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March 30, 2006

To Show or Not to Show Muhammad Cartoon

Amid apparent security concerns, New York University decided to edit a panel discussion on the Danish cartoons of Muhammad.

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The NYU Objectivist Club organized its “Free Speech and the Danish Cartoons” panel for Wednesday night. The program description says that the panel will discuss topics like “Why the cowardly and appeasing response of many Western governments — including our own — will only invite further aggression.” The club originally planned both to display the cartoons and to provide some tickets to the event to people not affiliated with NYU.

On Monday, Robert Butler, NYU’s director of student activities, sent an e-mail to panel organizers informing them that the panel must either be closed to the public, or the cartoons must not be displayed. “Safety [is] always a concern when a controversial program is held on campus,” read Butler’s e-mail. “After consulting with Jules Martin (VP for Public Safety) … regarding the campus climate and controversy surrounding the cartoons we are going to require that this event be open only to members of the NYU community.” Butler added that, if the cartoons are displayed, about 75 non-NYU guests who had asked to attend should be told not to show.

John Beckman, a spokesman for NYU, said that the university preferred to have the students choose not to display the cartoon, thus maintaining the ability to invite outside audience members. “The reason for our preference was that an important group in our Muslim community made it clear that they found the display of the cartoons deeply offensive,” Beckman said. Initially, however, the Objectivist Club took door number two: keep the cartoons, and close the panel to the general public. But hours before the event, the club changed its tune, and decided not to display the cartoons.

Student members of NYU’s Islamic Center circulated e-mails planning a protest before the club decided not to go with the cartoons. Maheen Farooqi, president of the Islamic Center, said in an e-mail that “we at the Islamic Center are all for discourse and dialogue and we would encourage the Objectivist Club to partake in whatever discussion they would like.” But any depiction of Muhammad is sacrilege in the Muslim faith, and the center did not think the cartoons were a necessary part of that discussion.

Farooqi added that the Islamic Center “would not encourage racism in any shape or form, and to us and many others, these cartoons are racist and we adamantly oppose their display.”

Greg Lukianoff, president of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, said that NYU should never have gotten involved with managing the event. “Depicting disturbing events or images so you can discuss them is never considered to be the same thing as endorsing the image,” Lukianoff said. “These might very well be the most newsworthy cartoons in American history.”

Beckman noted that the university never planned to block the display of the cartoons, only to limit the event to the NYU community if the cartoons were displayed “with an eye towards ensuring that event goes forward without disruption.”

— David Epstein

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Comments

What Century Is This?

Members of religious sects don’t like their beliefs ridiculed by others. Most of us would regard it as uncivil to gratuitously mock another person’s beliefs, even though the first amendment protects our right to do so. Most of us would agree that tolerance is generally the best policy.

However, there are times when tolerance is decidely the wrong polciy. I have read that, in two countries in Europe, female circumcision and,"honor killings” were being practiced in the Muslim community and the civil authorieis chose to regard thes barbaric practices as exprssions of religous belief.

That is not tolerance; it is, rather, complicity in evil.

With respect to the cartoon issue, the question is how Western democracies should react? In the particular case under dscussion, the students intend to have a serious , albeit apparently one-sided, discussion of the cartoon issue. Whether this is prudent or not, the constitution gives them the right to hold this discussion. The university is pandering to the Muslim students by placing restrictions on the right to freedom of speech. It is surrendering to 7th century ideals. Those offended by the cartoon have the right to express their opposition.

If there are some Muslims uncomfortable with freedom of speech, they might consider residing in one of the many dictatorships in the Middle East. Freedom of speech is not tolerated in these countries.

thomas molloy, at 8:21 am EST on March 30, 2006

Safety Issue

The interesting thing is that the cowards at NYU consulted their security dept., not their lawyers. The students had every right to show and discuss those pictures. The administration was worried about a terrorist attack—that’s the bottom line.

The Muslims intimidated them just as they do the entire world. You can show Jesus in piss, or claim that he fathered children, but you can’t so much as show a simple drawing of Muhammad. I wish we would show respect to all religions equally (the right decision was made, in this case), but satire is a time-honored treasure in free societies.

The culture clash continues...

Irvin, at 8:21 am EST on March 30, 2006

Everyone’s Seen the Cartoons

Since these cartoons have been widely circulated all over the world, I see no reason to reshow them at NYU, and to potentially hurt the feelings of Muslim studets who oppose the cartoons.

It’s a matter of respect for our peers, not a matter of censorship. If you want to know what the cartoons look like, go on line and then attend the panel. There is no need to have the cartoons displayed *at* the panel.

It’s like asking someone to recount a trauma for the sake of the rousing their emotions. The university is not a place for hurting people without rteason.

Chris/NYU Student, at 9:20 am EST on March 30, 2006

Muhammad Representations — an archive

In the West we have our cherished freedoms and the freedom of the press to present the news with the objects of the news in question shown is something our news media should defend. Instead they cowered — most shameful.

Here is a nearly complete archive of images from artworks to recent cartoons:

http://www.retecool.com/mirrordir/Mohammed%20Image%20Archive.htm

Dante, at 1:20 pm EDT on April 21, 2006

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