Posted on 02/02/2006 7:11:45 AM PST by Cornpone
PARIS, Feb 2, 2006 (AFP) - France's respected daily newspaper Le Monde joined a European press campaign for freedom of expression Thursday with a front-page cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed and an editorial defending the right to ridicule religions.
The drawing by the paper's long-time cartoonist Plantu featured a head of the prophet made up of the words "I must not draw Mohammed" written repeatedly in long-hand.
"Religions are systems of thought, constructions of the spirit, beliefs which are to be respected certainly, but also freely analysed, criticised and even turned to ridicule," Le Monde said.
"A Muslim may well be shocked by a picture of Mohammed, especially an ill-intentioned one. But a democracy cannot start policing people's opinions, except by trampling the rights of man underfoot," it said.
Plantu told the newspaper that cartoonists and other humourists find it increasingly hard to touch on religion in their work.
"People do not understand to what point -- outside the Catholic Church which we can attack and which is, one has to say, very lenient -- it has become impossible to criticise religious things," he said.
Now lets spread the word: DO NOT SUBMIT TO SHARIA!
The truth will set them free.
oh what a difference a riot makes.
What iz theese? Some of the Frenchies are waking up? Bout time.
LOL, understood, but one should also consider how the nature of the depictions have exacerbated the whole issue.
Please FReepmail me if you want on or off my ‘miscellaneous’ ping list.
That is great!! Dessin moi un Mohammet!!!
Sigh is right.
The Europeans can deport the Muslims, or debate them politely, or fight a Crusade on them, if they got the cojones. But if the Europeans pretend to be a civilized society, they should protect their citizens from crime, and blasphemy, make no mistake about it, is a crime. Le Monde was actually acting proud over the fact that they also insult Christ. This is barbaric and points to the rapid loss of Europe's Christian character.
Hmmm, Detroit needs to sell more autos, AND the Super Bowl is going to be here this weekend...
I'm not going any further with this. It's too scary.
True, and the attacks from non-Christians are expected. It's a bit disconcerting for Catholics to be attacked by fellow Christians.
The Catholic Church is going to survive the petty criticisms of cartoonists and columnists; even the gates of hell will not prevail against it.
As for blasphemy against Islam, I don't know. Their urge to kill critics seems to betray a weekness in their faith in their god.
Compare and contrast the Catholic reaction to the crucifix in a jar of urine. I condemn it, and pity the artist (so-called), but I have no intention or desire to kill him because of it, nor did John Paul the Great issue any shabby fatwah. I suspect if JPII knew of it, he probably prayed for the artist.
Hope so. Love to see mecca taken out.
The fact that the Church shall survive is no excuse for blasphemy any more than it is an excuse for feeding us to circus animals.
The fact that Islam is a false religion that foments much evil has nothing to do with it either. A mark of a civilization is its ability to protect the minorities against insults and properly regulate public speech.
Freedom of speech is a luxury that a culturally homogenous society can afford, and a fractured society cannot. When the Danes and the French start deporting their Muslims, their newspapers will receive a correspondingly greater latitude in printing pictures of Mohammed with a bomb in his hair. Till such time, their behavior is barbaric, and the Muslims should be congratulated, and emulated, when they peacefully, through protest and boycott, defend their religion.
Right. Neither do I demand sawing Le Monde's collective head off. Did Le Monde condemn the cartoons? No, it printed its own, proving that they are equal-opportunity vandals.
Sacré Bleu!
Islam is not a religion; it is a death cult. These cartoons are the famous charicatures that are causing anti-Western riots in the Arab world, and fueling Arab demands for Western censorship. It is unbelievable that the West is prepared to subordinate its freedom to demands for restrictions that are similar to the ones imposed by Europe's late, unlamented absolute monarchs.
Weakness and appeasement begat terror.
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Read this short essay on why Europe is now Eurabia. It will open your eyes to a lot of what is going on over there.
http://www.islamreview.com/articles/europeanfears.shtml
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