Re: danish cartoonist

I'm not sure if I'm supposed to post here, on this message-board, since I'm not a muslim, but I'm trying anyway.

I'm from Norway, so I've been able to follow this on the Norwegian and Danish online newspapers.

And, as I've understood it, it's not really cartoons at all.

This is how I've understood it:

- A newspaper in Denmark, discovered that it was difficult to get drawers to draw illustration-drawings of Muhammed, when a writer needed illustration-drawings for a book he had written about Muhammed.

The reason that it was difficult to get drawers to draw drawings of Muhammed, was that the drawers feared for what the consequenses would be, if someone would retaliate.

- A newspaper, then wanted to make an article about this problem. That the drawers didn't dear to draw drawings of Muhammed, since they feard for retaliation.

Since the newspaper thought that the drawings were allowed to draw, according to the Danish law, then they thought it was wrong that the drawers should censor themselves, due to fear of facing retaliation due to hurting someones feelings.

So the newspaper, invited a lot of drawers to draw a drawing of Muhammed, to illustrate the article, and to show that the newspaper stood up for western values, freedom of speech and expression.

The newspaper thought that the drawers should be able to express themselves, without having to fear retaliation.

So, I suspect, that the media in the English-speaking countries, may have been a bit un-precise, when they have presented this story.

At least, if I'm not mistaking, then the word cartoon, in English, means cartoons, like in eg. Popeye.

While it was really drawings to illustrate an article that this was about.

An the article was written to show that the newspaper was standing up for western and democratic values.

I think what they meant, was that in a democratic society, noone should need to fear for their health of life, due to something that they write or say.

That what one write, draw or say, is protected by the freedom of speach/expression.

And that, if someone think one have broken the law, that restricts what one can write or saw, then this should be dealt with through the legal system.

And if the people in the country aren't happy with the legal-system, then they work for electing politicians who are going to change the law, according to democratic principles.

And, that one should let the law decide about things like this, and not feelings.

One shouldn't need to worry about hurting peoples feelings.

If people can't control the feelings, and this is caused by something that is within the law, then it's the people who can't control their feelings problem.

And then, if they can't adapt to western values, then maybe they did a mistake, when they moved to the west.

But, as I understand it, then most the problems weren't in Denmark.

But some people living in Denmark, brought the drawings with them, to their homeland etc., and then the problems started.

And they started liting up the Danish Embassy etc, and I think they also burned down a Norwegian one.

And ex-president Clinton said that, 'Then it was the Jews, now it's the Muslims'.

So he compared the paper standing up for western, democratic values with the Holocaust.

So I'm suspecting that the English-speaking world, have got this with the Muhammed drawings/cartoons, a bit wrong.

So I thought I could maybe try to write a post about this.

So, then we'll see how smart this is.

We'll see.

http://www.ukchatterbox.co.uk/msg/1748395