Muslim cartoon imbroglio points out hypocrisy.

Calgary -- The recent (Jan.-Mar. 2006) imbroglio over the publication of cartoons lampooning the Muslim prophet Mohammed is pointing out the hypocrisy extant among those who extoll "freedom of expression and the press," and "tolerance, respect and diversity," in the same breath. The controversy eventually ensnared the conservative Canadian magazine The Western Standard, which published the cartoons and was subsequently sued in human rights court. "I've never seen a more frivolous, vexatious, infantile suit than this," remarked Standard editor Ezra Levant--while also noting his magazine will be on the hook for about $75,000 in legal fees whether it wins or loses, while the complainants are funded by public monies.

Others rushed to condemn or censor publication of the cartoons, while several media representatives wrung their hands and called for more "responsible" use of the power of the press. Dave Weatherall, national bureau chief for the Canadian University Press, called for "more ethical publishing decisions," while the University of Prince Edward Island, supported by the UPEI Students' Union, ordered the campus student newspaper, The Cadre, not to distribute the particular issue containing the cartoons. At the same time, Dan Matheson of CTV Newsnet went on air and claimed that the media don't pick on the poor, the disenfranchised, or people's religions, because it is bad manners and not necessary (The Peak, Feb. 6, 2006; The Gateway, Feb. 9, 2006).

All of that sensitivity, particularly Matheson's remarks, must have been news to faithful Catholics in Canada who are used to seeing their religion attacked, ridiculed, and held up to scorn in the media. The University of Saskatchewan's student newspaper, The Sheaf, in March 2006 published a cartoon depicting Jesus performing oral sex on a pig, with the caption: "Go on, it's okay, it's kosher if you don't swallow." Two weeks earlier, a University of Toronto newspaper published a cartoon depicting Jesus and Mohammed smooching, with a view to promoting homosexuality (LifeSiteNews.com, Mar. 6, 2006).

In February, a New Zealand TV broadcaster affiliated with the Canadian-based CanWest Global Communications Corporation of Winnipeg, MB, aired an episode of the program South Park, entitled "Bloody Mary," which showed a statue of the Virgin Mary spraying blood from the genital area. New Zealand media commentator Brian Edwards charged that for CanWest not to air the episode would have meant capitulating to "religious blackmail."

Canada's Catholic Civil Rights League, during this year's Easter season, issued a release lamenting the airtime and ink being made available to those whose only interest in Christianity is to deconstruct it, sometimes for commercial gain. "Christians are being subjected to the suggestion that Jesus did not really die on the Cross," said League president Phil Horgan. "I can't recall seeing any other religion having its major feast days marked by efforts to 'prove' that the central tenet of their faith is untrue," added co-founder and president emeritus Tom Langan (CCRL press release, April 12, 2006).

Another media low-point was hit April 25, 2006, when the free Canadian daily youth newspaper Dose in Toronto depicted a package of "Roman" condoms on its front page, in response to the (false) rumour that the Catholic Church was reconsidering its rejection of the use of condoms. "Take your fornication to higher level," read the package label, which was marked by a silhouette of the Pope. "If used properly, Roman condoms can help greatly reduce sexually transmitted diseases (STD), pregnancies and Satan's steely grip on your member."

Editor's comment:

Catholic Insight holds to the view that any cartoons hateful or derogatory of religion, race or personhood are not in the true interest of society. We also believe that the fact that the Human Rights Commission has accepted the charges against the Western Standard reflects its own bias, and not the good of society. It is high time that Human Rights Commissions be abolished because of their history of biased, anti-religious, anti-free-speech rulings. By the same token, we also reject the violence and the threats of violence by Islamists throughout the world.