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Iranian Daily Says Cartoon Part of West's "Hostile Posture Against Islam"

Posted on: Monday, 13 February 2006, 15:00 CST

Text of report in English by Iranian newspaper Iran Daily website on 13 February

"Orgy of Islamophobia"

By Nawab Khan, Brussels

The malicious cartoon provocation by the western media has been aptly described by London Mayor Ken Livingstone as an "an orgy of Islamophobia." Much has been stated in the West about the right to express without limitations. This has never been the case in European history. The argument that publication within the law is always right goes against the fact that judgment calls are made on a daily basis by European editors who decide not to publish legally permitted materials. Moreover, the western world's claims of freedom of expression have been proved to be a colossal hoax by developments on the ground.

The Danish editor, Flemming Rose, who commissioned the cheap cartoons, has been sent on vacation after he said he wants to publish Iranian cartoons of the holocaust. Hamshahri, one of the important newspapers printed in Tehran, said it was holding a contest inviting cartoonists to depict the holocaust to test the boundaries of free speech in the West. Jyllands-Posten editor-in- chief Carsten Juste said the paper would not print the Iranian cartoons. Earlier this week, the editor of the paper's Sunday edition defended a decision three years ago not to publish five cartoons of Jesus Christ. "I turned them down because they were not good - their quality was not good," Jens Kaiser said. Last year two Muslim satellite channels (al-Minar and Sahar) were banned from broadcasting in Europe on accusations of spreading hatred against Jews. Police in European countries regularly raid Islamic organizations suspected of spreading hate literature. So why does the rule of "freedom of speech and expression" not apply to Muslims? The state-run Egyptian daily Al-Ahram commented "Those who lecture us about free speech know full well that they cannot say anything that may involve a slur against Jews. And anything other than the mainstream account of the holocaust is a taboo, in both America and Europe."

"Read the articles of the law passed by the US congress in 2004 concerning the fight against anti-Semitism and you'll have a clear picture of how things stand. Anyone who criticizes the Zionist movement, or Israel, or Judaism is liable to prosecution. And yet it is still all right, apparently, to slur Christianity and Islam." The West is now calling for dialogue with the Muslim world to contain the Muslim fury. But what dialogue, and with whom? Thousands of conferences and seminars have been held since the 11/9 attacks on relations between the West and the Islamic world. The result is more insult to Muslims and trampling of their rights in western societies. The publication of the cartoons is a systematic campaign that aims at tarnishing the image of Islam and Muslims. Why for example, the western world glorifies and honors blasphemous writers like Salman Rushide or Taslima Nasreen if not to offend and insult Muslims on purpose? The cartoon campaign cannot be separated from the overall hostile posture of the West against the Muslim world. The occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan, military threats against Iran and Syria, refusal to recognize the democratically elected Hamas in Palestine, depriving Iran of its right to nuclear energy are among the West's conspiracies against the Muslim world. The European Union has reacted angrily to the economic boycott on Danish products - a signal that a boycott can be effective. If Saudi Arabia alone stopped importing, half of Denmark's economy will be gravely harmed, losing billions in revenues. For a change the West should get the dose of its own medicine of sanctions and boycotts that it imposes on Muslim nations.

Source: BBC Monitoring Middle East

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