Posted by
Jochen Fromm-3 on
Feb 21, 2006; 5:37pm
URL: http://friam.383.s1.nabble.com/Washington-Post-Why-I-Published-Those-Cartoons-tp521395p521402.html
The fear is justified, since an Islamic court in India has
recently issued a fatwa on the cartoonists, condemning to
death the 12 artists who drew the controversial images of
the prophet Mohammed.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,18220608-38197,00.html
I think it is a bit frightening how stupid people can be,
although I see it more from the viewpoint of a complex system.
It is interesting how a few insignificant cartoons posted
in a minor newspaper in a tiny country can cause a series
of violent protests and deadly aftershocks which are felt four
months later (see
http://www.iq.harvard.edu/blog/netgov/2006/02/).
In the city where I live, Kassel, 1500 people on Saturday took part
in a demonstration against the Mohammed cartoons. First only the men,
about 600, and then separately the women, many with headscarf (as if
they want to say "now more than ever"). I guess nearly none of them
has really seen the cartoons, and they didn't even manage to create
banners with correct spelling. Many carried turkish flags, which
had nothing to do with the cartoons or carricatures at all.
It think it is a buzz-related media phenomenon. One blog entry says
"it started with reports and reprints of the Mohammed cartoons
all over Europe". That was apparently enough to exceed some
critical mass or tipping point. There is often positive feedback
in this kind of events because the media itself is involved in it.
The newspapers print something about a delicate subject, which stirs
small protests, which trigger in turn more reports and articles about
the delicate subject, which makes the situation even worse and
causes bigger protests, which goes on and on (see also the O.J. Simpson
issue and other related cases). A self-reinforcing process,
although there are certainly a lot of other reasons, too.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4678220.stm-J.
-----Original Message-----
From: Owen Densmore
Sent: Monday, February 20, 2006 5:44 AM
To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Friam
Subject: [FRIAM] Washington Post: Why I Published Those Cartoons
Hard to believe, but apparently in Europe, there is great fear
growing among editors and reporters over possible insulting Islam.
Puts the cartoons in an entirely new light. It would be interesting
to see if similar self-censorship is occurring in the US too.