Journalists Defend Publication of Controversial 'Muhammad' Cartoons
by Jim Brown and Chad Groening
February 17, 2006
(AgapePress) - - According to the Quran, depicting the prophet Muhammad in any "mortal medium" is forbidden. Tell that to the editors of the Daily Tar Heel and the Western Standard, who are claiming they are fully within their rights as journalists to publish cartoons portraying the founder of Islam -- some of which have sparked a great deal of outrage in the Muslim world. The student newspaper at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill is being accused of intentional bigotry and racism for publishing a cartoon featuring an image of Muhammad, the founder of Islam. The editorial carton published in the Daily Tar Heel was drawn by Philip McFee and seems to show Muhammad denouncing the Muslim violence that has erupted over the Danish cartoon controversy.
But the Muslim Students Association at UNC-Chapel Hill is calling on the newspaper to apologize for publishing the cartoon, saying it is "derogatory" and "incites hate in the current political and social context. In addition, the university's vice chancellor for student affairs says the cartoon is "hurtful and offensive" and never should have been published.
But Daily Tar Heel editor Ryan Tuck says the paper simply wanted to challenge the belief systems of readers. "We don't have a singular kind of bias towards anybody -- Muslims, any ethnicity, race, nobody," he claims. "But most things that we [and most newspapers] do, especially on the editorial page ... are going to offend somebody."
The student newspaper editor claims it is the purpose of newspapers to confront and challenge their readers. "They're not there to say, 'Well, is this going to offend? If so, then let's not publish it' -- because then you're going down into [politically correct] territory and you're not being consistent to the ideals of journalism."
Tuck believes the UNC administrator's comments are inappropriate and reek of censorship. "The administration then is casting a pall over this idea, over the idea of what we, an independent publication do," he says. "As has been pointed out -- and as should be pointed out -- they have no say over anything that we do. But a lot of student publications on campus, they do have a say over."
The student journalist says when administrators chastise the paper over its editorial decisions, they have ventured into political correctness.
'Every Journalist' Should Publish Them
The Western Standard, a conservative political magazine published biweekly in Calgary, Canada, is apparently just as protective of its editorial freedom. The magazine has decided to republish controversial cartoons that depict Muhammad as a terrorist.
Western Standard editor Ezra Levant considers the cartoon controversy the most prominent worldwide news story right now -- and he thinks it is absurd to tell the story without showing his readers the cartoons in question.
"If you're a news magazine and you want to tell your readers about the story, you've got to show the cartoons," Levant says bluntly. "So we did what I think every journalist should do."
But every journalist did not publish the cartoons -- and Levant has a word for them. "I don't think we did anything abnormal. I think the abnormal acts were by other editors, publishers, and producers across North America who decided to self-censor," he offers. "They're the ones with the explaining to do."
Meanwhile, the Canadian journalist says he is not concerned about the threats from an Islamic organization to seek "hate crime" charges against his publication.
"The first instinct of Muslims -- instead of debating or rebutting or writing a letter to the editor ... is to call the cops, to go to the police, to go to the courts as if they're still back in Saudi Arabia where the Quran is the law, where the country is under Sharia law," he says. Levant believes that is the wrong approach in a free society -- and Muslim immigrants, he says, must understand that Canada is not Saudi Arabia.
"That's what's frustrating to me," he says. "[T]hese newcomers to Canada, who happen to be Muslim ... are not adopting our Western traditions of free speech and respect for non-Muslims."
And his stance, he claims, has nothing to do with any ill will toward Muslims in general. "I don't mind if a Muslim practices his own faith," he shares. "But I'm not Muslim, and I don't want to be subordinated to it. So when a Muslim organization demands I not publish these cartoons and goes to the cops to enforce that, that's wrong -- and he's got to understand that."
According to a Canadian Press report, Prime Minister Stephen Harper has expressed his regrets that several media outlets in his country -- the Western Standard among them -- have chosen to republish the cartoons. "Our government wishes that people be respectful of the beliefs of others," Harper stated in a press release, adding that he commends the Canadian Muslim community for voicing its opinion "peacefully, respectfully and democratically."
Jim Brown and Chad Groening, regular contributors to AgapePress, are reporters for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
