Muslims Not 'Free of Being Mocked'

Muslims need to develop a sense of humor and an appreciation of satire — and they need to understand that they are not "free of being mocked or being offended," says the Danish caricaturist whose cartoon depicting the Prophet Muhammad incited rage throughout the Muslim world four years ago.

Kurt Westergaard told roughly a dozen listeners Wednesday night that he will "always" be ready to defend an individual's right to religious freedom.
"As the Danish tradition is for satire, we say you can speak freely, you can vote, you can speak out anytime, but there's only one thing you can't do — you can't be free of being mocked or being offended," Westergaard said. "That's the conditions in Denmark and so many countries."
Westergaard spoke at a private residence in midtown Manhattan in conjunction with the Hudson New York Briefing Council. It was just his second appearance in the U.S. since the 2005 publication of his notorious cartoon, which depicted Muhammad wearing a turban resembling a lit bomb. In Islam, any depiction of Muhammad is forbidden and considered blasphemy. [...]

Asked whether his depiction of the Prophet Muhammad originated from his personal politics or as part of his job as a cartoonist, Westergaard replied: "I am fighting for a just cause. And so you have a moral alibi, which is good, and then I have only worked according to our traditions in Denmark.
"And, of course, there's been a lot of support from the man which I meet in the street, the ethnic Dane who pats my shoulder and says, 'Well done.' Then there's also been the Muslims who have threatened me and cursed me … but I think the most reactions I have received, they are very positive."
Diana West, vice president of The International Free Press Society, which organized and promoted Westergaard's visit to the U.S., said, "It was a sheet of cartoons in a very small newspaper in a very small country that kicked off this now extremely significant event."
"And as a result, Westergaard has lived the last four years under death threats and in heightened security. It was a cartoon that he drew — this is his job."
She went on to criticize the decision by the Yale University Press not to publish Westergaard's image in a book released earlier this month, saying it reeked of "cowardice" and "appeasement."
"The question becomes whether we in the West submit to Islamic law regarding free speech and free expression," she said. "This is supposed to be a free country."

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