Publishing cartoons irresponsible of media

February 6, 2006 —

The concept of a free press and, along with it, free speech is one that any newspaper will always fight for. The right to print any factual piece of information is easily one of the most important things this country and many others around the world provide. Does this right broil over to other sections of the media, such as political cartoons? Yes. But often, the greatest rights are those that require the most responsibility. The case of several European newspapers printing cartoons featuring the caricatures of the Muslim prophet Muhammad has brought that responsibility to the international community's attention.

In the last week, newspapers across Europe have reprinted cartoons that first appeared in Jyllands-Posten, a Danish newspaper, in September. The publication printed 12 cartoons, ridiculing intolerance among Muslims and links to terrorism; several featured Muhammad, including one that depicted the prophet wearing a turban in the shape of a bomb. Islam strictly forbids any depiction of the prophet, let along a negative one. A small Norwegian evangelical magazine, Magazinet, reprinted the cartoons last month, and Muslim countries began a boycott of Danish goods. In response to the protests, publications in France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Switzerland have all reprinted some, if not all of the cartoons, and the BBC broadcasted them on Thursday. Recent developments have seen several thousand Syrian demonstrators set the Danish and the Norwegian embassies on fire on Saturday

The publications' defense, naturally, is their freedom of press. Jyllands-Posten apologized for offending Muslims but not for publishing the cartoons, and an editorial in the France Soir, the only French daily to reprint the cartoons, defended its decision in an editorial on Thursday. The publication asked what would remain of "the freedom to think, speak, even to come and go," if society conformed to all prohibitions of the world's religions. The result, the newspaper said, would be "the Iran of the mullahs, for example."

This is getting out of hand. We certainly cannot argue these publications' freedom of press. It is a right in those countries just as it is here; even if the government in Denmark wanted to tell Jyllands-Posten not to print the cartoons, it could not have. As Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen said, "I can't call a newspaper and tell them what to put in it. That's not how our society works."

Yet, simply because we have the right to print what we like does not mean that we have to. Denmark, which closely protects freedom of expression, has 200,000 Muslims in its population of 5.4 million. Similarly, Muslims make up around seven to ten percent of France's population (compared to the United States' two to three percent) and from 15 to 20 percent of Europe's population.

Is printing these cartoons and offending such a large percent of your continent's population actually worth it? We cannot imagine a newspaper in the United States printing a cartoon of a slaveowner and several of his slaves in such a negative light. Theoretically, any newspaper could print such a cartoon, but we would like to assume those newspapers would decide against it.

There is another reason behind the printing of these cartoons, one that seems counterproductive for a continent that has such a high percentage of Muslims living in it. In its editorial, the France Soir also declared, "No religious dogma can impose its view on a democratic and secular society." Is that what this is really about? Is it about Europe's growing "Islamaphobia," as Dalil Boubakeur, head of France's Muslim Council, says? Maybe it is. The same can be said for the United States since 9/11, as this country has seen a growing hate and intolerance of Muslims since that unfortunate event. To the Bush administration's credit, it did say of the cartoons, "Anti-Muslim images are as unacceptable as anti-Semitic images," which are often printed in the Arab media, "as anti-Christian images, or any other religious belief."

Are Muslims being slightly hypocritical in their protests? Probably. The burning of the American flag is certainly not a rare occurrence in Muslim countries. That does not mean, however, that the media - American or European - can be just as offensive. These newspapers were within their legal rights to publish these cartoons, but that certainly does not mean it was the right decision. As United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan said, freedom of speech is never absolute. It entails responsibility and judgment. Let's hope that rings true from now on.

Editor's note: This "Vanguard Vision" incorrectly references the Muslim population in Europe. There are 15 to 20 million Muslims in Europe; the editorial states Muslims comprise 15 to 20 percent of Europe’s population.