Following my last entry about the cartoon which doth offend, I thought I'd add this little fact I found out this morning whilst listening to The Today program on Radio 4.
There is an image of the Prophet Mohammed which has been sitting doing no-one any harm in the University of Edinburgh's art gallery. It was painted by 13th century Muslims and is the oldest known portrayal of the prophet. Now one could say that whereas the painting is reverent while the cartoon pokes fun, this was not the point I've heard. ANY portrayal of Mohammed is counted as un-Quranic. If that's so, how has this picture been hanging for decades without anyone being blown up or worse still, without there being a boycott on Scottish products? You know how much the Pakistanis and Egyptians just love their haggis? No, there isn't any pork in haggis.
Therefore I'm led to believe that there is a story behind the story. Nothing is what it seems is it?
I believe that the real behind the scenes tale will come out within the next few weeks, though I strongly feel you can't take away Iraq and the war with the Texas Yokel and Mr Blah out of the equation.
And while I am an ardent advocate of free speech, the fact that the French satirical magazine who initially published in France, have decided to publish the cartoons again, I think this is s step too far. Free speech is one thing, but deliberate antagonism, merely for the sake of doing so, is another. Time to move on, we know we can publish in Europe.
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