Cartoon Irony

Zion Report--from his new address at zionreport.com--joins the discussion of the Danish cartoons and adds his opinion:

The one bit of irony in this entire episode is the hypocrisy that consistently defines the Arab and Muslim world.

In one such example, Mohamed Mestiri, head of the International Institute of Islamic Thought, warned that Islam would not tolerate criticism. And he had to tell us this? This is no doubt obvious after the hostage taking, riots, and threats of violence that they have responded with. What ever happened to “Islam is the religion of peace”?

I mean, G-d forbid that a sacred Muslim demagogue be insulted, but as for the consecrated items of Judaism and Christianity, the Muslims see this as open game. They find it to be perfectly acceptable to burn our flags, behead our citizens, insult our religious practices, and murder our children. And why? Because according to them, “Allah wills it.”

To fully appreciate the irony you can check out Caricatures politiques at Radio Islam or Tom Gross's Cartoons from the Arab World.
There is also a book: Peace: The Arabian Caricature of Anti-Semitic Imagery, by Arieh Stav.

See also Honest Reporting on Offensive Cartoons

Update: The irony also works in the other direction. There is apparently a long history of depictions of Mohammed.

Andrew Stuttaford writes

The blogosphere is filled with pictures of demonstrations against the cartoons, and the all-too-often repellent slogans that have accompanied them, but Charles Moore (writing in the Daily Telegraph) makes this important (and frequently neglected) point:

"It is assumed that Muslims have a common, almost always bristling, view about their faith, which must be respected. Of course it is right that people's deeply held beliefs should be treated courteously, but it is a great mistake - made out of ignorance - to assume that those who shout the loudest are the most representative. This was the error in the case in Luton, where a schoolgirl's desire to wear the jilbab was upheld in the erroneous belief that this is what Islam demands. In fact, the girl was backed by an extremist group, and most of the other Muslims at the school showed no inclination to dress in full-length gowns like her. It's as if the Muslim world decided that the views of the Rev Ian Paisley represented the whole of authentic Christianity. There is no reason to doubt that Muslims worry very much about depictions of Mohammed. Like many, chiefly Protestant, Christians, they fear idolatry. But, as I write, I have beside me a learned book about Islamic art and architecture which shows numerous Muslim paintings from Turkey, Persia, Arabia and so on. These depict the Prophet preaching, having visions, being fed by his wet nurse, going on his Night-Journey to heaven, etc. The truth is that in Islam, as in Christianity, not everyone agrees about what is permissible. "

The whole piece is well worth reading, his conclusion too:

"There is a great deal of talk about responsible journalism, gratuitous offence, multicultural sensitivities and so on. Jack Straw gibbers about the irresponsibility of the cartoons, but says nothing against the Muslims threatening death in response to them. I wish someone would mention the word that dominates Western culture in the face of militant Islam - fear. And then I wish someone would face it down."

Another source of depictions of Mohammed--some with less taste than others towards the end--can be found here.
Other posts here on the topic of the Danish cartoons:

o The Denmark Cartoons and Moslem Moderation 2/15/06
o The Danish Cartoons and the Hijacking of Islam 2/8/06
o The Timing of the Danish Cartoon Riots 2/8/06
o Comparing the Danish Cartoons to Der Sturmer? 2/7/06
o Translation of the Danish Moslem Delegation Letter 2/6/06
o The Anti-Denmark Riots: Has Pallywood Gone Global? 2/5/06
o Denmark and the Cartoon Defense 2/2/06

Technorati Tags: Mohammed and Muhammad Cartoon and Prophet and Denmark.