J201Intro to mass communicationLecture: Cartoon riotsProtest in Afghanistan, Malaysia, Lebanon, IndonesiaThese protests, images of protests, and the cartoons which spawned them are meaningless outside of social context•Danish and European Union society•Wider Muslim, Arab, and Middle-Eastern society (these three are not all the same)•US society (and US influence over the globe)Some terms to start with•pluralist society•secular state•religious fundamentalism•freedom of speech•self-censorship•the Prophet Mohammed(1) Danish and EU societyHow the cartoons came to be commissioned and printed•Started with a Danish children’s book•Right-wing Jyllands-Posten (“Jutland’s Post”) and Flemming Rose commission Danish cartoonists•September 2005: “(W)e are on our way to a slippery slope where no one can tell how the self-censorship will end”•NB: Two years before, cartoons lampooning Christianity were denied publication in the paper ...The “message”:Descriptions of the cartoons•One central cartoon surrounded by 11 smaller ones on a full page•Two don’t show Mohammed at all•Several feature cartoonists as characters•Most notorious (in estimation of Western media):“a very angry-looking Mohammed, his turban in the shape of a bomb with a lit fuse.”•No, I am not showing the cartoons here(more on that later)The context in which this message was received: Denmark•Danish backlash against Arab and Muslim immigrants•racially-motivated crime in Denmark doubled•right-wing Danish People’s Party holds 13% of seats•yet are most Danish Muslims even organized members of political or religious groups?The context in which this message was received: the European Union•French restriction on Arab immigration•1.6 million Muslims in Great Britain: voters•EU question over admitting Muslim Turkey•EU freedom of speech laws date to the HolocaustFirst protest was moderate and legal (and within Danish society)•demonstrators picketed•11 Arab and Muslim ambassadors were withdrawn•Danish Prime Minister refused to intervene•a peaceful boycott of Danish exports to Middle East•lawsuit brought under Danish free speech lawWhat was the source of the protest?•No one denies that Islamic teachings forbid visual depictions of Mohammed (and Moses, Jesus)•Conservatives responded to fact of image itself•Moderates responded to stereotypical and racist portrayal of Arabs, Muslims, and Middle Easterners•Cartoons were understood in context as “intentionally inflammatory”(2) Wider Muslim, Arab, and Middle-Eastern societyA strategic communication campaign to use the cartoons to incite protest•When published in Egypt in October, the cartoons received condemnation, but did not incite violence•Certain Islamic religious leaders compiled cartoons into a “dossier” and promoted it on the road•Dossier contained three cartoons not printed•Deflected attention away from failings of Arab states?The context from the point of view of Arabs, Muslims, and the Middle-East•US-led, (somewhat) EU-supported invasion of Iraq (with tens of thousands of civilian deaths) seen as an oil grab•Torture and illegal detention apparently condoned by US•Israeli construction of a “separation wall” in Palestine•When Islamic parties win democratic elections, they are denounced by the West•US rhetoric: “fight them over there”; “they hate freedom”•Their own states control media, so they assume media in other states are tools of those states as wellCampaign + context = Violent protest across the globe•Danish and Norwegian (!?) embassies burned•Flag-burning protests in: Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bosnia, Gaza, Iraq, Kashmir, Lebanon, Nigeria, Syria ... no single state or region•Iranian call for cartoons ridiculing Holocaust•Latest: Pakistan, a US ally, where Pizza Huts are targeted ... clearly about more than cartoons (3) US media contextUS narrative is a much simpler story of “clash of civilizations”•1979: Iranian hostage crisis (Reagan seen as tough)•early 1990s: Gulf War and first WTC bombing•September 11 2001 and Osama bin Laden•Military operations in Afghanistan, Iraq•Global “War on Terror” (Madrid, London bombings)•Democracy, capitalism, free speech, and cultural pluralism vs. “evil” and “hate”Official US government response(public diplomacy)•Mild assertion that we value freedom of the press•But “Inciting religious or ethnic hatreds in this manner is not acceptable.” (Both Bush and Blair)•Argued that the violent protest was state-backed (such as in Syria)Private US media response•Extensive reports on the violence and images•Most broadcast and print outlets decided not to publish the actual cartoons (unlike EU press)•Some large dailies published only one cartoon, including Philadelphia Inquirer•The college press (Illinois first, then Wisconsin)•But can still easily find them on the InternetSo what do we make of all this?Doesn’t the West have limits on “supportable” speech as well?•praising Hitler or denying the Holocaust•praising slavery or advocating White Supremacy•pornography•... the question of whether we support the right for some to speak is separate from the question of whether we reproduce that speech ourselvesWhy might a private media organization publish such cartoons?•... to open and contextualize a debate on freedom of speech, religious tolerance, or the fear of terrorism?•... to attack and degrade Islam, Muslims, or Arabs?•... to provoke a protest and showcase the results?•... to gain noteriety as an “edgy” and “risky” media product?•... to “give the audience what it wants”?•what is the “Free Marketplace of Ideas” here?How have Islam, Muslims, Arabs, and Middle Easterners been portrayed in the media as a result of the protests?•... as hostile to free speech?•... as religious fundamentalists?•... as hypocritical anti-Semites and anti-Westerns?•... as violent mobs and murderers?•... as easily-duped by propaganda and charisma?•... as victimized and proud minorities?How have Europe, US, and the “West” been portrayed in the media?•... as liberal and tolerant of speech?•... as secular or pluralist with respect to religion?•... as predominantly (or even overtly) Judeo-Christian?•... as fearful, prejudiced, or racist?•... as hypocritical themselves?Some voices to illustrate the debate ...“You’re wimping out, Professor
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