What started as an example of appallingly poor judgment by a provincial Danish newspaper has become multipolar diplomatic crisis. Go figure.
The story thus far:
* back in September, the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten ran a feature that included satirical cartoons depicting the prophet Mohammad. That was a serious breach of good manners, since the editors of the paper knew that Islam considers it blasphemy to create images of Mohammad.
* Muslims, both in Denmark and abroad, complained. The ambassadors of several Muslim countries called on the Danish Prime Minister to "do something" about the newspaper. Rightly, he replied that they would just have to suck it up — in democracies, governments don’t interfere with newspapers.
* the situation has escalated weekly since then. The latest: boycotts of Danish goods across the Muslim world, fatwas, death threats, more calls to punish the newspaper, burning of Danish flags in the Gaza Strip (that’s a new one).
* in response (the high minded call it solidarity, the cynical call it circulation-building) papers across Europe have been reprinting the cartoons this week, resulting in even more fatwas, flag burnings, death threats, etc.
What’s to learn from all this?
One obvious lesson, one that most learn by age 6, is that it is rude to mock other people’s religious beliefs. It insults them, and that’s just not nice.
Another obvious lesson, usually learned about the same time, is that some people are too easily insulted. Yes, any one of us would feel hurt to see a cherished belief demeaned, but the faith of the faithful is only strengthened by the brickbats hurled by the uncomprehending ( so I am told — I’m a happy secular humanist). A more appropriate response than flag burning and beatings is "Oooooo K… last laugh’s gonna be on you, brother!"
But the other lessons… what are they?
What do communicators need to think about in a world where an article in an obscure newspaper calls down boycotts on your company? When a controversy like this can leave employees pulled in several directions: loyalty to religious faith, a desire to do a good job, a desire not to be beaten at the factory gates.
And make no mistake: the controversy is pulling Danish business leaders in several directions, too. While none have called for out and out curbing of press freedom, there have been some hints. Should managers put profit over principle? Should governments curb freedom of speech so business can go on "gettin’ it done"? Do we sack the religious faithful, uncertain of their loyalty? Do we sack the religious faithful because it’s safer for them if we do? Do we try to dissemble, saying "Our HQ might be in Denmark (France, USA, Japan) but we are not really Danish (French, American, Japanese), so don’t blame us"?
As globalization progresses (a good thing, I believe), these incidents will become commonplace. Professional communicators need to be considering strategies now… before it comes to their town.
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{ 15 comments }
I disagree that this is poor judgement on the part of the Jyllands Posten. The real lesson here is that a substantial portion of the Islamic world has demonstrated that it lacks the most basic respect for individual rights.
It will be a terrible thing if we in the west back down in the face of threats from religious fanatics. The Muslim world needs to catch up to the twenty-first century, rather than us retreat to accomodate their feudal standards.
Now that the conflict has arisen, I agree there can be no backing down from the principle of free speech and free press.
But, as an occasional reader of Jyllands-Posten, and having followed the Danish immigration debate since I immigrated here myself more than 20 years go, I believe J-P's claim that it ran the cartoons to promote press freedom is disingenuous.
J-P knew the cartoons were provocative and inflammatory, and knew there would come a backlash. Though I suspect they didn't anticipate how far it would go.
The fight didn't need to be picked. But, of course, now that it is picked, there's only one side to stand on: freedom of speech and press.
I have been watching this international dilemma since I first saw it in the news. While I do find it distasteful that the Danish newspaper ran such a cartoon knowing that it would offend Muslims, they did have the right to run it. I feel that the other European nations who have run similar cartoons recently are simply standing by the Danish newspaper and proclaiming their right to free speech.
I also agree that some people are too easily insulted. A person's belief system should not come into question because outsiders have mocked it. Take for instance the show, Book of Daniel, that was on air for a brief period this past fall. There was an outcry by the Christian community over the sitcom, by there was not a boycott against the network as a result. Why? I am speaking as a Christian when I say that I do not expect non-Christians to view my beliefs with the same respect that I do. My world does not come crashing down everytime some person or some group mocks my beliefs or Jesus Christ. I think that the Muslims throughout the world should grow a backbone. Those that do not adhere to an Islamic belief system cannot possibly be expected to live by the same rules as those that do.
I think that the Danish newspaper and those others that have printed such cartoons should stick to their guns. They have the right to do as they wish. The cartoons they printed did not physically harm anyone or call for an overthrow of a government, so they have done nothing wrong. My advice to the Muslims is that they should go on with their lives and ignore the cartoons. They are only making themselves look ridiculous when they demonstrate their immaturity the way they have been.
Allan – this issue is emblematic of the Islam-vs-the-west conflict. In the west, pluralism is a virtue. In Islam, it's weakness. In the west we tolerate many religious views, including those who claim none at all. In Islam, that makes us infidels unworthy of respect.
Indeed, it is "bad manners" to mock someone's religion — but doing so is a hallmark of western press. We don't understand how religion can be so important — in the US, the Pat Robertsons and Jerry Falwells want to change that, which accounts for the entry of Christian fundamentalists into government.
In Europe, a largely secular society, immigration from the less-developed world has been the only increase in population — and many of those immigrants are fundamentalist in their beliefs.
It seems more and more that many people expect to go through life without ever being offended – which is a tragedy. Reasonable people have differences in opinion all the time — the fear is that Islam has become wholly UN-reasonable; a cautionary tale for those who advocate for dialogue among nations.
I believe that the Jylland-Posten intentionally caused this conflict. Prior to the release of these cartoons, the newspaper was aware of the Muslim beliefs, as well as the potential conflict.
It leads to to question their motives. Was it absolutly neccessary to print the cartoons? What purpose were they serving? I just don't feel that it was vital part of the newpaper.
However, I must support freedom of speech. For whatever reasons the Danish decided to print the cartoons,it was their right.
As far as all the threats and flag burnings are concerned, it's rediculous. Muslims cannot force their religion upon others. You are only expected to support your own religious beliefs. Muslims aren't bombarded and attacked by Christians. No other religion is so hostile. I just don't understand it.
But yes, I do feel that it's wrong to insult someone's religion. This causes me to question the ethics of the newspaper. All organizations should have some ethical code of conduct. In addition, the Danish, knowing the reputation of outraged Muslims, certainly should had of seen this coming.
In conclusion, I feel the Danish are going to have to suffer the consequences of their actions. It's not fair, but it was a predictable outcome. Smart companies make decisions beased on possible results and consequences. A company should always be thnking ahead. I am in no way agreeing with the behavior of the Muslims, but this is defintely typical of them. I truly believe that they need to settle down and let it go. Overall, I feel both the Danish and Muslims are wrong in their doings. As the classic quote states, "Two wrongs don't make a right."
Ooops — forgot to 'trackback' this post. My views on this (very aligned with Katie's) are over at http://leehopkins.net/2006/02/06/honk-if-you-are-jesus/
Cheers,
Lee
"Muslims aren't bombarded and attacked by Christians. No other religion is so hostile. I just don't understand it."
Not now at least. Go back a millennium or less and the Christian faith gave it a shot.
What seems to have got missed is that just as much as Jylland-Posten and the other papers in Europe that printed the cartoon have the freedom to do so, the people of Islam have the right to be offended by it.
If their form of protest is to boycott Danish products then that is also their right as freedom of choice. Flag burning, death threats and such like is the extreme end and cannot be taken as the majority view, just the most documented.
Where was the Jylland-Posten PR function when it came to the idea of printing this material? Surely the Editor in Chief was thinking "Ah, this is going to stir some controversy" and should (s)he not have gathered some people together for a scenario walkthrough?
Maybe the business moves too fast in its publications to work this way.
As for a lesson, how about stupidity breeds stupidity.
For the moment, the companies affected are going to have to take the hit. As a middle distance strategy they will need to support the Islamic side and agree that the idea of printing this material was poor judgement at best or purely idiotic at worst, if they care for regaining confidence.
I don't want to beat a dead horse, but I totally agree with all of the comments. It is such a hard situation. I definitely don't want the papers to lose this battle, because that would be going against everything we hold valuable in our country – freedom. But, who could deny that the Muslims have a certain right to be upset. After all, their religion was needlessly mocked.
But honestly they can't just go around blowing people and places up because they don't agree with certain issues. Is all of this violence necessary?
So we have all agreed that the Muslims' way of handling situations is not at all appropriate. For most of us, when we are offended, we write a letter to the editor or something.
But as others have said, even though we cherish our civil rights, including the freedom of speech, isn't there a point where we realize that, just because we CAN do something, doesn't mean we SHOULD. Everyone in the world knew that the Muslims would get upset, and even if the newspaper didn't much care that they would be offended, they should have taken the time to consider the consequences. People are being killed over this, and who wouldn’t have guessed that this would happen. It seems to have been a needless practice of freedom of speech. Even though I don’t think we should always tip-toe around the Muslims and never stand up to them, I think the world should pick their battles against them to prevent needless deaths.
I have been hearing a lot about this controversy on the news lately. I think that even though the Danish newspaper demonstrated incredibly poor taste in running the cartoons, it was their right to do so. They are living in a democratic society where newspapers have the right to print what they want. I think it was extremely rude and inconsiderate, but their choice.
I agree somewhat with Charles that the Islamic people need to realize that other countries do not follow the same rules they do, and that's ok. I feel that all of these death threats and boycotts are a little over the top…it was just a cartoon in ONE newspaper. I think that if they hadn't made such a big deal out of it, the cartoon would never have been re-printed in other areas and the whole issue would not have blown up as it has.
Controversies like this make me wish that everyone could be a little more respectful and tolerant of other people's beliefs, traditions and cultures. Just when we think we're making progress towards a more accepting world, something like this happens. It just seems a little futile and frustrating to me.
Allan,
Perhaps this will force the West to open its eyes to how fundamentally incompatible the Muslim ideology is with freedom.
On a related note, I'd like to support the blogosphere's "buy Danish" movement, but I'm curious: what kind of sandwiches does one add a chocolate topping to?
http://www.danishfood.net/ProductInfo.asp?ID=39
It seems to me that these perspectives only make sense when considered out of context. Accoring to a recent report, citizens in Arab states suffer for the worst human rights violations in the world, as a result of corrupt, autocratic regimes that have no responsibilty to their constituents.
Consider these comments:
"Within the Muslim world, the cartoon imbroglio has given ammunition to the two entrenched forces for censorship — namely, authoritarian regimes and their Islamic fundamentalist opposition. Both would prefer to silence their critics. By evincing outrage over the Danish cartoons, authoritarian regimes seek to divert attention from their own manifold failures and to bolster their religious credentials against the Islamists who seek to unseat them."
- Eman Qureshi, Harvard Fellow
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/12/opinion/12qureshi.html?_r=1&oref=slogin"
"But in the coincidence of the two events, there is a clue to a dynamic that has played out in this region for many years: Leaders often call attention to external enemies — most often the Israelis — as a device to allow their own subjects to blow off steam. The anger itself is almost always home grown."
-Michael Slackman, NY Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/12/weekinreview/12slackman.html
From this perspective, the demonstrations are really nothing more than a diversion from the real issue, which is the Arab world's inability to keep pace with the rest of the world from an economic development stand point, largely as a result of its natural resources.
In my opinion, business leaders need to realize that this is not a communications problem, but rather, our own irresponsible reliance on crude. Unless we stop financing these corrupt dictatorships (and indirectly fundamentalist clerics) by purchasing their oil, they will need to continue to shine the spotlight on events outside their borders to shift the blame.
P.S. Sounds like you all has a great time when Neville came out to visit. Wish I could have been there.
I was a paid writer last semester for Auburn's student newspaper The Plainsman. Time constraints this spring have forced me to stop writing in a paid editorial position, but I still volunteer for the paper. I still get emails to my plainsman account from people pitching stories… and there were at least five of these from various renegade emailers forwarding the cartoons of the prophet Mohammed. The emailers wanted us to run the cartoons in our paper.
To me, the whole situation has become sensationalized beyond the point of having much of anything to do with freedom of speech or any other ideal. What may once have been a valid political protest has been blown so far out of proportion that it's more or less worthless at this point.
On another (somewhat) related thought, this whole incident reminds me of the Christopher Buckley novel Florence of Arabia. Similar release of usually censored information and the resulting uproar…
Thank you all for commenting.
Sherri: you nail it when you ask "was it absolutely necessary to print the cartoons?".
Free speech and free press weren't threatened here in Denmark, so I see no explanation for the publication other than "Let's see what happens". As Ashley points out, just because you "can" doesn't mean you "should".
"beloml" (may his tribe increase) asks: "what kind of sandwiches does one add a chocolate topping to?". Well, let me tell you: you take a slice of really grainy black bread, slather some butter on it, and then put a thin slice of pretty bad chocolate on it. I won't touch them, myself, but my kids think it's the cat's pajamas.
Allan
"Free speech and free press weren't threatened here in Denmark"
Jyllands Posten printed those drawings because they wanted to "test the waters". It was not an immature prank. It was a direct response to the fact that it had been impossible to find an illustrator for Kåre Bluitgens childrens book on the prophets life.
They wanted to see if everybody was too scared of the extremists.
I think they got their answer.
Was it absolutely necessary?
At first I thought not.
Now I see that it was.
The drawings weren't even very rude. At least not most of them.
The issue was whether you could depict Mohammad at all.
Off course you can. We don't live under Sharia law in Denmark.
Religious people of all kinds must get used to being made fun of. Just like everybody else.
That's it.
i'm a MUSLIM woman. i hold high respect to others' beliefs. I think that every man must be respected; especially after his death. What if this man was a profit who represets the belief of a big nation. insulting my father would hurt me only but insulting Allah's messenger means that you are not what you claim to be; "one small village", "mutual understanding"…etc
This man has set a social and economic base for that suits every honored man. if it wasn't for him,i would not be treated as an individual who has rights and duties. i thought about my religion and whether i believe in it or is it something that i inherted along with my name and nationality. Islam has given me the right to:
*be protected by my family as a girl.
*marry a man of my choice.
*end this marry from my part if there were strong reasons.
* be equal to men in religious duties.
Media has a major role in international peace' rather than planting hatred and chios among people.
I think that any one has the right to express his thoughts without insuting others.we all can live together in peace.
RESPECT is the key
Thank you