The Death Cult Of The Insulted
There's one religion out there that can be counted on to murder people who insult them, and it isn't Judaism, Christianity, or Buddhism. Yale University might as well put out a press release saying so -- instead of pussyfooting around it by publishing a book about the Danish cartoons of Mohammed without the actual cartoons. Patricia Cohen writes for The New York Times:
Yale University and Yale University Press consulted two dozen authorities, including diplomats and experts on Islam and counterterrorism, and the recommendation was unanimous: The book, The Cartoons That Shook the World, should not include the 12 Danish drawings that originally appeared in September 2005. What's more, they suggested that the Yale press also refrain from publishing any other illustrations of the prophet that were to be included, specifically, a drawing for a children's book; an Ottoman print; and a sketch by the 19th-century artist Gustave Doré of Muhammad being tormented in Hell, an episode from Dante's "Inferno" that has been depicted by Botticelli, Blake, Rodin and Dalí.
The book's author, Jytte Klausen, a Danish-born professor of politics at Brandeis University, in Waltham, Mass., reluctantly accepted Yale University Press's decision not to publish the cartoons. But she was disturbed by the withdrawal of the other representations of Muhammad. All of those images are widely available, Ms. Klausen said by telephone, adding that "Muslim friends, leaders and activists thought that the incident was misunderstood, so the cartoons needed to be reprinted so we could have a discussion about it." The book is due out in November.
John Donatich, the director of Yale University Press, said by telephone that the decision was difficult, but the recommendation to withdraw the images, including the historical ones of Muhammad, was "overwhelming and unanimous." The cartoons are freely available on the Internet and can be accurately described in words, Mr. Donatich said, so reprinting them could be interpreted easily as gratuitous.
He noted that he had been involved in publishing other controversial books -- like "The King Never Smiles" by Paul M. Handley, a recent unauthorized biography of Thailand's current monarch -- and "I've never blinked." But, he said, "when it came between that and blood on my hands, there was no question."
So, Mr. Donatich, you're saying that Muslims are murderous and it's dangerous to exercise free speech in this country if Muslims are involved? Speak up, man! If you're going to say something, say something.
I insult Christians and Jews all the time with all my remarks about how silly it is to believe without evidence in god. They, too, react -- by telling me I'm "offensive." Ooooh, that smarts!
We're like the U.N.? Stop at once or we'll send an even more strongly worded protest!
Pseudonym at August 13, 2009 6:33 AM
My mom believes in Jesus and that he was the savior, son of god and all that jazz. I tell her I think it's a load of baloney. She tells me I'm, shit what does she say...?
Something like, "you need to open your heart," or "I believe in it so please stop talking like that," when I inevitably rant about how I think the bible is a cute story with useful moral lessons but it's otherwise misogynist and people are brainwashed by it.
But to date my mother hasn't tried strapping a homemade bomb to herself and blowing me up.
I quite appreciate that about my mom.
Gretchen at August 13, 2009 7:03 AM
Give Mr. Donatich a bit of credit. At least he's honest enough to admit that he's a spineless sack of shit. Almost all of the other media outlets & publishers that refused to print those cartoons wrapped their refusal in multi-culti PCspeak about not wanting to offend Muslim sensibilities, instead of being honest & saying that they were afraid of being beheaded by insane imams. The issue of Christian sensibilities never seemed to arise when it was time to decide whether or not to print a photo of the Virgin Mary covered in elephant poop.
Martin at August 13, 2009 8:42 AM
> At least he's honest enough to
> admit that he's a spineless
> sack of shit
I like the way you word that. It would be great to see him introduced at an awards dinner that way.
Crid [CridComment @ gmail] at August 13, 2009 11:27 AM
Isn't a cartoon book *without the freakin' cartoons* be like, say, "Marcel Marceau's Greatest Hits" on CD??
Also, in case you haven't seen this: www.thebluesite.com/images/arabkidsjoke.jpg
Lawaneke at August 13, 2009 2:13 PM
Oops.
I meant, *"Wouldn't* a cartoon ... be like ..."
And I'm a copy editor. Sigh...
Lawaneke at August 13, 2009 2:15 PM
Amy Alkon
https://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2009/08/the-death-cult-2.html#comment-1662728">comment from LawanekeI'm a copy editor.
I love copy editors. I've always had good ones -- lucked out -- for my column and for my book. In fact, about my favorite person in the whole world right now (besides my boyfriend) is Nancy Hall, my copy editor at McGraw-Hill, who also supervised my book layout and design. It looks super, and she saw that only my unintentional errors got corrected. Plus, she's so good at what she does, I can trust her when she tells me not to worry.
Sorry, got carried away -- but this means everything to us ink-stained wretches.
Amy Alkon
at August 13, 2009 3:29 PM
I think it's funny as hell. He gamed them at their own game and, in doing so, made his point about them much more aptly than he could have done publishing the picture.
muggle at August 14, 2009 5:44 AM
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