Defamatory? Certainly not. Some of them showed a connection between Islam and violence, which Muslims around the world have daily been bearing out — not least by means of cartoon rage itself. Injurious? Yes, they were, but only indirectly. They did grave damage to the image of Islam as a religion of peace and tolerance, by giving rise to an orchestrated campaign of violent intimidation and an ongoing assault on the principle of freedom of speech. The eyes of many have been opened.
From AP, :
COPENHAGEN, Denmark – A group of 27 Danish Muslim organizations have filed a defamation lawsuit against the newspaper that first published the caricatures of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad, their lawyer said Thursday.
The lawsuit was filed Wednesday, two weeks after Denmark’s top prosecutor declined to press criminal charges, saying the drawings that sparked a firestorm in the Muslim world did not violate laws against racism or blasphemy.
Michael Christiani Havemann, a lawyer representing the Muslim groups, said lawsuit sought $16,100 in damages from Jyllands-Posten Editor in Chief Carsten Juste and Culture Editor Flemming Rose, who supervised the cartoon project.
“We”re seeking judgment for both the text and the drawings which were gratuitously defamatory and injurious,” Havemann said.