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Denmark Looks Back at Cartoon Controversy
- Many Danes believe a newspaper was right to publish a series of controversial drawings of Muslim prophet Mohammed, according to a poll by Ramboell Management published in Jyllands-Posten. 59 per cent of respondents support the decision.
On Sept. 30, 2005, Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten accompanied an article on censorship and freedom of the press with 12 cartoons depicting Muslim prophet Mohammed. The two most contentious drawings show Mohammed with a bomb for a turban, and greeting suicide bombers in heaven.
The article noted that Danish writer Kare Bluitgen had faced many difficulties in finding an illustrator for a children's book that featured Mohammed. Islam usually forbids depictions of Mohammed, as a measure to curb idolatry.
In early 2006, several European newspapers and media outlets decided to re-print the cartoons. Public protests occurred in more than a dozen countries, and the embassies of Denmark and Norway in Syria—as well as the Danish consulate in Lebanon and an Italian consulate in Libya—were torched by mobs.
The Jyllands-Posten has issued an apology, saying it did not intend to offend Muslims. Culture editor Flemming Rose explained that the public outcry over the drawings happened after "radical imams from Denmark traveled to the Middle East, deliberately lying about these cartoons."
Earlier this month, Rose discussed the controversy, saying, "The cartoons were a catalyst that shed light on a hidden reality: that some Muslims want everyone in the world to respect their dogmas in public. (.) There are so many religions that have taboos. If we had to respect them all, Denmark would be a dictatorship."
Polling Data
What is your view on the decision to publish the cartoons of Muslim prophet Mohammed?
It was correct to publish the drawings | 59% |
The drawings should have never been published | 38% |
Not sure | 9% |
Source: Ramboell Management / Jyllands-Posten
Methodology: Interviews with 1,041 Dane adults, conducted from Sept. 4 to Sept. 7, 2006. No margin of error was provided.