Posted on 08/30/2007 1:24:54 PM PDT by Stoat
By David Ibison in Stockholm
Published: August 29 2007 23:11 | Last updated: August 29 2007 23:11
The growing dispute in Sweden is linked to rondellhund – roundabout dogs – which are amateur and usually humorous sculptures of dogs placed covertly on roundabouts around the country as a form of counter-cultural expression.
When Lars Wilks, a Swedish artist, decided to draw a shaky picture of a rondellhund in which the dog bore the head of Mohammed, it prompted debate in Sweden’s national newspapers about whether art galleries should carry the picture.
This depiction of the Prophet would be considered particularly insulting as dogs are widely held to be unclean in Islamic culture.
Ulf Johansson, editor-in-chief of Nerikes Allehanda, a regional newspaper in the city of Orebro, west of Stockholm, thought this debate worthy of further analysis and published the picture alongside an article discussing freedom of expression.
In Iran, however, the authorities reacted sharply. On Monday they summoned Sweden’s chargé d’affaires in Tehran to receive an official complaint about the publication of the picture.
On Tuesday, Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad, blamed “Zionists” for being behind the Swedish cartoon because “their survival is in war”. He called on Muslims not to react, as “Zionists will be uprooted if there is peace in world”.
“It is not that important for Islamic governments to become mobilised,” he said. “When a mad person insults a scientist, he proves his own madness.” The cartoon, he added, would not be held against the Swedish people.
Sweden’s foreign ministry confirmed it had received a warning, but said it had not responded in any other way, apart from emphasising that “freedom of speech and the press are vital in Sweden”.
Mr Johansson has received threatening e-mails and has been forced to use a bodyguard. “Some said I would burn in hell,” he said.
Police have stepped up security around the newspaper’s office.
Local Muslims in Orebro staged a small, peaceful demonstration outside the newspaper’s office last Friday, but a much larger protest is planned for Friday, according to the Islamic culture centre in Orebro.
“If you had a picture of the Pope as a dog, people would think the Pope is no good,” he said. “So why is it OK to have a picture of the Prophet like that? It is now up to other Muslims in other towns to take action.”
The Islamic centre said that up to 800 people were expected at Friday’s demonstration, and added that Islamic centres around Sweden were being contacted and asked to join in.
Mr Johansson said he was simply trying to spur debate. “I thought it was a good opportunity to raise the issue of freedom of religion and speech in Sweden – not only for Swedes but for those Muslims living in Sweden,” he told the FT. “They have the right to protest here. That is really the point.”
Public reaction has been mixed. One writer to a newspaper website captured the mood: “I believe that freedom of speech is worth defending, but also think there are boundaries, even in Sweden, for what the media should print in the name of freedom of speech.”
In early 2006, cartoons of the Prophet were published in papers in Denmark, triggering violent protests – in which more than 100 people were killed – by Muslims worldwide and a boycott of Danish products.
Security experts have warned the internet could be used to spread the Swedish protests in coming weeks.
Sweden is one of the world’s most internet-connected countries, and the number of Muslims there has grown rapidly in recent years under a relatively open immigration policy.
Wow, that’s it. Man, you gotta be really debased if that gets you worked up.
Hardly. The artist would be given a sizeable NEA grant and appear on every morning news/talk show in America and be praised on the front pages of our major papers.
And not a single Roman Catholic would strap a bomb to themselves and kill others.
“This depiction of the Prophet would be considered particularly insulting as dogs are widely held to be unclean in Islamic culture.”
A peculiar viewpoint indeed. My initial reaction is that it’s an insult to dogs.
I drew a cartoon the other day that went like this: In the first panel, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (or however you spell his name) is standing under the subtitle “Swedish cartoon depicting Mohammed as a dog”. Ahmanutjob says “Insulting! A Zionist plot!” In the second panel the subtitle reads “Nuking Israel off the map”, and Ahmanutjob says “Okay!”
I demand reciprocity. For every mosque that goes up in this country, a church goes up in the ME.
There, fixed it.
Imagine the dilemna for muslim cab drivers.
Thankfully, Free Republic is here to help :-)
And people say that Americans are ignorant of other cultures. Sweden is a country that is 99% nominally Lutheran (probably more likely 100% atheist). I'm sure the Swedes don't give two dimes and a dingo for the pope anywise.
So that they can overthrow and dominate the West from within.
ROFL! You beat me to a similar comment. Fairly obvious, isn’t it?
GMTA :-)
Wonder why the MSM can’t understand that.
Because without the occasional bit of hysterical rioting over nothing, TV 'news' would be almost completely out of business. They scratch each other's back for mutual benefit.
Given that Muhammed's image is easily confused with that of a dog's hind parts under normal circumstances, I understand that this was a point of debate when designing the cartoon. It was ultimately decided that the head of Muhammed should go on the front part of the dog in order to produce a dual artistic effect, the symbolism of 'coming and going simultaneously'
((((snicker)))))
It truly is the religion of the perpetually offended.
When you have a 'culture' that is at least a thousand years out of date and is unwilling to modernize itself, very few options remain beyond adopting anger and arrogance as the default hallmarks of your 'culture'.
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I would suggest that it's Leftists who say that Americans are ignorant of other cultures. No other nation is as open and welcoming to other cultures as we, even the European socialist nations who wear 'diversity' on their sleeves. It is they who bleat about "ignorant Americans" because their societies have been failing for generations.
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