Posted on 02/21/2006 9:40:45 AM PST by Thunder90
Eight days ago, this editorial board elected to publish one of the 12 Danish cartoons that have sparked deadly riots around the world. For those who have become interested in the topic but did not see our original publication, we encourage you to read the editorial that accompanied the cartoon in last Monday’s newspaper. It is available online in The Badger Herald’s digital archives. We went to great lengths to explain our rationale in that piece and it is an argument we continue to stand behind.
Much of the claim we have made centers around a notion of free speech and respect for the marketplace of ideas. Those very qualities will hopefully be on display tonight at a 7 p.m. panel discussion entitled “Free Speech, Civility and the Impact in Campus Climate.” The debate will be held at 272 Bascom Hall, and whether you agree with this board’s decision, disagree or remain undecided, we strongly encourage you to attend. This is a topic that has come to shape much of both the international and local discourse and one in which we believe any conscious member of the community to have a vested interest.
Tonight’s panel will be comprised of both student and professional journalists, campus professors and members of the Muslim community. Interim Dean of Students Lori Berquam will be the evening’s moderator, and audience participation will be encouraged. We firmly hope this will prove a healthy, dignified exchange of ideas and the very sort of intellectual contemplation for which college campuses ought to be respected.
In that tradition, it is our firm hope that discourse can and will remain civil. Part of a free society is tolerating ideas with which you do not necessarily agree — the First Amendment is conditioned upon a fundamental premise that in a completely open marketplace of ideas, superior thoughts will always defeat inferior thoughts and, ergo, censorship need not be applied. So please bring an open mind eager to engage in sifting and winnowing.
It is, after all, with the aid of those qualities “by which alone the truth can be found.”
Response by an angry Muslim in the Medical Department:
This is regarding the cartoon of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) that you regrettably chose to publish in “Sacred Images, Sacred Rights” (Feb 13).
The cartoon represents a typical stereotype of an “extremist Muslim.” The only anomaly in the cartoon is that this extremist is supposed to be Muhammad (pbuh), the Prophet of Islam. To a “western” audience, it is perplexing as to how just a cartoon can cause such hurt. It succeeds because 1) it denigrates the Prophet and 2) it reinforces widely held Muslim stereotypes. It tries to paint in a single brush for audiences here at home the reality of Muslims in this world. Muslims are not of one color. They eat different foods and come from very different cultures. They also speak very different languages. But all these varied peoples symbolize a single stereotype: that of a man with brown skin, a beard, a turban, and angry looking facial expressions and features.
However, even this stereotype — abhorrent in itself — was previously limited to depiction of an “extremist Muslim.” By associating the Prophet of Islam with it, the cartoon extends the stereotype to every Muslim in this world. This stereotype is then taken as the “Muslim race” and since it is so violent, and uncivilized, it then deserves to be insulted and ridiculed. This debate is not about free speech, it is about hate speech. It is about racism.
Undoubtedly we have seen this cycle repeat itself in history many times. First, knowingly or unknowingly dehumanize “them.” Then, punish “them” for the perceived wrongs committed. Lastly, repent for the “horrible things” that “some people” committed after the deeds are long done. Ask the Native Americans, the African-Americans, and the Jews. They will agree. I am sad to see The Badger Herald become an outlet for hate speech and racist views. You have just succeeded in setting back the effects of interfaith dialogue that Muslim communities here in Madison have been engaged in since [sic] many years.
As the controversy simmered in Europe, although highly offended, I could only pity at their ignorance. I was and still am proud of the fact for the maturity that has been shown by the U.S. press in general concerning this issue. For me, as a Muslim however, the controversy came home when The Badger Herald decided to publish it. I was reminded of what the editorial board thought about my religion and consequently my ideals. That the man who I consider a moral exemplar of the highest degree, is a terrorist and so must be my most deeply held social bearings and values. I ask how can there be dialogue when one is ridiculed and insulted. How can I “fearlessly sift and winnow” amid an attempt to target a minority group on campus?
Ultimately, you are defined by what you choose. The Herald chose to show the cartoon. I choose to forego reading the Herald.
Thanks,
Faiz I. Syed UW School of Medicine and Public Health
Link to original story here!
http://badgerherald.com/oped/2006/02/13/sacred_images_sacre.php
The MSM had no problem publishing photos of Abu Graib, knowing those photos would enrage Muslims against our soldiers.
But the same media won't publish cartoons because they fear it would enrage the Muslims against them. The media.
Muzzis take on the intelligentsia. (No Christians allowed)
More at noon.
More reaction to the cartoon published in the Badger Herald.
The non-independent newspaper, the (People's) Daily Cardinal flatly refused to run the editorial. The running of the editorial in the Badger Herald split the editorial and newspaper boards.
It must be that papers afraid to publish the cartoons believed the stereotypes about Muslims and feared they would be burned down.
The papers that did print the cartoons felt Muslims wouldn't burn them down. Are the fearful non-publishers cowards and racists?
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