Whatever she may think now, hopefully Molly Norris will someday realize that launching “Everybody Draw Muhammad Day” was the right thing to do for the sake of free expression and to shine a spotlight on the double standard that too many Muslims — even ostensibly “moderate” ones — demand for Islam with regard to freedom of speech and of the press.
Meanwhile, making Iran’s government happy should be some indication that one has chosen the wrong side of an issue.
“Cartoonist denies ‘Draw Muhammad’ role, Apologized World Muslims [sic],” from Ahlul Bayt News Agency, May 22 (thanks to Twostellas):
WASHINGTON: An American cartoonist whose work inspired the controversial ‘Everybody Draw Mohammed Page’ on Facebook has condemned the effort and issued an apology to Muslims.
On an unrelated note, certain passages of this article bear more than a passing (and unattributed) resemblance to an earlier one at BBC News. So much for the moral high ground at Ahlul Bayt (Arabic for “people of the house,” a reference to Muhammad’s household, including Ali, whom Shi’ites regard as Muhammad’s legitimate successor).
Molly Norris, of Seattle, drew a cartoon in April to protest the decision by the US TV channel Comedy Central to cancel an episode of the popular show ‘South Park’ over its depiction of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh”) in a …. suit. In her cartoon, Norris satirically proposed May 20 as an ‘Everybody Draw Mohammed Day’.
The “….” is original to the ABNA article. Apparently they can’t even say that Muhammad was portrayed in a bear suit.
An ‘Everybody Draw Mohammed Day’ page quickly turned up on Facebook but Norris said she had nothing to do with it. “I did NOT ‘declare’ May 20 to be ‘Everybody Draw Mohammed Day’,” she said, adding her idea was satire but “was taken seriously, hijacked and made viral”.
“I apologize to people of Muslim faith and ask that this ‘day’ be called off,” she said.