The Mohammed CartoonsBelow are the cartoons of Muhammad first published in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten. Images of Mohammed have been part of Islamic and Western culture since the Middle Ages. Presumably those Muslims who violently object to such images of their Prophet, have not actually seen the offending caricatures which they so vigorously protest about. We are told that Islam prohibits paintings and drawings of Mahomet in order to prevent idolitary; in which case there is no religious justification for Moslems to ban unflattering depictions of Mohamed.Human beings can be divided in countless ways. For example, there are some who believe what they are told by those who wield power over them (parents, teachers, authorities), and there are others who question what they are told. Whilst each tends to blame the other for the problems of the world, it is the former who are frightened to let go of their beliefs, and they are the ones who react most aggressively when confronted by people who do not share their ideas. |
Harold Pinter - 2005 Nobel Lecture