| In defence of the right of peaceful freedom of expression |
The Cartoonists Rights Network is the world’s only freedom of expression and human rights organization
dedicated exclusively to the support and protection of editorial and social cartoonists around the world.
In September, 2005, the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten printed 12 cartoons depicting the cartoonist’s
ideas on what the Prophet Muhammad might have looked like. Immediately, there was an unprecedented
outcry against the paper and the cartoonists from many in the Muslim world, both in Denmark and in other
Islamic states.
The charges were cultural and religious insensitivity towards the Islamic injunction prohibiting Muslims from
creating images if the Prophet Mohammad, which is intended to discourage idolatry. Some web sites called
for the death of the 12 cartoonists.
Jyllands-Posten Cultural Editor, Mr. Fleming Rose, in an interview with CRN said that he had asked the
cartoonists to draw the cartoons in an effort to make a public commentary on the fear the paper had
encountered on the part of illustrators who had chosen not to draw illustrations for a children’s book on
the Prophet Mohammad.
Cartoonists Rights Network:
1. Strongly supports the Jylands-Posten and the cartoonists who drew these images and defends their right of
peaceful freedom of expression.
2. We find it ironic that the critics are protected by exactly the same freedom of expression rights that the
cartoonists exercised in drawing the cartoons in the first place.
3. The critics seem to prove the paper’s suspicion that cartoonists do in fact have something to fear in
exercising their freedom of expression rights.
Cartoonists Rights Network calls on all parties to step back and use this opportunity to learn about and from
each other rather than using the cartoons as devices that increase cultural and religious misunderstandings.
Robert Russell
Executive Director
dedicated exclusively to the support and protection of editorial and social cartoonists around the world.
In September, 2005, the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten printed 12 cartoons depicting the cartoonist’s
ideas on what the Prophet Muhammad might have looked like. Immediately, there was an unprecedented
outcry against the paper and the cartoonists from many in the Muslim world, both in Denmark and in other
Islamic states.
The charges were cultural and religious insensitivity towards the Islamic injunction prohibiting Muslims from
creating images if the Prophet Mohammad, which is intended to discourage idolatry. Some web sites called
for the death of the 12 cartoonists.
Jyllands-Posten Cultural Editor, Mr. Fleming Rose, in an interview with CRN said that he had asked the
cartoonists to draw the cartoons in an effort to make a public commentary on the fear the paper had
encountered on the part of illustrators who had chosen not to draw illustrations for a children’s book on
the Prophet Mohammad.
Cartoonists Rights Network:
1. Strongly supports the Jylands-Posten and the cartoonists who drew these images and defends their right of
peaceful freedom of expression.
2. We find it ironic that the critics are protected by exactly the same freedom of expression rights that the
cartoonists exercised in drawing the cartoons in the first place.
3. The critics seem to prove the paper’s suspicion that cartoonists do in fact have something to fear in
exercising their freedom of expression rights.
Cartoonists Rights Network calls on all parties to step back and use this opportunity to learn about and from
each other rather than using the cartoons as devices that increase cultural and religious misunderstandings.
Robert Russell
Executive Director
| Cartoonists Rights Network, International January 20, 2006 Burke, VA USA |
TThe Association of American Editorial Cartoonists emphatically and unequivocally supports the right of free
expression by the world's cartoonists.
Freedom of speech is the foundation of a democratic society. Protecting such a vital liberty inevitably leads to
the defense of viewpoints that some may find offensive. The drawings of the prophet Muhammad published
in Jyllands-Posten are a case in point. While the motivation and judgment of the Danish artists and their
publishers may be debatable, their right to free expression without threat or intimidation cannot be
compromised.
The Islamic community's outrage over the drawings is understandable. The violent protests, incited and
exploited by those with more radical agendas, are not. The freedom to protest, like the freedom of speech,
must be exercised responsibly.
Both sides need to raise the level of the debate and not just the level of invective. All would be well-served to
realize that they can stand up for their beliefs without trampling on others to do so.
expression by the world's cartoonists.
Freedom of speech is the foundation of a democratic society. Protecting such a vital liberty inevitably leads to
the defense of viewpoints that some may find offensive. The drawings of the prophet Muhammad published
in Jyllands-Posten are a case in point. While the motivation and judgment of the Danish artists and their
publishers may be debatable, their right to free expression without threat or intimidation cannot be
compromised.
The Islamic community's outrage over the drawings is understandable. The violent protests, incited and
exploited by those with more radical agendas, are not. The freedom to protest, like the freedom of speech,
must be exercised responsibly.
Both sides need to raise the level of the debate and not just the level of invective. All would be well-served to
realize that they can stand up for their beliefs without trampling on others to do so.
| Association of American Editorial Cartoonists Rights and Responsibilities February 6, 2006 |