Something is Rotten in the Cartoons of Denmark

Rozencranz and Guildenstern are dead! So is the noble Prince of Denmark, Hamlet; but his words resonate in our twenty-first century.

When Tom Stoppard was “recruited” by the Darfur media manipulators, he obliged; but he must have shocked them when he wrote in his Times article (16 September 07):
“A ceasefire will be no solutions without a political solution.  Quite what a political solution would look like in a situation where the aggressor tribes have now started to fight each other is a murky question.  And geopolitically the scenarios include, naturally, the one about the West’s real interest being control of the region and its oil. “(our Italics)

The great playwright’s intuition and honesty shine through the spin-doctors’ manipulation stratagems and let the captive cat out the fakers’ bag!

Another chapter has now been added to anti-Sudanese campaigns.  Several newspapers and media outlets have published sensational reports about demonstrations in Khartoum against the reprinting in Denmark of the infamous cartoons which insult Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).

Those defending the cartoons claim that the sacrosanct principle of freedom of expression is at stake!  That is highly unlikely because of the timing of their appearance, and reappearance coinciding with the “clash of civilisations” theory, the curtailment of civil liberties and the contempt shown to other cultures after the September 11 terror attacks.

Let us remember in this context two comparable events.  Stephen Green, the director of the conservative evangelical group Christian Voice has invoked the Blasphemy Laws against the BBC screening of “Jerry Springer – The Opera” , in November last year.  The Times religion correspondent wrote “Despite cross party criticism that the blasphemy offences were an anachronism because they apply only to Christianity, government proposals to reform or abolish them have been shelved.”

The Independent (29 Feb 08) has reported that students at Yesodey Hatorah Senior School have refused to answer exam questions about the Merchant of Venice because they considered Shakespeare anti-semitic.

The Sudanese and Muslims in general are not the only ones who express strong views about their faith!  To single them out for snide remarks proves that something is rotten in the Cartoons of Denmark.  The cloak of “freedom of expression” won’t cover it up; just as the pretence of humanitarian concerns about Darfur did not blind a serious great writer.