A little fuel for the fire that's burning. Why does it seem that some people are instigating this thing?

Very brave or foolish of them to go ahead and publish when there is a huge Muslim population in Paris from Algeria which have already been known to cause unrest.

I respect the freedom of the press - when it's genuine - but there is a huge difference between having the right to say something, and saying something simply because you can.

I agree that any violence is the fault of those carrying out such violence, but we can't just ignore reality in favor of some utopian dream where everyone agrees. That's not the world we live in.

These idiots are media whores. They saw the outrage around the world and they knew that they could get global publicity for their comic (lets face it, that's what it is) by joining in and publishing something that deliberately provokes and incites further violence.

Right now I think we should be looking into who owns that publication, who their contacts are, who their backers are... I have a feeling we might find a common culprit orchestrating a deliberate campaign of incitement throughout the world.

We could debate on who the common instigator might turn out to be. I wonder if it's related to the supposedly "fictional" group Anders Breivik believed was rising up and preparing for war across Europe? Or perhaps it's headed by Mossad?

Maybe it's both?

This is just far too convenient.

I fully expect to see larger riots now across the world, with every western embassy under attack from rabid fundamentalists.

This was already an extremely dangerous situation, and this comic has just made it ten times worse. I don't think we need to wait until Friday to see a response to this. I expect groups are now gathering to storm embassies as we speak. And I fully expect to see riots across Europe as a result of this too.

I already said it was time to get that bug out bag ready. Now it really is time to make sure you have everything in place to do what you have to do to protect yourself. We shouldn't underestimate what this could lead to whether you have a high Muslim population in your country or not. There are government players using this to their advantage right now, and we have to accept that they have wider plans for global war.

Oh God no! Not a cartoon!
If they don't like it they can move back to a country that doesn't allow it.
Otherwise live like the French.
For the Western world to be falling over themselves to accommodate other cultures is ludicrous.
Would you expect the Saudis to change their ways to please your beliefs?
Islam is still at war with the non-muslim world and will do anything to expand their dominance.
Let them riot then jail them and deport them.

Look at it this way - can you imagine Christians rioting over the Monty Python movie The Life of Brian? Yes, it;s that ridiculous. It's called getting "face time" for your cause. Pathetic that people feel so insignificant that they must attach their whole life's meaning to something outside themselves like making a show out of religion.

First of all, it is important to note that freedom of speech and expression is more important than near enough anything else in the western developed world, and that is precisely as it ought to be. The publication of material which could be seen as deliberately provocative is unfortunate, and should be looked upon with discomfort or disgust at best, and total outrage at worst, but that is the affordable price we pay for an allegedly free society in which to live.

That being said, the right to freedom of speech comes with a huge responsibility, as do many of the more fundamental human rights. In this specific instance, the people who decided to publish this material have failed to uphold thier responsibilites, despite thier obvious willingness to use thier rights. In my opinion, the right to free speech cannot be seperated from the responsibility one carries to be sensible, respectful, and decent in what one says. They are like the opposing ends of a magnet, ying and yang, bread and butter.

One without the other however is an imbalance which can destroy the fabric of societies, ruin lives, and cause deep and lasting division. In this scenario, although we all know that a violent reaction to a non violent stimulus is wrong, it is also a foregone conclusion to this publication, something which those who sent it to press are MORE than aware of. They are literally making thier own news, as that is what is BOUND to happen. Some awful mob is going to blockade the offices from which this publication was issued, people are going to be hurt, or worse, some soldier in the middle of a dustbowl is going to get his legs blown off with an RPG , and all because an ignorant or willful bunch of rich entitled publishers thought it would be an idea to really annoy a religious group which has a prevalent and dangerous psuedo-military arm which has massive reach and capability.

Whether they had a right to publish the cartoon or not is not the same question as whether it was right to do so. In my opinion, I think it was wrong. I think the french press has proven, in the last two weeks, that it is perhaps one of the most irresponsible, morally repugnant, and deliberately stupid bodies on the face of the Earth, and I think it is a matter of time before they tread on the wrong toe. Morally and ethically, they have made assaults on privacy and religion just in the last two weeks. I dread to think who or what thing they are going to attack without provocation next time.

Originally posted by detachedindividual
I respect the freedom of the press - when it's genuine - but there is a huge difference between having the right to say something, and saying something simply because you can.

I don't think I see the difference?

I guess there is a thin line between speaking to incite violence and just speaking up against someone who is threatening to incite violence if you speak. Personally, I think the Islamic community needs to learn to deal with this. It's bad enough that my match stick person Mohammad is going to get me sent to hell where I will recieve a 'painful punishment' but do you have to walk around the street setting fire to my stuff as well?

I can see another 'draw Mohammad day' coming.

To be expected really, the issue for me is that the response to the idiotic film demonstrated wafer thin skin on a certain topic, a topic which is now going to be flicked, tweaked and laughed at time and time again..

I guess we will certainly see more of the same in the coming weeks as each event dies down...

Originally posted by Asktheanimals
Oh God no! Not a cartoon!
If they don't like it they can move back to a country that doesn't allow it.
Otherwise live like the French.
For the Western world to be falling over themselves to accommodate other cultures is ludicrous.
Would you expect the Saudis to change their ways to please your beliefs?
Islam is still at war with the non-muslim world and will do anything to expand their dominance.
Let them riot then jail them and deport them.

I think we all agree that it's stupid, that isn't really the debate here.

We all think that the reaction to this has been over the top, to say the least, and I don't think any sensible person can justify the response to a pathetic video or a cartoon.

BUT...

This is the reality we live in. There ARE hundreds of thousands of people out there who think that this should be a crime. There ARE thousands of people out there who are radical enough to die for their stupid religion. There ARE thousands of people who will protest and cause violence with this as an excuse.

We might all agree that it's wrong, but it's fact.

Therefore, publishing this, and doing so now, is a deliberate provocation. If we weigh up the benefits, who is going to benefit and who is going to lose out? Potentially hundreds of people could die as a direct result of this cartoon, and what for? So this comic can gain a few thousand readers?

As others have said, I agree that people have the right in our countries to say things like this, and if people don't like it they can f off to another country where their governments restrict freedom. If that's what they want, they shouldn't be living in countries where freedoms like this exist.

But we can't just pretend that the world is rosy and all people agree. That is not the reality. The publishers of this comic knew that printing it would cause massive social unrest and potential violent clashes all over the world, and they decided to hell with those people who will be maimed and killed!

They have made a choice to print something they KNOW will cause massive violence, and all because they can. THAT IS WRONG.

Originally posted by Pinke

Originally posted by detachedindividual
I respect the freedom of the press - when it's genuine - but there is a huge difference between having the right to say something, and saying something simply because you can.

I don't think I see the difference?

I guess there is a thin line between speaking to incite violence and just speaking up against someone who is threatening to incite violence if you speak. Personally, I think the Islamic community needs to learn to deal with this. It's bad enough that my match stick person Mohammad is going to get me sent to hell where I will recieve a 'painful punishment' but do you have to walk around the street setting fire to my stuff as well?

I can see another 'draw Mohammad day' coming.

I agree with you 100%. I've said before that I think it will take things like this to change the way these people think. But, as I've already said several times, we do not live in that world right now.

The difference for me is in the intention of the piece. This is not some accident, or some classy statement, it's a publicity stunt at the cost of potentially hundreds of lives.

They have traded-in common sense and decency for cash - just like the publishers of the Kate pics did. But these people have done far worse, pouring oil on a raging fire and deliberately trying to cause more destruction.

We know what the reaction is going to be to this. They knew exactly what they were doing. And they chose to do it for some extra publicity. That is what I find so sickening.