Muhammad cartoon controversy update: instead of praising Rasmussen for his defense of Western values of free speech, the EU is demanding that he stand down and adopt their policy of appeasement. “EU Reacts Against Insulting Caricatures: Sheer Foolishness!,” from Zaman.com, with thanks to the Constantinopolitan Irredentist:
The European Union (EU) seriously reacted on Friday for the first time against a Danish newspaper’s publication of insulting caricatures of the Prophet, Mohammed.
Franco Frattini, the Deputy EU commissioner for Justice, Freedom, and Security, noting the publication as “foolishness and indiscretion” condemned the cartoons Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rassmussen backed up on the grounds of “freedom of speech and thought”.
Such publications, Frattini emphasized, will serve to radicalism by fomenting hostility against Islam and foreigners.
I see. Portray Islam as having something violent about it and it will only make Muslims violent. See, there is nothing violent about it. Just ignore all those Islamic killers, suicide bombers, etc. If you notice them, you will only breed more.
And people swallow that as a serious analysis.
In response to the “freedom of press” that Mr. Rasmussen used as an excuse, the EU official said the media is not free to make a news story out of anything. Frattini assessing the issue in his personal perspective said if the publication were about his own values, it would hurt him personally as a Catholic Christian and he would have taken great offence.
Is that so, Frattini? Would you threaten to kill anyone in response? What do you think of the detractions of Catholicism that can be found by the bushel in Western countries? Do they move you to violent impulses?
To be honest, such codes of behavior will accelerate Islamophobia across Europe, said Frattini, emphasizing his respect for the freedom of speech.
Frattini emphasized the cartoons published in Jyllands Posten did not affect people’s ideas on Islam and noted despite everything he is against restricting the freedom of the press.
Journalists and caricaturists of course, he said, have the right to publish such materials; however, when the case is evaluated in political terms the situation is not so proper. Frattini said he sees the point of Muslims who expressed offense and hurt and termed the incident as a scandal.