Wednesday
May122010
Why I am going to draw the Prophet Mohammed...
Wednesday, May 12, 2010 at 04:53PM
There is a lot of fear and anxiety circulating out there among those who strongly believe in the cause of reason. This fear and anxiety is being stirred by the upcoming International Draw Mohammed Day on May 20th. There are many out there who support the cause of free speech but are genuinely afraid of violent retaliation from Islamic extremists. Their fear is certainly warranted, given the historical reaction of religious extremists of every variety, but most especially Islamic Extremists.
It is EXACTLY because of this violent, extreme and unreasonable reaction that I WILL draw their holy Prophet on May 20th. Furthermore, I will post as many drawings of the Prophet here on my blog as I can find. Let's be clear, this is not intended as a show of disrespect (though I admit that I see little need to show respect for such ignorance), but it is rather intended to be a demonstrative defense of Freedom of speech. If your religion forbids you from drawing the Prophet, then you should refrain from doing so, but you cannot and must not try to stop others from exercising their right to free speech. You cannot force your particular form of morality on others. Certainly not in a free and civil society.
I feel particularly strong about the importance of standing up in the face of such an oppressive religion when you consider scenes like this one:
During a lecture in Uppsala Lars Vilks, the Swedish cartoonist who drew Mohammed as a dog, was attacked by a pack of feral fundamentalists, one of whom managed to headbutt the artist and break his glasses. Police intervened and waged a short battle with the religious nutters who can be heard in the video above, captured by the newspaper UNT, shouting Allahu Akbar! The Associated Press had a quick report, explaining that "Uppsala University spokeswoman Pernilla Bjork said Vilks was showing a provocative film with sexual content to the crowd when the attacker ran up and hit him in the face with his fists."
With these facts in mind, I hope as many people as possible will join us in the defense of free speech. Draw your own Mohammed, even if it's just a stick figure. By all means, don't do it if you are genuinely frightened (which is understandable), but if you are willing to thumb your nose at the ridiculous nature of the oppression of Islam, a religion which claims to be a "religion of peace", then do your part, and do a doodle of the Prophet!
It is EXACTLY because of this violent, extreme and unreasonable reaction that I WILL draw their holy Prophet on May 20th. Furthermore, I will post as many drawings of the Prophet here on my blog as I can find. Let's be clear, this is not intended as a show of disrespect (though I admit that I see little need to show respect for such ignorance), but it is rather intended to be a demonstrative defense of Freedom of speech. If your religion forbids you from drawing the Prophet, then you should refrain from doing so, but you cannot and must not try to stop others from exercising their right to free speech. You cannot force your particular form of morality on others. Certainly not in a free and civil society.
I feel particularly strong about the importance of standing up in the face of such an oppressive religion when you consider scenes like this one:
During a lecture in Uppsala Lars Vilks, the Swedish cartoonist who drew Mohammed as a dog, was attacked by a pack of feral fundamentalists, one of whom managed to headbutt the artist and break his glasses. Police intervened and waged a short battle with the religious nutters who can be heard in the video above, captured by the newspaper UNT, shouting Allahu Akbar! The Associated Press had a quick report, explaining that "Uppsala University spokeswoman Pernilla Bjork said Vilks was showing a provocative film with sexual content to the crowd when the attacker ran up and hit him in the face with his fists."
With these facts in mind, I hope as many people as possible will join us in the defense of free speech. Draw your own Mohammed, even if it's just a stick figure. By all means, don't do it if you are genuinely frightened (which is understandable), but if you are willing to thumb your nose at the ridiculous nature of the oppression of Islam, a religion which claims to be a "religion of peace", then do your part, and do a doodle of the Prophet!
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[...] watch the very short video clip) before responding... I don't want this coming to the U.S. ... Why I am going to draw the Prophet Mohammed… | Quixotic Journey __________________ "No man ever believes that the Bible means what it says; he is always [...]