variety of more and less extreme Muslim organisations are continuing in various countries, in opposition to the publication in a Danish daily paper of cartoons satirising the prophet Mohammed.
The episode highlights the vexed issue of freedom of speech, and the extent to which the freedom to give offence must be defended.
We defend the right to publish the cartoons, although Socialist Resistance would not opt to do so, since they would gratuitously give offence, and hand a weapon to extremist and reactionary elements within the complained that nobody dared illustrate his book about Mohammed, for fear of death threats similar to that endured by Salman Rushdie.
Islamic tradition bars pictorial depictions of the Prophet, although this oft-repeated injunction has on several occasions been breached before without causing controversy.
Images circulating on the Internet now show bombs exploding over pictures of the newspaper, and blood flowing over the national flag and map of Denmark. What started out as a Danish journalistic project has now expanded into a global controversy.
The paper's Editor-in-Chief, Carsten Juste, said, "We live in a democracy. That's why we can use all the journalistic methods we want to. Satire is accepted in this country, and you can make Caribalures
"Religion shouldn't set any barriers on that sort of expression. This doesn't mean that we wish to insult any Muslims."
He also said, "We must quiThere are important principles which need to be defended.
One of these is that the right to freedom of opinion and expression is a fundamental right that safeguards the exercise of all other rights.
It is a critical underpinning of democracy and applicable not only to "information' or 'ideas' that are favourably received, but also to those that offend, shock
Some of the cartoons published in the Danish paper may well be offensive to many Muslims (and may well be offensive to others, including cartoonists - some of the published cartoons are of poor quality), but charges of offence and blasphemy should not be deployed to curtail freedom of expression.
The Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom's position is that restrictions on freedom of expression which privilege certain ideas or beliefs cannot be justified. European newspapers are also being put under unacceptable pressures, which can compromise the freedom of the the door in 2004" but was cleared of four counts for derogatory statements against asylum seekers. Anti-fascist campaigners will be watching the retrial closely. New York City Members of the Transport Workers Union (TWU) Local 100 in New York City have rejected the contract put to them by their leadership and the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) by a mere seven votes.
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