Legal Commentary

Here is an interesting reprise of the controversy over whether to publish parodic cartoons that depict Muhammad.  The New York Times has this story about Yale University Press's decision not to publish those cartoons, and other images of Muhammad, in a forthcoming book called "The Cartoons That Shook the World," after consulting with the university and with several authorities on Islam and on counter-terrorism.  Here are some quotes from the story:

John Donatich, the director of Yale University Press, said by telephone that the decision was difficult, but the recommendation to withdraw the images, including the historical ones of Muhammad, was ?overwhelming and unanimous.? The cartoons are freely available on the Internet and can be accurately described in words, Mr. Donatich said, so reprinting them could be interpreted easily as gratuitous.

He noted that he had been involved in publishing other controversial books ? like ?The King Never Smiles? by Paul M. Handley, a recent unauthorized biography of Thailand?s current monarch ? and ?I?ve never blinked.? But, he said, ?when it came between that and blood on my hands, there was no question.?

Reza Aslan, a religion scholar and the author of ?No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam,? is a fan of the book but decided to withdraw his supportive blurb that was to appear in the book after Yale University Press dropped the pictures. The book is ?a definitive account of the entire controversy,? he said, ?but to not include the actual cartoons is to me, frankly, idiotic.?



In Mr. Aslan?s view no danger remains. ?The controversy has died out now, anyone who wants to see them can see them,? he said of the cartoons, noting that he has written and lectured extensively about the incident and shown the cartoons without any negative reaction. He added that none of the violence occurred in the United States: ?There were people who were annoyed, and what kind of publishing house doesn?t publish something that annoys some people??

* * * * * 

Ms. Klausen, who is also the author of ?The Islamic Challenge: Politics and Religion in Western Europe,? argued that the cartoon protests were not spontaneous but rather orchestrated demonstrations by extremists in Denmark and Egypt who were trying to influence elections there and by others hoping to destabilize governments in Pakistan, Lebanon, Libya and Nigeria. The cartoons, she maintained, were a pretext, a way to mobilize dissent in the Muslim world.