Cartoon furore

I don't have anything original to contribute to the debate. I don't like anyone putting limits on free speech, but 'm not going to get worked up to defend anyone exercising it for ill. That's about it.

Here's what smarter people are saying, in no particular order. Huggy makes sensible comments, and sets the issue in the context of Janet Jackson's breast-flashing. Laban sums up New Labour policing. Daniel has good pics and comment. Eric expresses my views better than I could at DST4W. Shuggy cuts through the nonsense. Lock & Load has design skills under his belt to make his points more sharply. ModernityBlog is buying Danish, and passes on a history lesson from ZombieTime. Myopic Thoughts passes on some thoughts from the heart of Islam, wonders where the flag-burners get their Danish flags, and lets us know the sort of cartoons found acceptable in the Middle East (via the ADL and Tom Gross). Sunny at Pickled Politics writes on how the moral high ground was lost. Scribbles writes on the puppets and their masters, and gives us a very funny "template for MSM columnists wishing to write about the cartoon issue without incurring death threats". Chris Dillow reflects on the notion of taking offence, and defends the Enlightenment legacy, and ampifies Jarndyce's point about the Islamist theocrats are the real oppressors. Wardytron nails Bill Clinton, and calls for a Day of Cheerful Complacency.

These are some people who don't, I think, get as many nuances as the above: The Hitch weighs in with his fundamentalist version of secularism. Maryam Namazie takes that line even further. As does Andrew Sullivan, taking aim at Bill Clinton. Andrew is too much of a free speech fundamentalist for my liking - I don't think these rights are "non-negotiable". Going even further, The Infidel Bloggers have nothing but the cartoons, and run a Mohammed Cartoon Contest. (They also feature regular images of infidel babes...) I find their corner of the blogosphere pretty distasteful - follow their links if you want to go even further down this line, towards full-blown hatefulness.

Added link: OpenDemocracy has some good stuff, of course. I like Roger Scruton's contribution a lot. Shaida Nabi irritated me hugely ("are we [Muslims], as Ziauddin Sardar asks, being set up for a holocaust?" Er, no.) I wanted to read Max Farrar's piece, but the link didn't seem to work.

Tags: Danish Muslim, cartoons, Muhammed, Islam, Danmark, Denmark, Indvandring
Keywords: Mohammed Cartoon, Jyllands-posten, Muslim Cartoon, Muhammad cartoon