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| Europe |
| Mohammed cartoons 'provoked vital debate' |
| 2007-01-17 |
| ALMOST a year after violent protests against Danish cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed, the editor who commissioned the drawings said they had prompted a vital debate on the integration of Islam in the West. Flemming Rose, culture editor of daily Jyllands-Postenm, said he had published the 12 cartoons depicting Mohammed to defend free expression against what he saw as self-censorship over Islam in Denmark and Europe. The cartoons sparked protests by Muslims around the world in which at least 50 people died. Many Muslims regard any image of the Prophet as blasphemous. “The cartoons didn't create a new reality, they just made an existing reality visible. This reality is about differences in culture that have been taboo to discuss in Europe,” Mr Rose said. Mr Rose declined to say if he would publish the cartoons again but added he did not accept the premise that the protests and deaths were a direct result of the drawings. Jyllands-Posten published the 12 cartoons in September 2005 about Mohammed, including one depicting the founder of Islam with a bomb in his turban. |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #1 |
| Posted by: anymouse 2007-01-17 14:21 |