The little cartoons that started a great big war ...

and why they have to be published

From the March 2006 Print Edition

By now, most everyone has heard about the controversy over the set of cartoons published in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten. In case you haven’t, there are only two things you need to know. First, the swarthy fellow with the bomb as his turban is supposed to be the Prophet Muhammad. Second, the ensuing widespread anger across the Muslim world has led to the burning of several embassies, threats against the responsible cartoonists, and the deaths of at least 24 people at the time of this writing.

What gives? It used to be that people weren’t killed over drawings of goofy-looking kids pointing to chalkboards.

In October 2000, the Los Angeles Times posted a cartoon of Jerusalem’s Wailing Wall, with the word “hate” written in stone and a caption that read “Worshiping their God.” What was the reaction of worldwide Jewry to this disrespect of one of their holiest sites?

Letters to the editor, and a few calls for boycotts.

A decade before, in 1989, artist Andres Serrano created a rather unusual piece of art: a photograph of a crucifix fully immersed in human urine. Did Christians worldwide riot at this desecration of the cross upon which their savior was crucified?

No. They shook their heads and moved on with their lives.

No flags were burned. No embassies were torched. No lives were threatened, and no one had to go underground in fear.

Reasonable people can agree or disagree with whether or not it was in poor taste for the cartoons to be published. Certainly we try to respect other peoples’ religious beliefs whenever possible, out of simple neighborly courtesy. But there is absolutely no excuse for the violent response to these cartoons. Being offended occasionally is the price of living in a diverse, tolerant, pluralistic society.

So we republish these drawings to show our solidarity with the Danish people and our support for free speech. We sympathize with any peace-loving Muslims who just wish that we would use our free speech in a different way. We wish we didn’t have to publish these cartoons. But this controversy is fast becoming a conflict between those who believe in the natural rights of mankind and those whole believe in the supremacy of their narrow and hateful ideology. And we’re not afraid to take sides.

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