Cartoon of Mohammed

This image was first published on September 30, 2005 by a Danish newspaper called Jyllands-Posten whom began a controversial twelve part cartoon series. Most of these cartoons depicted the Islamic prophet Muhammad but this one in particular became the most well known and was created by Kurt Westergaard. The reason I chose this piece is because of the extreme reaction that resulted from its publication. It also contains the issue of both race, religion, and ethnicity instead of just the singular race.

First lets approach the issue of ethnicity. This piece further perpetuates the idea that those of Middle Eastern decent, not just Islamic, are extremist/fundamentalists who suicide bomb locations despite their actual association with such radical groups or if they even identify with the Islamic faith. This idea, more often than not an irrational fear is extremely similar to the thoughts once held about black men and their violent/sexualized natures. That the actions of a few have attached a stigma to the whole, which is interesting to me because of the scale in this case. Formerly we look at racism and discrimination on a national level. American’s believing false information about Native Americans, Jews, ect but in this case it has become an international identification where other cultures have clearly accepted these stereotypes.

The issue of religion is an odd one and one of the primary reasons I chose this piece because unlike someone’s race, ethnicity, or social standing their faith is a decision made by the individual that incurs a reaction similar to that of blacks moving into white suburban neighborhoods. That reaction being how upset American’s of non-Middle Eastern decent were simply by their proximity to them. Oddly though not all practitioners of Islam are of Middle Eastern decent but there is also a large black and growing white population that is a part of this faith. What this means is in the public eye individuals almost don’t have a say in what faith others believe their a part of. This is similar the situation where two men, one Japanese and one Indian, both tried to apply for white citizenship and both were denied because what whiteness was not had been decided and what it is was left vague and undefined.

I’ll admit this is a slight stretch but when we consider that the information most have about Islam is vague and undefined but what the majority believes it isn’t becomes much more assumed due to this little information that’s actually possessed.

At the end I couldn’t find the cartoon offensive. I can understand how it would be offensive but not being Islamic or Middle Eastern it cannot harm me in any sense. I was surprised at the reaction of the Islamic nation and to how far that reaction spread.