Ctrl.Alt.Shift Unmasks Corruption, the comics anthology he co-edited with John Dunning and Emma Pettit, which is being released at Comica ‘09. Personally, I think comics are usually much better when not about the caped or mutated. This looks like good stuff.
Via Comica | News.
The opinions expressed in this statement are the signatories` personal views and do not necessarily reflect those of the institutions to which they may be affiliated.
The publication of a series of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad in a number of European newspapers has led to official protests by Islamic governments, boycotts of European products, demonstrations, and attacks on several western embassies in the Middle East. Appearing when memories are still fresh about reports, later denied, of the desecration of the Qor`an by American troops at the Guantanamo prison, the drawings have strengthened the perception among many Muslims that not only are they being exploited economically and manipulated politically by the Western powers, but they are also insulted by the West culturally.
At the same time, troops from several Western countries are deployed in Afghanistan and Iraq; Israel continues its occupation of Palestinian Territories; the West has threatened to stop its financial support for the Palestinian Authority now that parliamentary elections have been won by the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas; and tension is rising over Iran`s nuclear program. In the West itself, many Muslims, and other minority communities, have for a long time been facing what they see as the erosion of cultural diversity and increasing prejudice. In such a highly polarized world, the continuation and escalation of this new conflict can have disastrous consequences.
The publication of the cartoons has been defended by some in the West on the grounds of freedom of expression. However, freedom of expression can only increase understanding if it is exercised with intellectual rigor and social responsibility. To present the Prophet Mohammad as a symbol of terrorism, as is done in one of the cartoons, is no different from presenting Moses as the symbol of right wing Israelis` actions against Palestinians, an association that would be rightly condemned as anti-Semitic and is prohibited by the laws of many European countries.
We call for a serious treatment of Islamic values by the West in line with the tradition of commitment to facts and rational analysis that have distinguished the best in Western thought since the Enlightenment. Writings on Islam by secular authors such as the late Maxime Rodinson, and the late Montgomery Watt – French and British biographers of the Prophet Mohammad, respectively – are regarded by many Muslims and non-Muslims as models of scholarship.
At a time when humanity is in dire need of understanding to ensure peaceful coexistence, the propagation of a set of ill-conceived drawings in several European countries has reinforced ignorance and hatred towards Muslims, and incited, albeit inadvertently, violence against European citizens and interests in Arab and Islamic countries. In defense of all those who have been aggrieved, we call on the authorities in all the countries concerned to prosecute those who have inflicted harm, either by abusing freedom of expression, or by seeking redress through violence, rather than through the rule of law.
Initiators:
First Signatures:
From Patrick…
For those of us finding it hard to figure out where we stand on the Danish cartoon conflict, one difficulty in the US is a lack of information on how anyone other than US media pundits is thinking about this issue.
To help, below are links to five articles posted on ZNet on Tuesday by Maher Ali, Omar Barghouti, Harsha Walia, Tarek Fatah and Ramzy Baroud, and the first paragraph of each to give a sense of the author’s perspective.
Maher Ali, Nothing to Kill or Die For
http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=30&ItemID=9681
AT the start of this week, the death toll stood at three and the situation seemed likely to deteriorate, even as commentators throughout Europe tried to hose down suggestions that what we have been witnessing is a clash of civilizations. It is harder to allay the impression that it is a clash of cultures, exacerbated by inordinate degrees of obduracy on both sides.
Secular Arabs Detest Hypocrisy Too
By Omar Barhgouti
As a rule, I hate to generalize, but I’ll make an exception this time. It seems westerners simply do not get it. Editorials all over Europe have bellowed in unison to defend the right of publishing anti-Islamic cartoons as an embodiment of the untouchable status of freedom of speech, one of the foundations of the democratic, secular ideal that has informed the west since the enlightenment. Even some non-conformant writers, who chose not to join the no-obligations-free-speech chorus, merely highlighted the need for “responsibility,” “wisdom,” and other pragmatic considerations that ought to take into consideration, besides the revered freedom of expression, the just as sacred beliefs of European as well as non-European Muslims, particularly to avoid the current backlash. What both groups do not understand is that what most Muslims and Arabs are accusing the west of is hypocrisy, not indulgence in their cherished freedoms per se.
The Row Over the Danish Cartoon
By Harsha Walia
From the burning of its flag to a boycott of its brands of butter and cookies, Denmark is feeling global outrage over newspaper cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.
The Danish paper Jyllands-Posten first published the cartoons on Sept. 30, 2005. The drawings included one showing Prophet Muhammad wearing a turban shaped as a bomb with a lit fuse. Another portrayed him with a bushy gray beard and holding a sword, his eyes covered by a black rectangle. A third pictured a middle-aged prophet standing in the desert with a walking stick, in front of a donkey and a sunset. The purpose of the cartoons, the chief editor said, was “to examine whether people would succumb to self-censorship, as we have seen in other cases when it comes to Muslim issues.” The paper insisted that it meant no offence.
What Would the Profit Have Done
By Tarek Fatah
Keep to forgiveness (O Mohammed), and enjoin kindness, and turn away from the ignorant. /- The Koran, Chapter 7, Verse 199
During his lifetime, Prophet Mohammed endured insults and ridicule on a daily basis. His opponents mocked his message and used physical violence to stop him from challenging the status quo. At no stage during this ordeal did the Prophet lose his temper or react to these provocations. Tradition has it that he would, instead, offer a prayer of forgiveness to those who showed contempt for him. Today, however, many followers of Prophet Mohammed are acting the exact opposite. Reacting to the provocative Danish cartoons about the Prophet, they are burning newspapers, threatening journalists, issuing bomb threats, yet claiming they are standing up for the Prophet himself.
Taking on the Wrong Enemy
By Ramzy Baroud
Only an irresponsible and intellectually inept individual would sketch such insulting images as those depicting Prophet Mohamed by a cartoonist in the Danish Jyllands-Posten newspaper. And no self-respecting newspaper would allow itself to run such filth. However, the backlash in the Muslim world highlights a much more serious issue.
On Friday (the Muslim Sabbath) Israeli police refused to allow Palestinians under the age of about 45 into the Old City. Hisham Jamjoum, owner of the Faisal Hostel next to the Old City said “that there were 300-400 Muslims peacefully praying outside the Old City, because they couldn’t get in.” There were police everywhere allegedly because of fears that there might be a demonstration against the slander in a Danish publication towards the prophet Mohammed.
Whilst police expected demonstrations on Friday what they didn’t expect was a quickly organised demonstration of 300 High School students the following day that took up the issue of slander. Jamjoum commented that the police built up there presence gradually.
Without provocation the police threw sound bombs as the demonstration and fired rubber bullets into the crowed. Increasingly more students joined those at Damascus gate. The rally ended after an hour and a half. Seven people were injured, including one person who was hit with a rubber bullet in the leg. About 20 people who were arrested.
“They attacked everyone,” a witness said of the Israeli police. “I saw a 60 year old man who was just trying to pass being struck by police. Not even street vendors were safe.”
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Interview with Gaza Flotilla participants
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