The Muslim world today (30/9) marks the fifth anniversary of the appearance of caricatures that insulted the Prophet Muhammad. Today five years ago, 30 September 2005, Danish newspaper, Western-Posten, contains 12 caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad SAW. The act of the largest newspaper in Denmark has drawn massive protests from all over the Muslim world.
Management Western-Posten said the publication of the Prophet's cartoon was intended to show freedom of speech, even though the cartoon was considered an insult to Islam and at the same time showing symptoms of Islamophobia in Denmark.
Western-Posten themselves have apologized for offending Muslims, but they insist they have the right to publish the caricature on the grounds that Islamic fundamentalism cannot control what the Danish media can publish.
In a note Indonesian media, The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) and the Arab League requested that the United Nations (UN) impose international sanctions on Denmark. Danish products are boycotted in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and other Arab countries. In addition, massive Muslim protests also took place in Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan and other countries.
The cartoonist, Kurt Westergaar, received multiple death threats which resulted in him now living in hiding and under police escort.
The Journalists Association in Potsdam gave Kurt Westergaard an award for asserting press freedom prevailing in Europe. The award was given by the Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel.
In his speech, as reported by the site dw-world.de, Merkel stated, the job of a caricaturist is to make pictures. Whether people agree with the pictures, whether the caricatures are good or not, they still have the right to be published.
As if celebrating the caricature's fifth anniversary, Western-Posten intends to reprint the cartoon book. "This book will come out soon as planned," Karsten Blauert of Jyllands-Posten told AFP. Titled book The tyranny of silence was issued this Thursday, five years from the day the Prophet Muhammad's cartoon appeared in the newspapers Western-Posten.
Blauert said the contents of the book's pages would display cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad that had been published in the newspaper. This book was written by Flemming Rose, editor of culture Western-Posten who edited 12 cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad on the front page of the newspaper on September 30, 2005. (Mel / ddhongkong.org). *
