Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Death to the Cartoonist! Death to Swedish Dog!

First, and very importantly: I'm not suggesting that Lars Vilks be killed. I'm not suggesting that any cartoonist be killed.

But others have a different point of view.

"Video: Al Qaeda Offers Bounty for Swedish Cartoonist" The guest author in this video clip has some very interesting point. WARNING: This video clip is from Fox News. It has not been passed by the editorial board of "The New York Times," and has not been approved by the ACLU. Viewer discretion is advised.

Al Qaeda, Iraq, has raised the price on Lars Vilks' head to $150,000 USD, provided certain conditions are met. Al Qaeda, Iraq, also offers additional $50,000 USD for the life of an editor involved in publishing the cartoon.

I agree that drawing a picture of a dog with Mohammed's face is in very poor taste. In fact, I'd call it tacky.

I can sympathize with the distaste Muslims feel at seeing such a cartoon. It must be like the revulsion I feel, as a devout Catholic, each time an "irreverent" anti-Catholic cartoon shows up. Particularly since "irreverent" is praise in this culture, when discussing 'critically acclaimed' work.

However, I'd never suggest that anti-Catholic cartoonists and editors be killed. In fact, I'm forbidden from that sort of action.

Al Qaeda, Iraq, and and other jihadist organizations, do not seem to have such inhibitions.

What's happening to Lars Vilks shows what we'll enjoy, if these religious fanatics have their way. It's obvious that cartoonists, and anyone else with opinions which deviate from what Islamic fundamentalists believe, will lose their rights to free speech: and, most likely, their heads.

Related posts, on censorship, propaganda, and freedom of speech.

2 comments:

Brian H. Gill said...

I greatly appreciate your comment, and took the liberty of quoting it on a recent post, Swedish Dog Displays Blasphemous Images.

It looks like this is a lively, and distressing, time in the history of Islam.

Anonymous said...

First, kudo's to Lars Vilks and any cartoonist, journalist or editor with courage to stand up for freedom of speech. Second, it's amusing to see Islamic radicals condemn someone for a cartoon of Mohammed and not say a word about the websites that show the Quran in a toilet and cursing Islam in everyway.

The pen is mightier than the Islamic sword will ever be. The day may come when free writers everywhere will call for the real world to wage a "Jihad" against Islam. Given Islam's present situation, killing a cartoonist will be the least of their worries. May Allah help them grow up!

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Blogroll

Note! Although I believe that these websites and blogs are useful resources for understanding the War on Terror, I do not necessarily agree with their opinions. 1 1 Given a recent misunderstanding of the phrase "useful resources," a clarification: I do not limit my reading to resources which support my views, or even to those which appear to be accurate. Reading opinions contrary to what I believed has been very useful at times: sometimes verifying my previous assumptions, sometimes encouraging me to change them.

Even resources which, in my opinion, are simply inaccurate are sometimes useful: these can give valuable insights into why some people or groups believe what they do.

In short, It is my opinion that some of the resources in this blogroll are neither accurate, nor unbiased. I do, however, believe that they are useful in understanding the War on Terror, the many versions of Islam, terrorism, and related topics.