderate professing Islamic persons. People forget that Muslims only believe in a a religious theocracy, a Muslim dictatorial state for all persons of the world. So much about their bull of believing in freedom of religion or freedom of speech too of others. Many Muslims they solely do endorse death for the infidels
Posted by: to the | 2006-02-24 12:16:34 AM
Did you notice how many really psychic posters we do have now here, the same people who can understand what is in the minds of other people,
and so they can judge them and next are justified supposedly to condemn them, to personaly critize them to bash them, to get personal with them all based now on their acute psychic ability to judge all of the other people motives, motives now of even like the wWstern Standard now as well as to why they do support supposedly wrongfully the cartoons.
These very same psychic writers, whether they work for the Calgary sun, or elsewhere, these persons even here can't even firstly see that they personally firstly are full of real crap, for they have no such abilities, powers at all, and they never did and never will,
for they are merely more ignorant lying pretenders, mere fools and idiots rather still who here write this way too.
Judge not that ye be not judged applies to them now and to all of the others.
Posted by: The basics | 2006-02-24 12:30:03 AM
Truewest,
"The Egyptian paper didn't run the cartoons because they thought they were pithy critiques of Muslim shortcomings; they ran them because they thought they poisoned the relationship between Islam and the West."
Really? Wow! I wasn't aware that Islam and the West were in such kindred spirits with each other. Silly me, I must have taken all those Quran verses out of "context".
I guess I have been under the false impression that Muslims insult all other religions, and that the Quran is an insult to the Jews, the Christians and everyone else, and that it calls the Jews apes, pigs and rats. That all the non-Muslims are "najis" (filthy, impure) and hell bound, and that Quran instructs the Muslims to "fight the unbelievers", "chop off their fingertips" "behead them", crucify them" and "deal with them harshly" (5:33, 9:14, 9:73). How did I get this wrong? I'm bad!
And now the bad West is the blame for Muslims going berserk with a Danish newspaper publishing a few cartoons of Muhammad. That's it! I think the West should be more considerate in the future. How dare they insult Islam! How aweful that the Muslims feelings were hurt by these cartoons. The West simply must bow before all Muslims and beg for forgivness. The West must restore its friendship with Islam immediately. We certainly wouldn't want to see it poisoned.
Sorry Muslims. Please don't kill me.
Posted by: Doug | 2006-02-24 1:06:32 AM
"Why I published the cartoons" by Flemming Rose. This was published in yesterday's National Post (sorry don't have the link). It explains why the Jyllands-Posten published: ". . .I commissioned the cartoons in response to several incidents of self-censorship in Europe casued by widening fears of intimidation in dealing with issues related to Islam."
He explains some of the cartoons which frankly did not make much sense to me. ". . .they (the cartoons) differ from one another both in the way they depict the prophet and in whom they target. One caroon makes fun of Jyllands-Posten, portraying its cultural editors as a bunch of reactionary provocatueurs. Another suggests that the children's writer who could not find an illustrator for his book went public just to get cheap publicity. A third puts the head of the anti-immigartion Danish People's Party in a lineup, as if she is a suspected criminal."
also of note: " . . . the same cartoonist who drew the image of Muhammad with a bomb in his turban drew a cartoon with Jesus on the cross having dollar notes in his eyes and another with the star of David attached to a bomb fuse. There were however no embasy burnings when we published those."
Posted by: ex-liberal | 2006-02-24 7:36:46 AM
I guess I have been under the false impression that Muslims insult all other religions, and that the Quran is an insult to the Jews, the Christians and everyone else, and that it calls the Jews apes, pigs and rats. That all the non-Muslims are "najis" (filthy, impure) and hell bound, and that Quran instructs the Muslims to "fight the unbelievers", "chop off their fingertips" "behead them", crucify them" and "deal with them harshly" (5:33, 9:14, 9:73).
Most people in the West still do have this bad idea that Muslims are bad, and that is really why the Canadian Imams, Islamic spin doctors now in Canada, are trying this new PR apporach, campaign, they give out free Islamic Cd's, to try to put more bull over the truth that the infidel others can still see. The next only viable wrong solution of many Muslims is to cut off all of the infidel heads still?
In one city of Calgary they gave out 12 CDs. Not much but what can you expect from these infidels?
Posted by: Honesrt | 2006-02-24 7:38:35 AM
Strangely the fanatic Isalmists realize the power of these illustrations...I note the one cartoon from the Scranton paper sums up in crystal clarity the duplicitous Muslim ideas of intolerance.
Posted by: WLMackenzie redux | 2006-02-24 7:57:53 AM
Arbutustree and everyone else the Old Testament of the Bible is the Jewish Torah so they WERE NOT Christians.
Posted by: s | 2006-02-24 8:23:52 AM
Looks like Canadian cartoonists are striking back too (U of Toronto students newspaper has published a cartoon of Jesus and Mo. kissing, which of course has created more uproars and intolerance on the part of people who don't understand what Canada stands for).
http://www.thestrand.ca/
Posted by: Smitty | 2006-02-24 9:42:07 AM
To Mr Tree,
muslims make up about 1.8 % of the population of Canada, of course it would appear to be the fasterst growing as the rest are established.
The fastest growing denominations are evangelical Christian.
get your facts straight first
Posted by: Mike | 2006-02-24 10:45:38 AM
Mike, your 1.8% number is old. The 2001 census, http://tinyurl.com/yqz29 , has the fastest growing religions as Pagan (281.2%), Aboriginal spirituality (175.1%), Muslim (128.9%), Christian not included elsewhere (121.1%), and Serbian Orthodox (109.5%). Sure the numbers of people claiming Serbian Orthodox, Pagan, and Aboriginal spirituality are quite small as compared to the other two. That is important to someone I am sure.
The Muslim population was 1.96% and because it more than doubled in 10 years, the percentage distribution should be even higher today. I wonder how long after the submission deadline it will take us to get the new 2006 census numbers. I wonder if we will be able to figure out how many converted vs how the numbers changed from births/deaths and immigration/emmigration.
John M Reynolds
Posted by: jmrSudbury | 2006-02-24 11:07:15 AM
Isn't it weird how Iran's response to the dreaded cartoons was to call for cartoons that deny/mock the Holocaust. Why is their counter- attack to deny the incineration of Jews? Why don't they ridicule Danish society or Christianity? The Danes draw/"ridicule" Mohammad, and the Muslims respond with a call for Holocaust denial. The only way this makes sense to me is psychological. The Muslims trace themselves back to Ishmael. In the Torah, Ishmael was thrown out of Abraham and Sarah's house for mocking. Ishmael's own mother Hagar abandoned him to die under a bush. Ishmael has been jealous of his half-brother Isaac (and his descendants) ever since. Ishmael is even jealous of the pity that others feel toward the children of Isaac. weird.
Posted by: ex-liberal | 2006-02-24 11:15:19 AM
A religion which tells you to painfully kill an adulteress with stones of a certain size meant to inflict the most pain possible before killing her is not a religion, it is a barbarian and inhumane CULT. And CULTS have never and will never qualify for protection under freedom of religion.
The rest of the world cannot accept that!
see www.faithfreedom.org. Disgusting!
Posted by: Rollie Pollie | 2006-02-24 12:13:00 PM
ex-liberal - No, the only way the Iranian action makes sense, is if one takes the view that the Muslim action to the cartoons had nothing to do with the cartoons themselves. Most of the rent-a-mob rioters had never seen the cartoons and in all those ME countries, no protest, no public gathering, is ever, ever, carried out unless organized by and permitted by - the gov't.
So- the protests were a political strategy, made to divert the population from focusing on internal issues (no jobs, no education, no power of a middle class) to the Evil Other. By setting up the issue as 'The West is Attacking Us', and making this a religious (irrational) issue, the people are kept from thinking and being aware of their internal problems. The use of the Holocaust was just a tactic of 'The Evil West' - in this case, Israel.
Posted by: ET | 2006-02-24 12:42:53 PM
After reading the Quran and the authors discription of Hell and Doom with no hope, or the underground garden and comparing that with the author of the Bible of a Love that cercumvents all that you can immagine or think. Of a Glorious
New heavens and new Earth of a lake of fire. The only obligation is to those of their own freewill who do accept the Son as Saviour can have eternal life, without any threat of losing your head hand or fingers. I read the Quran and it gave me a new appreciation of the Bible and God's Love.
Bless them
Sold on Christ
Posted by: Heavensmyhome | 2006-02-24 6:26:13 PM
Wow, I'm back in grade school. Way to go Colin, how old are you anyway? 13?
Posted by: Howard Roark | 2006-02-24 11:27:57 PM
Howard Roark
Does thou protest those cartoons, and does thou subsequently insult their artist? Hmmmm.
Posted by: Doug | 2006-02-25 8:48:25 PM
Congratulations ET, it is not even March yet and look at all the awards you have won for 2006.
Posted by: Lemmytowner | 2006-02-26 8:56:31 AM
Re: "Allah or Jesus by Rick Mathes"
Hmmm... It's easy for wolves to craft fake interviews or at least put serious spin on events as a way to get points across that are otherwise unsubstantiated. But it doesn't make them true.
I could easily make similar unsubstantiated claims about all Christians in general, and there will be a grain of truth in them (since they do apply to a fringe of Christians):
1) Christians believe in killing anyone at a family planning clinic
2) Christians believe in supporting the interests of the rich and powerful, and looking the other way as those in power ignore the poor and powerless, because Christians believe that being rich and powerful is a sign of God's favor, and being poor and powerless is a sign of sin
3) Christians believe in aggressively taking power from any regimes that do not share Christian values, world view, or preferred political system (something they share with certain Muslims!)
See http://www.snopes.com/politics/religion/allah.asp for the results of an investigation into the claims of Rick Mathes.
Peace and understanding is the path to truth, not aggression and falsehood. That is the truth that too many conservative Christians and other (fake Christian) neo-conservatives don't understand, or ignore (since the end justifies the means?).
People, raise your kids to be open to dialog, question prejudice, and keep an eye out for the "wolves in sheep's clothing".
Posted by: Sinner | 2006-03-11 8:25:13 AM
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