I wish I could say this comes as a surprise:
A CHARISMATIC terror leader linked to the botched Times Square car bomb has placed the Seattle cartoonist who launched "Everybody Draw Muhammed Day" on an execution hit list.Those of us who participated in Everybody Draw Mohammed Day are in the cross-hairs, too:
Yemeni-American cleric Anwar al-Awlaki - the radical who has also been cited as inspiring the Fort Hood, Tex., massacre and the plot by two New Jersey men to kill U.S. soldiers - singled out artist Molly Norris as a "prime target," saying her "proper abode is hellfire."
FBI officials have notified Norris and warned her they consider it a "very serious threat."
In an English-language Al Qaeda magazine that calls itself "Inspire," Awlaki damns Norris and eight others for "blasphemous caricatures" of the Prophet Muhammed. The other cartoonists, authors and journalists in Awlaki's cross hairs are Swedish, Dutch and British citizens.
"The large number of participants makes it easier for us because there are more targets to choose from in addition to the difficulty of the government offering all of them special protection," wrote al-Awlaki, who is an American citizen. "But even then our campaign should not be limited to only those who are active participants."I've had my disagreements with how Molly Norris handled what her own cartoon set in motion, but there should be no confusion who the real villain is in this. And the villain is not Molly Norris. I hope all of us who took issue with her disowning and condemning Everybody Draw Mohammed Day remember that. Because this is the time to support -- unconditionally and in whatever way we can -- Molly Norris, just as we did Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and the Danish cartoonists, and Salman Rushdie.
He warned that "assassinations, bombings and acts of arson" are all legitimate forms of revenge against the creators of blasphemous depictions of Muhammad.
I just hope all the American Muslims who embraced Molly Norris (and who Molly Norris embraced) in her efforts against her own creation are willing to do the same, now that she needs them even more than she needs those of us who carried on without her...
5 comments:
Though I didn't draw any cartoons. I'm right with in the support.
PS. Sorry I haven't been around here much... been busy.
Thanks, Sonic!
Of course, I haven't been around much either lately...
Molly - safety and peace to you - why can't people get the joke with the intellect and grace with which you presented it? - I saw no sign of disrespect in your cartoon - I thought it was cute - and provocative - and colorful - friend always, Daniel
I felt those who dumped on her for disowning "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day" were unfair. She drew the attention of psychos, so OF COURSE she did what she could to deflect them. I also believe she was sincere in her desire to make amends with any non-psychotic Muslim she may have offended.
Not that it did her any good. My Google-Fu is admitted weak, but I can find NO articles condemning this fatwa against her. All I find are those who were already outraged at the cartoon hysteria from segments of the "Muslim world" commenting again.
I drew my own cartoons, and I posted about a dozen from other more talented artists back on May 20th across two of my blogs. I posted a bunch more on Tuesday, as well as reposted one of my own. I couldn't care less about Muslims being offended--psychotic or otherwise--but I do care about even the appearance that threats of violence have any impact whatsoever on Americans using their Constitutional and God-given rights of freedom of expression.
It's not about offending thin-skinned religious people, be they violent or not. It's about denying them the power to force their misguided superstitions beliefs upon the rest of us.
At any rate, as the case of poor Molly Norris has shown, there is no apologizing or appeasing freaks like al-Alwaki. There is only reasonable course of action is this.
I'm conflicted. I'm a Christian. And I despise when I see sacrilegious (to me) things like defiling images of Christ or a cross. But my upset has never extended to seeking or encouraging attacks on, much less the death of, those who seek to tear at sacred images of my faith. This significant difference still doesn't stop "moderates" from lumping Christians in with violent Muslims, largely because of the Crusades and other events of centuries gone by. There is no reaching those who say that Christians are just as big a threat as Muslims. There is no reaching those who say we can and should continue reaching out to "moderate" Muslims, despite the fact that time and again, those "moderates" have remained silent (at best!) following extremist attacks on innocents.
So I hold on to my faith, and I work to defend those who are at greatest risk of attack from Muslim (yes, Israelis).
Molly may have enemies, but she also has friends and defenders.
Post a Comment