The Jordanian weekly Sheehan has published three of the controversial caricatures (in Arabic) that depict the Prophet Mohammad. Accompanying the cartoons is an editorial from the paper’s editor-in-chief, Jihad al Moumani. You can read the whole story here (in Arabic) but here are some translated portions:
You Muslims of the world, act rational. Who insults Islam more: a foreigner who draws the prophet or a Muslim with an explosive belt killing himself at a wedding in Amman or a anywhere else? … Which act prompts the world to insult Islam and Muslims: cartoons or a real scene of the butchering of a hostage with a sword in front of a camera while accompanied by the chanting of Allah Akbar.
What’s going to happen now? Will people start boycotting Mansaf? Will Jihad Al-Moumani start receiving death threats? Will the government shut this paper down? This is a very bold move that may have grave consequences.
Meanwhile, intense discussions are currently raging over this issue on Mental Mayhem’s newswire. Frankly, I can’t keep track of all the comments at this point. As the discussion has grown it is becoming more heated between those for and against the cartoons. Some are really getting out of line. I’ll need to hire someone full-time just to monitor the debate and comments from both sides of the conflict! There are links to other related stories within these posts, but these are the hot topics receiving the most discussion right now:
- Row deepens over Danish cartoons of Prophet
- Norwegian magazine prints Prophet caricatures
- Danish goods boycott begins over Prophet caricature
UPDATE: As I’d expected, a few hours after the publication of the cartoons in the Jordanian weekly Sheehan, the owners said they had fired their editor and taken the issue off the stands. And, no surprise either, the government is threatening legal action.
UPDATE 2: The publisher of the newspaper Sheehan has made a statement: "The company was shocked that Sheehan republished the insulting caricatures and it strongly condemns such an irresponsible behavior." It vowed "severe measures against people whose implication is proven." The government also came out strongly against newspaper’s decision. "The government believes that the paper committed a grave mistake and demands an apology, while at the same time is considering legal action," said Government Spokesperson Nasser Judeh according to Jordan’s News Agency, Petra. In the mean time, Jihad Moumani apologized, expressing "deep regret" and saying he meant to show people how the cartoons were insulting. More details are available at The Jordan Times.
Thanks to whomever fixed my post. It was a little hard to read.
Just to show you how the rest of the non-muslim world is reacting, check this link to a Danish online petition.
I think that AJ picked this thread apart about as well as it can be.
When an organized group of ‘religious’ zealots, as part of “righteousness”, beheads those who have been kidnapped, they have ruled by example that words like “normal” and “reasonable” do not apply. “Discussion” is wasted time and “understanding” is unavailable.
What makes me believe those are peacful people when a cartoon made them set fire in embassy’s and get so furious ? When people refused to believe in him 1400 years ago , do u think moslems took it lightly? The sword was the answer.
When is this senseless bickering going to end?Lets have respect for our own ideas and others and instead of retaliating with bitter words and inflamed actions use a more positive means of communication. Let the Muslim world draw their own carictures of Western icons and let us not take ourselves too seriously. We are only here for a short time together, Let’s try to get along!
If everybody in the world smoked weed, there would be no war.
Don’t know what afgani kush is,but if it’s legal I’ll try some.
Good question.
About now, Muslims are showing themselves to be VERY violent, as for occupation, trust me, everyone in the US wants out troops out of the mideast.
Peace religion!? C’mon!, strapping bombs on women and children and walking them into shopping malls is hardly peaceful behavior. Allah is invoked by the perpetrators of these horrors.
Sissy. Learn to take a joke.
Now I get it, only Muslims have the right to hate.
You may be a psuedo intellectual, but I really can’t argue with you here.
Wrong. See, the beauty of free speech is to be able to say whatever you want, even if it is unpopular or offensive to some, or all.
Just about anyone who wears their religion on their sleeve is regarded with suspicion, learn to blend in. I have a Pakistani friend who gets along fine here. He doesn’t wear a turban, his wife wears western clothes, he sells cars for a living and he is well accepted. He is Muslim, in case you were wondering, but he doesn’t stand out like the proverbial “sore thumb”.
Better learn to produce something besides oil and heroin.
Only indoctrinated fanatics would want to resort to violence over something so trifling. Maniac.
Idiot. Ask yourself this question:
Alright, it was getting tedious to pick this thread apart piece by piece.
But from what I see, there are some very wise men out there, and some real religious fanatic maniacs, plenty of idiots, and more than a few shit-stirrers. Can’t we all just play nice? I really think that all who want to resort to violence over this silly crap, just need to sit down with some of that Afgani Kush and relax.
The editor should have just made his point without adding the caricatures. Where was his sense of judgment
I wonder if the beginning of all this is known in the Middle East. A Danish writer of children’s books was writing a book for children on religion. Maybe it was about Islam or about Muhammad. Maybe Islam was just a chapter in a book about religions, I don’t remember.
Anyway, since children’s books rarely come without illustrations he tried to find an illustrator. Turned out they were too afraid to make any drawings of Muhammad. This is what prompted the 12 cartoons. One of those is not even a cartoon: it’s just an illustration for a children’s book depicting a man with a turban leading a donkey in a desert. I fail to see what’s so insulting about that.
If only all this outrage could be directed towards a worthier cause…
Commenting on Shehan editor’s standpoint, I don’t know why he is mixing things or is it just an excuse to publish the pictures again? What does the incident of the publication of cartoons has to do with the butchering of a hostage with a sword in front of a camera? What is your point?
Natasha, I think Muslims will be more rational than your expectations. Boycott is still targeting Danish products only!
I don’t know why you find it hurtful not to see a Christian prime minister in Jordan, and you can’t understand how hurtful was the publication of insulting pictures of the Prophet Mohammad in a country where Muslims constitutes a minority of its nation!
Do you want also for these pictures to be published in an Islamic country like Jordan under the freedom-of-experssion execuse?