Though freedom of expression and press freedom are vital for a progressive society it nevertheless has limitations. The despicable cartoons is indeed a satire to the activities of the Muslim extrimist. However, the way it was featured shows that the whole Muslims are of the same category and their holy God was deliberately dragged into this issue. The cartoonist should not have generalized the extremist activities as that involving the whole Muslim community and dragged the Muslim God into this context.

Wee there aren't rules against depecting God/Jesus/Prophets in the christan faith in Islam there is and we should honor that rule

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The reason that it's offensive is they are disrespecting an entire faith and if look at from my perspective three very large faiths (Judeism, Christianity and Islam) the attacks and the like weren't good but you have to admit they were asking for it.

People do drawings of the christian god all the time mocking the christian faith. People shouldn't take it personally as I am allowed to think and say whatever I want about any religion.

I am a non-releigious australian and i think that everyone totally overreacted to this cartoon. sure, it was insulting, but what newspaper/magazine cartoons depicting a releigious scene isn't? this whole thing is way out of proportion. riots over a picture? please! stand back and look at what you're fighting over before anyone else gets hurt.

It is offensive I'm not muslim but I am christian and Mohmammed's followers are still my brothers and sister's in the one book we all work out of. and I'm pretty sure he was a prophet the part about being the "seal of the prophets" I'm not as sure about though he's the only one I've seen claim the title and back it up unless you count the nutcases leading the mormons.

The reason that it's offensive is they are disrespecting an entire faith and if look at from my perspective three very large faiths (Judeism, Christianity and Islam) the attacks and the like weren't good but you have to admit they were asking for it.

First of all , I’m a Muslim ,and I live in Lebanon too , and I was really upset when I saw the disturbing news and the insulting pictures of the prophet Mohammad , but I disagree with the way that some Lebanese reacted , I mean it was suppose to be a peaceful manifestation , to show how we feel , but things got out of hand , and some destructive persons turned it to be the perfect way to make the Christians mad of the Muslims, I mean come on !! they shouldn’t have burned that building nor attack the churche(That was really inappropriate) nor destroy the cars
I just wanted to say, that not all of the Muslims are happy with what happened, not at all.
So I guess I agree with you “ ecs..”

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Originally posted by bluedemocrat:
Hmm. Don't you think that about 20% of the world supports Sharon? It's an insult to Israel. It doesn't matter how many the cartoon insults as far as I'm concerned.

I don't care who supports Sharon. Making fun of someone's political stances is not the same thing as making fun of their religious figures. People make out Sharon to be a killer, well he has a track record to support their views and he's done little to change that. No one would make fun of Sharon's prophet or God or holy book or whatever because of it though. Political cartoons aren't the same as religious ones and there is no friggin comparison.

This wasn't just one artist's interpetation of Mohammad. This was a CONTEST that the Danish magazine held to see who could come up with the most provacative pictures of Mohammad. They were belittling the prophet and belittling this entire religion. And that offends me. It offends me because there is enough anti-Islam shit in the media without some idiotic magazine deciding to hold a contest.

And yes, I think we can all agree that Iran is ran by a bunch of morons.

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Insulting Sharon insults him and people who agree with his political agenda, insulting Mohammad insults a prophet, the muslim (about 20% of the world's) population

Hmm. Don't you think that about 20% of the world supports Sharon? It's an insult to Israel. It doesn't matter how many the cartoon insults as far as I'm concerned.

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I can't assume what anyone else's religious beliefs are but I think everyone should be at least a little bit bothered that we live in a world where prophets and entire religions can be ridiculed and people don't understand why that makes us mad.

Religions are ridiculed all the time. Christianity is ridiculed in the US cartoons. And Iran is ridiculing Judiasm as we speak. It happens.

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And Iran just loves to make things worse don't they?

Umm, yes they do. Everytime that idiot leader of their's opens his mouth he says something insulting about Israel. I'm offended.

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Originally posted by bluedemocrat:

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And then I was watching CNN tonight and they're comparing these drawings with satirical drawings of Ariel Sharon. WTF??

Both drawings are highly insulting.

Highly insulting to who? Insulting Sharon insults him and people who agree with his political agenda, insulting Mohammad insults a prophet, the muslim (about 20% of the world's) population and, to me at least, the sacredness and inviolability of religion as a concept. I can't assume what anyone else's religious beliefs are but I think everyone should be at least a little bit bothered that we live in a world where prophets and entire religions can be ridiculed and people don't understand why that makes us mad.

And Iran just loves to make things worse don't they? Lets respond to disrespect by disrespecting a completelty different group of people. This whole situation is just pissing me off.

The author has the right to free speech. However, he should have shown some prudence and realized whom he would offend.

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And then I was watching CNN tonight and they're comparing these drawings with satirical drawings of Ariel Sharon. WTF??

Both drawings are highly insulting.

I find it interesting that the Iran gov. is now having a contest to see who can draw offensive Holocaust cartoons. Jewish people have nothing to do with this cartoon. The Iranians are so anti-semitic.

In Islam you're not allowed to protray any of the prophets by drawing them. You're not supposed to make cartoons of them, make movies about them (unless you never actually show the prophet in question); basically no physical representation of them. I believe it's to keep you from associating something or someone else with the prophet in your mind.

So these pictures went against Islam; I know, no one should have to comply with Islamic rules but Muslims. But the fact that they were offensive drawings that violated our religion sort of lit a spark there. I'm all for freedom of speech but there is no such thing as unrestricted freedom. I'm all for political charicatures making fun of whoever, but these are religious figures. And come on, this is our prophet and they draw him as a joke? I would never make fun of Jesus no matter what Christians in this day and age were doing. Same thing for Buddha, same thing for Moses... There's freedom and there's provacation and this was provacation.

So now in Jordan I know most people are boycotting products from Denmark and I really support that. Good; that's a great way to respond. I was FURIOUS when I heard about the violence and fires in embassies in the Arab world - I know in Lebanon's case, most of their protests have always been kept in line by someone who just got assasinated but what's with the other countries? This is NOT the right way to respond. People make out Muslims to be terrorists so they decide the propper way to respond is to go burn down a building? Can't they get a BIT more organized? We had a protest here last week - of course no one heard about it because no one died. But it happened. And that reminds me, I hate the media. Sudha, you wonder why Muslims resort to violence to get heard, this is why. No one reports it if there wasn't any carnage. What's up with that?

And then I was watching CNN tonight and they're comparing these drawings with satirical drawings of Ariel Sharon. WTF?? Ariel Sharon is a PM, he's not a prophet. It's not the same fucking thing and the fact that they think it is... That's insulting. People have been making fun of political figures as long as there have been political figures. Sharon's just some guy. Mohammed was a prophet. Not the same.

they just need a reason to fight and kill..
besides i seriously wonder why more often than not muslims resort to violence as the only way of making themselves heard ...

I'm assuming that the artist is not Muslim.

Either way, the magazine has every right to print that picture. The caricature expresses narrow-minded beliefs, but when have political caricatures been flattering and appropriate, anyway?

Just because it deprecates a religion does not mean its publishing should stop. That's the first amendment in action, and I do not want it to end.

The whole point is to be able to express ideas not everyone will agree with, and to have the freedom to freely voice those opinions in society and the media.

Just because it is "STUPID and PURELY STUPID" doesn't give someone the right to be able to shut him up, as much as we may be tempted to.