Comics not funny

Recently Jyllands-Posten, a Denmark newspaper, and subsequent numerous European newspapers ran cartoons that have started riots around the world in Muslim communities. The Copenhagen Post, a major Danish newspaper, said the cartoons were published "as a test of whether Muslim fundamentalists had begun affecting the freedom of expression in Denmark."As a result, violent and sometimes murderous protests have erupted in Israel, Iraq, Iran, Egypt, Syria and Lebanon - just to name a few.

Free expression is apparently punishable by rioting, burning of flags, embassies and consulates, arrest, boycott, bomb threats. Lebanon Interior Minister Hassan al-Sabba resigned as a result of the riots. French editor Jaques LeFranc was fired. Warrants have been issued for two editors of small Jordanian papers. A newspaper in Paris received a bomb threat after it ran the cartoons. A leading Arabic religious leader called for boycott of all Danish products.

Editors must be mindful of the balance between freedom of expression and the sensitivity of peoples' beliefs. And it is a responsible decision for an editor to decide not to publish cartoons that a community considers blasphemous. But are they upholding the fundamental ideas of democracy and human rights by doing this?

Freely flowing ideas are fundamental to democracy. Truthful information - especially news - should not be regulated or suppressed by public officials, governments, special interest groups, kings, or terrorists. This is idealistic, yet is written in the journalists' code of ethics to be honest fair, and courageous in gathering and reporting news.

We have got to play fair. An Iranian newspaper, in response to the cartoons Muslims find morally reprehensible, plans a contest for illustrators to depict cartoons of Nazi Genocide against Jews. So as aversive as this may be to the world community, if we accept freedom of press, we must also accept their freedoms.