Guardian | Anger as papers reprint cartoons of Muhammad

Anger as papers reprint cartoons of Muhammad
· French and German titles risk Muslim world‘s wrath
· Editors defend right to freedom of expression
Luke Harding in Berlin and Kim Willsher in Paris
Thursday February 2, 2006
Guardian
Newspapers in France, Germany, Spain and Italy yesterday reprinted caricatures of the prophet Muhammad, escalating a row over freedom of expression which has caused protest across the Middle East.
France Soir and Germany‘s Die Welt published cartoons which first appeared in a Danish newspaper, although the French paper later apologised and apparently sacked its managing editor. The cartoons include one showing a bearded Muhammad with a bomb fizzing out of his turban.
The caricatures, printed last September in Denmark‘s Jyllands-Posten newspaper and reprinted by a Norwegian magazine, have provoked uproar across the Middle East. Italy‘s La Stampa printed a smaller version on an inside page yesterday, while two Spanish papers, Barcelona‘s El Periódico and Madrid‘s El Mundo, carried images of the cartoon as it appeared in the Danish press. The pictures also appeared in Dutch and Swiss newspapers.
There have been protests in several countries yesterday, as well as a boycott of Danish goods. Saudi Arabia has withdrawn its ambassador to Copenhagen, Syria recalled its chief diplomat, while Libya has closed its embassy. On Monday, gunmen from al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade briefly occupied the EU‘s office in the Gaza Strip, demanding that Denmark and Norway apologise. There was a bomb hoax at the Danish embassy in the Syrian capital, Damascus, yesterday.
The front page of the daily France Soir carried the defiant headline: "Yes, we have the right to caricature God," and a cartoon of Buddhist, Jewish, Muslim and Christian gods floating on a cloud. Inside, the paper ran the drawings.
But last night it was reported that the paper‘s managing editor had been sacked and an apology issued. According to Agence France Presse, France Soir‘s owner, Raymond Lakah, said that he removed Jacques Lefranc "as a powerful sign of respect for the intimate beliefs and convictions of every individual".
The paper‘s initial decision drew condemnation from the French foreign ministry, which acknowledged the importance of freedom of expression but said France condemned "all that hurts individuals in their beliefs or their religious convictions". The rare governmental rebuke revealed domestic sensitivity; France is home to western Europe‘s largest Muslim community with an estimated 5 million people. Germany has about 3 million.
The centre-right Die Welt also ran the caricature on the front page, reporting that Muslim groups had forced the Danish newspaper to issue an apology. It described the protests as hypocritical, pointing out Syrian TV had depicted Jewish rabbis as cannibals. Yesterday Roger K?ppel, editor-in-chief of Die Welt, said he had no regrets. He told the Guardian: "It‘s at the very core of our culture that the most sacred things can be subjected to criticism, laughter and satire. If we stop using our journalistic right of freedom of expression within legal boundaries then we start to have a kind of appeasement mentality. This is a remarkable issue. It‘s very important we did it. Without this there would be no Life of Brian."
Muslim groups in both countries were furious. "It‘s odious and we totally disapprove of it," said Dalil Boubakeur, president of the French Muslim Council. "It‘s a real provocation towards the millions of Muslims in France." The council planned legal action against France Soir, he said, and he intended to complain to Denmark‘s ambassador.
The "blasphemous" cartoons were reminiscent of the caricatures of Jews published by the Nazi propaganda sheet Der Stürmer, Michael Muhammad Pfaff, of the German Muslim League, told the Guardian."Press freedom shouldn‘t be used to insult people. We Germans need to know our history."
Denmark ‘s prime minister, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, on Monday begged Arab countries not to boycott Danish products. Lego and Bang & Olufsen have been boycotted, and a Danish milk firm in Riyadh has had to close. The Arab League condemned the cartoons, demanding those responsible "be punished".
On the net, Iraqi groups threatened attacks against the 500 Danish soldiers in southern Iraq. Muslim hackers have tried to shut the Danish newspaper‘s website and a hoax bomb threat yesterday forced its building to be evacuated.
Extract from yesterday‘s France Soir
It is necessary to crush once again the infamous thing, as Voltaire liked to say. This religious intolerance that accepts no mockery, no satire, no ridicule. We citizens of secular and democratic societies are summoned to condemn a dozen caricatures judged offensive to Islam. Summoned by who? By the Muslim Brotherhood, by Syria, the Islamic Jihad, the interior ministers of Arab countries, the Islamic Conferences - all paragons of tolerance, humanism and democracy.
So, we must apologise to them because the freedom of expression they refuse, day after day, to each of their citizens, faithful or militant, is exercised in a society that is not subject to their iron rule. It‘s the world upside down. No, we will never apologise for being free to speak, to think and to believe.
Because these self-proclaimed doctors of law have made this a point of principle, we have to be firm. They can claim whatever they like but we have the right to caricature Muhammad, Jesus, Buddha, Yahve and all forms of theism. It‘s called freedom of expression in a secular country ...
For centuries the Catholic church was little better than this fanaticism. But the French Revolution solved that, rendering to God that which came from him and to Caesar what was due to him.
Guardian Unlimited ? Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006