Graphic Violence
Casualties from the War on Cartoons.
Written by Filed under Arts & Entertainment
Most American publications, including The Phoenix (Boston), refused to reprint any of the 12 Danish cartoons to accompany their news stories about the riots. The Phoenix editors forthrightly revealed to readers that they feared “retaliation from the international brotherhood of radical and bloodthirsty Islamists.”
By publicly proclaiming its fear, The Phoenix showed a measure of courage. Most other major publications played down any concerns about violent protests or costly boycotts, and denounced the Danish cartoons as anti-Muslim, juvenile or badly drawn.
Some of the Muhammad cartoons certainly could have been stronger; others fulfilled the journalist’s mission: confronting insanity with honesty. One clever cartoon showed Muhammad in heaven, warning a long line of suicide bombers “Stop, stop, we ran out of virgins,” an allusion to the sales pitch given to potential “martyrs.”
Unquestionably, the so-called “intoonfadah” prompted many publications to soften coverage of Islamic extremism. Several cartoons about the controversy—that in no way depicted Muhammad—were nevertheless killed.
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