What would Reagan do?
Posted on 02/03/2006 1:31:35 PM PST by thierrya
US backs Muslims in cartoon dispute Fri Feb 3, 2006 3:28 PM ET
By Saul Hudson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States backed Muslims on Friday against European newspapers that printed caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad in a move that could help America's battered image in the Islamic world.
Inserting itself into a dispute that has become a lightning rod for anti-European sentiment across the Muslim world, the United States sided with Muslims outraged that the publications put press freedom over respect for religion.
"These cartoons are indeed offensive to the belief of Muslims," State Department spokesman Kurtis Cooper said in answer to a question.
"We all fully recognize and respect freedom of the press and expression but it must be coupled with press responsibility. Inciting religious or ethnic hatreds in this manner is not acceptable."
American Muslims welcomed the U.S. position, although it stopped short of urging American media not to republish the cartoons that include depicting Mohammad as a terrorist.
Cooper said he had no comment as to why the United States chose to pass judgment in a dispute that ostensibly does not involve America.
But the United States, which was founded by immigrants fleeing religious persecution, has previously spoken out against publications offensive to believers of other faiths.
"Anti-Muslim images are as unacceptable as anti-Semitic images, as anti-Christian images or any other religious belief," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters.
The United States, which before the September 11 attacks was criticized for insensitivity to the Islamic culture, has become more attuned to Muslim sensibilities.
Accusations last year that U.S. officials desecrated the Koran sparked deadly riots in Asia and heightened that awareness.
DIFFERENT RESPONSE IN U.S. AND EUROPE
Major U.S. publications have not republished the cartoons.
In contrast, some European media responded to the criticism against the Danish newspaper that originally printed the caricatures by reproducing the images and fueled anger that has led to boycotts of Danish products and widespread protests.
The U.S. response contrasted with European governments, which have tended to acknowledge the tension between free speech and respect for religion but have generally accepted the newspapers' rights to print the cartoons.
Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Council on American Islamic Relations, told Reuters he welcomed the U.S. position.
The State Department reaction "was a strong statement in support of Muslims around the world. It's a reflection of the concern felt by millions of Muslims and I think it will be appreciated," he said.
"It is support for an understanding that with freedom comes responsibility."
But Stephen Zunes, a professor of politics at the University of San Francisco and a Bush administration critic, said the United States was responsible for creating far more anger in the Muslim world because of its invasion of Iraq.
"The United States is the last nation that should caution against unnecessarily inflaming sentiments in the Muslim world," he said.
The U.S. criticism of the newspapers also comes after the Pentagon complained over a Washington Post cartoon.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff sent an unusual letter to the editor published on Thursday, denouncing as "reprehensible" and "beyond tasteless" a cartoon earlier in the week portraying Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld as insensitive to U.S. troop casualties.
The cartoon portrayed a soldier who had lost his arms and legs with Rumsfeld at his hospital bedside saying, "I'm listing your condition as 'battle hardened.'"
(Additional reporting by Caroline Drees)
I agree with much you said, However the State Dept has no buisness making comments on a Dutch Newspaper. When is the last time they commented on an American Editorial. We have to give the Saudis some leeway but as I posted earlier this was a made up issue by the Saudi Govt to get their mismanagement of the lastest pilgrimage where hundeds died off the front page. Again once they let the Jeannie out of the bottle there was no way to contain it. State should have defused it then.
Amazing! The EUroweenies are showing more backbone than we are. Well, maybe the silver lining is that the EUropeons are finally waking up to the Muslim menace.
The Lord has led me to step out in fatih and start up a new Southern Baptist Church congregation in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Being that you are negotiating hard with the King to allow for more religious freedom in the Kingdom, I figure our new congregation could be a test run.
Could you please talk to the King and see if his people could find us a suitable piece of property to build a sanctuary.
Please advise the King that we will be preachin' about repenting, baptizing, being born again, praying, peace, forgiveness, grace, mercy and love. All of his subjects are welcome to visit the church on Sunday mornings for Sunday School and Worship.
Being that we will be a Christian congregation the King can be assured that we won't have any sermons that incite rebellion, anarchy, carbombing, kidnapping or suicide attacks.
Of course, please advise the King that he would always have a standing invitation to any of our worhsip services.
We look forward to your help in this matter and look forward to hearing from you and the good folks at the US State Department.
Your brother in Christ,
Deacon NoGood
"How about telling Muslims that they need to understand that our laws and cultural values allow the publication of such images without the creator or publisher being subject to prosecution or a fatwah?"
By the way this site is hilarious. This blog is from an moslem from Saudi Arabi. Keep it on your fav of blogs. He is pretty honest on Saudi Arabi and the posting his has done on these cartoons and the pics are hilarious http://muttawa.blogspot.com/
Oh, yeah?
Tell that to the Muslims...
Who cares about goat-loving garbage and their stupid delusion of a death-cult. I've got some pictures from about 5 years ago in Manhattan that are pretty offensive to non-muslims. What about my sensitivities?
"Why aren't your so called decent muslims against terrorism? They don't fight terrorism in their own backyards and they are okay with you, huh? When did you start beating your wife?"
Oh, please. Many Muslims are opposed to terrorism. If you choose not to find their statements with a simple Google search, that's up to you.
There are a whole bunch of Afghanis and Iraqis fighting terrorism right now in their own countries, and we're helping them to do a better job of it. What is it that you suppose were doing in Afghanistan and Iraq right now? Go read something about our training and equipping their security forces. Lots of Iraqi security people are dying trying to end terrorism and establish a democratic Iraqi state.
If that is not our goal there, as it has been so clearly stated by our government, then what the heck are we doing there?
As for my wife, ask her if I beat her. She will certainly let you know if I ever have.
It was delivered in typical State Department mush:
"We all fully recognize and respect freedom of the press and expression but it must be coupled with press responsibility. Inciting religious or ethnic hatreds in this manner is not acceptable."
No mention of the fact that freedom of the press is enshrined in our Constitution, which does not mention blasphemy. No criticism of those who wish violence upon those who published the cartoon.
Nah, bash those engaging in Western values of free speech while kowtowing to the fatwah types.
I'm glad we didn't have these guys around during WWII. They would have apologized for how we represented Germans and Japanese in popular culture:
"While freedom of speech allows someone to sing You're a sap, Mr. Jap, we also should not condone such ethnic characatures."
I think State is trying to distance itself from these press depictions. They're making it clear that they in no way support such images, while making it clear that freedom of the press is still the law of the land.
The only outrage is what Kurtis Cooper said. We should demand that he be fired for misrepresenting what most Americans think about the cartoon nonsense.
Again not all Moslems feel this way. I dont think we are seeing massive protest in Iraq, Iran( they think its fine to have pictures of the Prophet unlike the Sunnis in Saudi Arabi), Turkey, Jordon, etc etc.
I don't like to pick on the President. Lord knows there are enough people who hate his guts and are trying to bring down his Presidency. I'm not among them. I like the President, support the War, want him to succeed.
But sometimes, he and his Administration do things that are just bone stupid.
And this is about the most egregious example.
From the article. I think it's clear that freedom of press is supported, but this particular use of it is not supported by our government:
""These cartoons are indeed offensive to the belief of Muslims," State Department spokesman Kurtis Cooper said in answer to a question.
"We all fully recognize and respect freedom of the press and expression but it must be coupled with press responsibility. Inciting religious or ethnic hatreds in this manner is not acceptable."
TO be fair perhaps we should read the whole transcript of what he said. Prob what was said before and after that quote from the State Dept might just clarify it better. Of course I might be just hoping Foggy Botton didnt screw up again
Islam SUCKS! Now riot on that MUSLIM QUEERS!
Raaaack!
You miss the point sir...This is about how we are allowed to exercise our right of free speech here in a western democracy.
We are being asked to curb our freedom due to the religious sensitivities of others. Since when has that been a standard of free speech discourse in the Western world ??!!
There is a creeping incremental nature to the manner in which Islamic beliefs and laws are attempting to insinuate themselves into the Western way of life.
This is very disturbing. Again I ask what is wrong with our political leaders that they cannot identify a clear and present danger to our political, social and economic way of life??
This is not about insulting a religion within the boundaries of the country of that religion's origin or base. I would agree that our representatives, troops and citizens should exercise care and discretion about religious sensitivities when in a predominantly Islamic culture, but not in our own countries if it means abridging the freedom of speech that we so often point out is lacking in these Islamic societies. We may as well convert now if that's the case.
What ticks me off about the US Gov't reaction is that we appear to be willing to give Islam more protection here in the US than Christianity, the latter religion being responsible for the overwhelming portion of the genesis of our cultural heritage.
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