DANISH PAPER PAPER REJECTED JESUS CARTOONS
http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1703501,00.html "

I guess Jyllands-Posten were using their 'freedom of expression' NOT to publish cartoons that may offend Christians.

Is no one else noticing a certain hypocrisy here?

Its OK to publish cartoons denigrating Muslims but its not OK to publish cartoons denigrating Jesus?

No wonder Muslims are feeling touchy.

Graham could you please provide our bloggers with "a spell check facility",since I find it really annoying.Perhaps I'm old fashioned but I feel that if it's worth saying,it should be well said.

I also don't like this "moblie text speak";to me it is ideas without emotion.The syntax and pauses between the words also have meaning.Perhaps we should all talk to each other more often, rather than using the moblile text jibberish.

Keith asks me "but are arab christians equal with arab muslims etc?"

He has done it again -- saying "equal" when the original quotes and context of his post use the words "not superior".

I thought it was fairly obvious that in my post of 10-Feb-2006, that I was drawing attention to Keith's problem of lumping people. He takes a quote about arabs and non-arabs and starts asking questions about muslims and christians.

For a believer in universal human rights (such as myself), the answer to Keith's question, in terms of their human rights, in obviously yes. This has nothing to do with the quote: "The criteria for acceptance in the sight of God are righteousness and honest living."

Hi David,
In regards to the bombings of the various embassies by the U.S. and NATO forces you mentioned earlier,how many of these were done simply because a couple of cartoons insulted some religious figure?,although I do agree with you that innocent embassy staff should not be attacked either.
I don;t know if you are aware, but recently there was a grossly offensive portrait of Jesus shown at some exhibition hall in North Hobart(it may still be there I don't know),it depicted Jesus surrounded by men indulging in sexual activity with each other.
To this day I haven't heard any reports of wild-eyed,frothing at the mouth Christians rioting and demanding that Hobart be burnt to the ground and destroying buildings anywhere in Tasmania.
I am sorry but I honestly believe that the religion of Islam is just totally intolerant of other beliefs,it demands acceptance but accepts no other and I am yet to be convinced otherwise and I do not believe I ever will be although I hope I can.
Cheers.

Response to Mister H:

There are probably better reasons to not burn Hobart to the ground than in defense of the freedom of artistic expression.

If there were an artist who depicted Jesus in a pornographic context for the purpose of causing offense, I would call this an abuse of the freedom. I would be sympathetic to any person (Christian or Muslim) who protests peacefully.

Consider the case of graffiti artists, who defend vandalism. I have no qualms in removing this so called 'art' from a wall, fence or panel, providing the vandalised property is not destroyed). Let's call this act of removal "artistic originalism".

Furthermore if an artist does the wrong thing, that does not excuse a newspaper from doing the wrong thing or exhibitors from doing the wrong thing or protesters from doing the wrong thing. Here I am talking about the moral sense of wrongdoing.

If you find intolerance unacceptable, give your support to those who work against intolerance, rather than pass uninformed judgement.

Here is an alternative view: One may the right to be an idiot, but don't expect me to support idiocy.

Iran has already indicated that it will be responding with its own set of cartoons. This will no doubt lead to an escalation in humour. Generations from now people will look back on the cartoon wars as a decisive turning point in history. Soon we will suffer all out cartoons from the four corners of the globe. If it gets really serious somebody may even unleash laughing gas on innocent citizens.

It surely beats nukes. I think we should mock eachother with more cartoons. Maybe even full on comic strips. Perhaps it is not so good in the short term but over the long term I think it will help us all enormously to understand the irony of existance, the irony within our multitude of beliefs as well as the irony in the many forms of human arrogance.

P.S. As indicated in the article the cartoons can be viewed at the following link. However if you are a muslim you are not allowed to look, so you won't be offended.

http://timblair.net/ee/index.php/weblog/comments/media_told/