Saturday, September 15, 2007

Hot Air » Blog Archive » WaPo ombudsman: We should have published the Opus cartoons

Hot Air » Blog Archive » WaPo ombudsman: We should have published the Opus cartoons:

"Executive Editor Len Downie decided to kill the [first] strip because he felt
the language and depiction of Muslim female dress could be offensive. He
consulted with other editors, one of whom talked to a Muslim staff member, who
believed the strip was problematic…Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on
American-Islamic Relations, a civil rights and advocacy group, wasn’t offended.
“‘Opus’ poked fun at the strip’s characters, not Muslims or Islam. I see
hundreds worse on the Internet every day,” he said.Akbar Ahmed, chair of Islamic
studies at American University, also wasn’t offended. He said there is a strong
Muslim tradition of satire and self-deprecation. “I think there is a danger of
us becoming so politically correct that we end up by blunting the critics’ bent
and the satirists’ wit. Muslims need to be sensitive to the fact that in Western
culture there is a healthy tradition of not taking things too seriously.”"


It was a mistake to censor something that did not clearly endanger a group of people or an individual. That is the only reason that speech should be limited, if it is a clear danger to physical someones well being. In not printing the cartoons, the paper sent the message that freedom of expression isn't that important to them.

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