Canada’s Western Standard magazine is publishing eight of the twelve Mohammed cartoons in its latest issue. Canada’s Muslims are already threatening to sue. Wouldn’t you think they’d have to leave the lawsuit to Mohammed himself? I mean, we’re talking liability here, right? Defamation, slander, etc… oh, no, wait. We’re talking being “offended” by someone who is not a Muslim having the right to depict Mohammed.
The Canadian Jewish Free Press has also published the cartoons. Both are being threatened with lawsuits.
The head of Calgary’s Muslim community is considering a civil lawsuit against two local publishers for reprinting controversial Danish cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad — images that have sparked deadly riots overseas.
Syed Soharwardy, president of the Islamic Supreme Council of Canada, said the cartoons have caused Muslims in Calgary, and worldwide, unnecessary stress and heartache.
“We are, on Monday, going to see lawyers. We will try to find out if there is a possibility to have a civil lawsuit. That’s what we’re going to explore,” Soharwardy said Sunday.
“We see these cartoons as racist. We see these cartoons as hurtful, and we see these cartoons as against our religion. There has been damages towards the Muslim community for their losing their peace of mind, and creating stress on people’s heart.”
The Jewish Free Press and Western Standard Magazine, both Calgary-based, are among the first publications in Canada to print the cartoons.
I’m going to make a huge leap of logic here and guess that the Muslim community is probably not the Jewish Free Press’ target audience, and make an even greater leap and say that no Muslim usually reads the Jewish Free Press. I suppose they made an exception in this case, what with the chance to trot out their religion’s thin skin. Oh, and to call the cartoons “racist” again. Go look. Tell me how these are racist, because I’m not getting it.
To prove the point that Muslims like Iran’s nutball president are ignoring, the Jewish Free Press also published some typical Arab world anti-Semitic cartoons.
Jewish Free Press publisher Richard Bronstein said reprinting the cartoons wasn’t meant to offend Muslims, but instead to inform the public about the issue.
“When (the cartoons) dominate the world news for that period of time, to be an informed person you have to see what it’s all about,” said Bronstein.
The paper also published a selection of anti-Semitic cartoons printed in Muslim countries — like a cartoon of hook-nosed, diabolical Jew tunnelling under Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, a holy site to Muslims and Jews.
Not that the offended Muslims commented on that at all. But wait, the victimology gets better.
Bronstein would not comment on the possibility of a lawsuit.
He apologized if he insulted Muslims, but stands by his decision to reprint the cartoons.
Soharwardy refused the apology.
“Jewish Free Press, they knew that it is not acceptable, that it is offensive to Muslims, they knew it. They took a calculated risk and they went ahead,” he said. “Their apology is nothing but a hypocrisy — a preplanned apology and I don’t accept their apology.”
That’s what I was talking about the other day when I mentioned that one of the things that disturbs me the most about this is the Muslims insisting on a “sincere” apology — because it seems they never accept any apology, sincere or not.
I really like the words of the publisher of the Western Standard at the end of his column explaining why the cartoons were published:
The Western Standard has no explaining to do. We’re a news magazine, and these cartoons are news. The publishers, editors and TV producers who are behaving as if they live under sharia law, not the Charter of Rights, have explaining to do — to their readers and viewers.
Good for you, Ezra Levant. Good for you.
OK, I am a little confused here. Last time I checked, Islam is a religion not a race. And if they are a race, they better breed outside of it to get some thicker skin.
“Syed Soharwardy, president of the Islamic Supreme Council of Canada, said the cartoons have caused Muslims in Calgary, and “worldwide”, unnecessary stress and heartache.”
The word, “worldwide”, would undermine their case as it allows the defense to enter in evidence the the publication of the ‘Protocols of the Elders of Zion’ forgerie and the anti-semitic rantings in the Arab press to get the case thrown outof court, as the plaintiffs do not come into court with clean hands. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot, and hitting your balls on the way down.
Let the games begin!
OK, so how long before we hear that the reprinting in the Jewish Free Press is grounds for retaliation….against Israel? I agree 100% with the paper, they are a news organization, they are informing their constituancy about what the world is talking about.
Retaliation against Israel? You mean that Muslims might start blowing up pizzerias and malls in Israel, or murdering Jewish schoolchildren there? I reckon the Jewish Free Press ought to have considered the possibility of their action causing something like that before they published these cartoons.
Harry, the necessity of a plaintiff coming with clean hands applies to a court of equity. The Muslims have in mind something more along the lines of Star Chamber.
I’d love to be wrong here, but it appears that to these Muslims nothing short of complete submission will be an adequate, or sincere apology.
Even so-called moderates, want the same thing… our compliance with their will. The moderates are differentiated, only by the degree of harshness they would(do) treat non-Muslims. Calls for understanding, and cries for “sincere apologies” simply disguise demands for our complete submission. Nothing less will do.
The idea that I should be subject to the religious laws of Islam does not ride well on my shoulders. While I don’t think it was wise to throw more fuel on the fires that seem to inflame the Muslims around the world,one must be mindfull of the fact that Islam has yet to update itself to post-crusades times.
God(Or whomever) help us if this group of cartoon hating religous zealouts starts scaring the press out of printing what is happening in the world.”All that is required for evil to survive ,is for good men to do nothing’. What a bunch of pussies the press has become!
The press and broadcasters will speak truth to only those powers that do not threaten them with retaliation. Remember the story of CNN dseliberately not reporting stories adverse to Saddam for fear he would kick them out of Iraq, or do violence to their reporters? But they are savage against the USA and Israel.
Pingback: Impermanence » The violence continues