Saudis recall ambassador over newspaper cartoons

[emad]

Reuters
Friday January 27, 2006
The Guardian


Saudi Arabia said yesterday it had recalled its ambassador to Denmark, saying the government had not taken enough action over newspaper cartoons seen as mocking Islam and the prophet Muhammad.

"The Saudi government recalled its ambassador ... in light of the Danish government's lack of attention to insulting the prophet Muhammad by its newspapers," a Saudi official said.

Denmark's biggest newspaper, Jyllands-Posten, ran 12 cartoons last September including one in which Muhammad seemed to be carrying a bomb in his turban.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/saudi/story/0,,1696035,00.html

[henslee]

1. Saudi gov't is a cartoon. What's the problem?

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

2. Well, I think this is more about prejudice than religion

though I'm sure the Saudis think otherwise. My problem with the cartoons is that it reinforces a stereotype that all Muslims are terrorist bombers. No American Muslim has been charged with taking part in 911 or doing any terrorist acts, but mosques here are burned or bombed by people who think "they're all terrorists so we should have the right to kill them all."

[Monkey see Monkey Do]

3. FWIW, the cartoons:

http://www.newspaperindex.com/blog/2005/12/10/un-to-investigate-jyllands-posten-racism/

[Igel]

5. Rather different from what you get from reading the

English-language Sa'udi press, isn't it?

Blasphemy. Perversion. The prophet was defiled (one wonders exactly how one can defile the body of one long dead ... best not to ask, I guess). Islam was insulted (in which case I'm waiting for Islam to express its views on the matter ... apparently, like Xianity, it's mute).

My favorite: To show tolerance, the Danish government must change its laws and punish the newspaper and the cartoonists.

Or, rather, to show submission. After all, that's the name of the game.

[toopers]

4. I think it would be best if the Saudis cleaned things up . . .

from inside-out!

[krkaufman]

6. Oh, the irony. The Saudis prove the paper's theory.

Thanks to the poster of the link to the toons, also providing this insight to the intent of the publication of the cartoons...

Why did Jyllands-Posten publish the cartoons? The Copenhagen Post explains: “Jyllands-Posten called for and printed the cartoons by various Danish illustrators, after reports that artists were refusing to illustrate works about Islam, out of fear of fundamendalist retribution. The newspaper said it printed the cartoons as a test of whether Muslim fundamentalists had begun affecting the freedom of expression in Denmark.”