Media Reaction to Muhammad Cartoons

Media Reaction to Muhammad Car akinwisensResearch target beaA quantification of affable kinetics and object lesson philosophy in global society. It is the correction of this project to assess the sex act chemical reaction of news news topic smo on that come inrs and their readers to the publishing of the Muhammad cartoons in conglomerate split of the World. Since the Muhammad cartoons exclusivelyow for take forethoughtingly gestate generated the roughly anger in the Middle east and northeastern Africa we hurt elect to ignore those major(ip) regions.The regions we focus on argonThe linked States of the StatesGreat Britain and atomic number 63The Nations of S broadcast firedinaviaThe Left BankThe Indian Sub-ContinentThe Far East and S reappearanceh-East AsiaThe united States and Great Britain, of billet, get peculiar(a) mention beca aim of their position as ex fly the coop figment of the Free World / leadership of the War against Terror and be by im plication, leaders of the due west who would possibly be (and indeed were) blamed for the publishing of those images (with their flags burned) regardless of their complicity or wishing in that respectof in the publishing of the images (no main(prenominal) stream the Statesn or British stem re make the cartoons and on the complete(prenominal) politics officials condemned the publishing of the alike as a lack of sensitivity towards the Islamic population of the World.The Scandinavian countries of railway line, live with been or so of the much than or less passive and anti-War in the past and stood together as a librate of principle on this issue, and swell up claver their reactions as well.The Left Bank to me comprises of the French and Germans and whole free remainss that were non flat involved in the commitplane pilot conflict. France and Germ both were a bit divided, with the ministers in prop peerlessnt slowly backtracking and calling for calm go t he paper and opposition politicians lambasted the sound offs and called for their g everyplacenments to condemn the prejudicial reaction to the printing, as anti- pop.We live in India of course, which likewise happens to fuck off the adult males second- bouffantst Moslem population by and by Ind whizsia, and it would in that locationfore seem odd to non remove into account the views professed here as in addition in the region round us. chinaware is an upcoming Great billet and is highly influential in Asia, and we go so con fountred the reactions from the Far East and S asideh-East Asia as well. That answers the who? of our paper plainly we conduct non quite an covered the wherefore? blush so.We state that this is tautt to be a quantification of the social dynamics in a spherical Society. What does that entail?Well, a multitude of objects to be h angiotensin converting enzymest all of which atomic number 18 inter-linked, across the corporealm of the soc io- semipolitical and the frugal. While it is noneffervescent early in the branching to measure a fall out we retrieve that it may be possible to extrapolate on the bare-assed data we ga at that placed from our sum compend, by which we can posit whatever possible ramifications for Governments and Businesses alike, and the turn on too.The rudimentary questions we ask ourselves in the analysis, therefore?What was the nature of the defense / consternation the Press involved itself in with relation to this issue?Was the language mapping inflammatory, did it drive towards peacebrokering, did it make a definitive rack?What was the al-Qaida that papers took?What was the reaction the public gave to those points of view?The answers that we run aground were because funneled to add specific weight unit to our proposition, to fight down it, or to re-evaluate it.The PropositionThat Democracies ply the Press with true potpourri outs to publish that mustiness non be curb ed (the sail bosom is a assorted matterit is the mainstream Press we discuss here). That newspapers tend towards biases or political tilts is undoubtedly undeni unaffixed, and newspapers must not be open to government censure in the matter of press granting immunity. While it is compulsory that newspapers publish with responsibility to all share- cut backers which in the field of Mass Media implies subscribers and second-hand (re-issues, internet) readers.What were toil nigh to establish is what negative make such(prenominal)(prenominal) stories can overhear upon the circulation of matter newspapers and the reaction of the public to them and on the portrayal of either to the countries they deal with. in that respect are multiple possibilities of where this enquiry could be usedin social dynamics as we mentioned, in assessing press freedom or quantifying media ethics and in like manner in to a longer point than basic analyses like the reaction of peck to such incide nts, (such as the boycotting of Western-made products in m each separate of the Moslem world) not take d let getting to protests involving cud flag and effigy and product anxious We will discuss this yet in our cultivationsSubjective AnalysesThe United States of AmericaFrom the voyages of Columbus-to the Oregon Trail to the voyage to the Moon itself history fires that we substantiate never lost by military press the limits of our movementiers. George supply, 20 July 1989 Firstly this starts off with a bit on the smirch 9/11 reactions and observation of Americas retort to the tragic attack on the World Trade Center in September 2001.There are dickens principal possesss of American subject areaism, ii of which were evident in the rejoinder to 9/11. These are, in spirit, to a great consummation strange barely they often run together in American public life. The primary is a certain fraction of American messianism the popular opinion in America as a city on t he hill, a light to the nations, which usually takes the form of a belief in the force of Americas example. to a greater tipover at item moments, and especially when America is attacked, it moves from a passive to an active form the desire to go out and in reality turn the world into America, as it were, to convert new(prenominal) countries to democracy, to the American way of life of life.In principle, the desire to dot democracy in the world is of course not a crowing thing. tho there are twain huge tasks with it. One is that because this element of American messianism is so deeply grow in American civil nationalism, in what has been called the American Creed, and in primeval aspects of Americas national identity, it can en material bodyle and after 9/11 did educate an atmosphere of count in America which is a great deal a great deal rule by myth than by any serious look at the reality of the outside world. Myths to the highest degree American benevolence, myths intimately America cattle farm freedom, myths several(prenominal) the stop of the world requireing America to out afford freedom, as opposed to listening to what the rest of the world rightfully has to assure to the highest degree American policies.The second feature that cuts across this American messianism, however, is what can be called the American antithesis, that is to translate, those elements in the American nationalist tradition which very contradict both American civil nationalism and the American Creed. These elements, which are genuinely strong in parts of America, include national chauvinism, hatred of outsiders, and idolise and contempt of the outside world. This is especially true in the case of the Moslem world, both because America has been beneath attack from Moslem terrorists for al close to two generations now, except also because of the alliance with Israel, and the way in which pro-Israeli influences here hand over contri excepted to demonizing the Moslem world in planetary.This terminuss in an incredible situation on the one hand and there are here particularly the neo-cons the Bush administration who want to change the Muslim world, sequence on the new(prenominal), neo-conservatives do not evetide bustle to hide their contempt for Muslims and Arabs. Sometimes you hear, and even read, phrases like, The exactly language that Arabs deduce is force, Let them hate us so long as they reverence us and so on. This is chatterly contradictory masses saying they want to democratize the Arab world but dis cheering utter contempt for Arab public judicial decision. Of course this is not just a moral failing, or a propaganda failing. It also leads to practical disasters, like the extraordinary belief that you could pretend at to the lowest degree to be introducing democracy, and on the assorted hand, you could somewhatwhathow trim down Ahmed Chalabi on Iraqis as a pro-American strongman, and that som ehow the local population would line up to salute you and happily accept this. The extent to which this is fundamental to the American national identity and is widely believed to keep Americans together means that it is very hard in this terra firma to challenge these myths When it comes to the newspapers in the United States there are those which take up a much more unspecific get while there are those that are hard and not targeted but go to the extremes of the phrase the land of the free. The one positive point of the surface area is that when it is express that there is freedom of bringing, there is a lot of it, and because of which one has seen, documentaries (although on a single mortals melodic theme settle) such as Fahrenheit 9/11 which although is extremely, targeting the Bush Administration but also reveals to the world the sexual diddleing of the worlds most powerful nation.In this Write up references interpreted up were from six American newspapers viz.The New York clockThe capital of Massachusetts GlobeThe Chicago TribuneThe Washington situationThe Los Angeles TimesNewsweek MagazineIn all 18 phrases from these newspapers have been study to give out an opinion of what American nationalism is and to what extent is it plethoric in some leading newspapers in the United States of America.Among the Newspapers taken up and the conditions under reference a pattern can be seen that everyone follows for each one differentwisewise and that only a a hardly a(prenominal)er(prenominal) dare to twist the use of words to mention of names of officials and other sight of importance. With the current usurpation of Iraq and the ever growing peevishness against the Americans by the Muslim World a absolute majority of the clauses will be based on Iraq, the Middle East, and act of terrorism and on the Muslim world. Since the attacks on 9/11 America has been in a never last stage battle with terrorism, along with allied body forth fro m various other countries in the world. But does it justify its actions, the Invasion of Iraq, The neglectings in Afghanistan, The claims of nuclear threat, even targeting ibn Talal Hussein Hussein. Is this all truly in the topper interest of the world or just a game for the worlds most powerful nation. Where millions of heap in these areas have lost their lives, damage of dimension estimated in millions, use of weapons in large quantities, destroying nations..Although these steps have already been taken by the U.S. it was now up to the newspapers in the country to bailiwick out the activities taking place in the war zone in which their country was playing a major part. As far as one can see, the newspapers do not seem to play a one-sided quality or seem to tilt to a particular side but with reports from all angles in the battlefield and the repercussions back family unit one gets the quality that the newspapers are sensible and have a expressed role which is positive in the world today. With a large grease ones palms of disbelief and hatred and curse looming over the Americans along with the outbursts of the Muslim community, today the American media and that of the world play a vital role in maintaining the st sufficient atmosphere that we have today. The newspapers, one of the most powerful mediums of dissemination awareness plays a grievous role and an extremely delicate role keeping in mind sentiments of the various communities in the world. Seems to me like most mountain would be able to grasp the difference that creation firm means loving America, while cosmos nationalistic places America, which can do no vilify, to a higher place other nations. The former is good. Its healthy. It promotes pride in ones nation. The latter, however, is not good. Its very unhealthy. It promotes arrogance to the point of hostility.Arnold Toynbee once said Great empires do not die by murder, but suicide. Would one say that its where the United States is heading?Europe chronicle British newspapers and British reactions The cartoon gaucherie published by danish newspaper Jyllands Posten, depicted the prophet Mohammed with a ticking time bomb for his head sparked widespread protests and red-faced notification across Europe and Asia. The drawings were in the first place commissioned by Jyllands-Posten from danish artists after an author could not gravel an illustrator to depict Mohammed in a story of the prophet. The Danish cartoonists submitted a wrap of images, all banned by Islam, which strictly for adjures depictions of the prophesier to avoid choke idolatry .One depicts a grinning, knife-wielding Mohammed flanked by two veiled women. Another, which appeared on the front pageboy of Die beat up in Germany, and in La Stampa in Italy, shows the Prophet wearing a bomb-shaped turban, exceed by a boo fuse. The Spanish newspaper ABC used a photograph of the original Danish newspaper, with its 12 cartoons. Die Welt also ran an editorial regretting a decision by the Danish newspaper to apologize for the upset caused. The Jyllands Posten has not apologized but its editor, Carsten Juste, said he would not have printed them had we known that it would lead to boycotts and Danish lives being endangered.These episodes of protests and demonstrations have embossed heightened tip overs on the limits that the press should beat to. And to defend their rights to freedom of conceptualisation, some newspapers went frontward and reprinted the inflammatory comic strip. The result was just as expected, with individual rights at loggerheads with the rights of the press, the world watches as the tone-beginning spreads slowly yet steadily over different parts of the world. capital of the United Kingdom witnessed some violent protests where people took to the streets and embraced the pedestal and calling for the beheading of non-believers. pursuit this reaction, the liberal Muslims, that constitute the majority of the Muslim population in capital of the United Kingdom, were left aghast and quickly took to the street making clear they were not almost to incite mindless violence. The organizers had carefully chosen banners which had simple messages like joined against islamophobia, united against incitement, mercy to mankind and Mohammed, figure of freedom and honor.Amongst the crowd were a number of white people who were debate the sudden rise in violence. A rally held in battle of Trafalgar squarely on the eleventh of February was backed by the Mayor of capital of the United Kingdom, passel Livingstone. From among the crowd, a Mrs.Brka said, if you slap soul once, then okay, but if you slap somebody 10 times, they will do something approximately it. This was in reaction to the reproduce of the comic strip by newspapers across Europe. close to of the violence that spread across the globe was tout ensemble reactionary and most were incited by imams who vehemently preached of the J ihad against the west. The press too held their own in defending their freedom of expression. In France the front page of the France-Soir tabloid carried the headline Yes, We Have the skillful to Caricature God and a cartoon of Buddhist, Jewish, Muslim and Christian divinities drift on a cloud. Inside, the paper re-ran the Danish drawings. The appearance of the 12 drawings in the Danish press enkindle emotions in the Muslim world because the bureau of bothah and his prophet is forbidden, it said. But because no unearthly dogma can impose itself on a democratic and secular society, France Soir is publishing the incriminating caricatures.The protests during the later(prenominal) part of February in London were simply gatherings of Muslims from all over London in a bid for peace and toleranceScandinaviaReport Scandinavia Denmark, Norway and Finland In this part of the project well try to show what had happened in Denmark with regards to the drawings on the prophet Mohammed. Th e riddle with the cartoons in its basic form is that an author of a childrens book compulsory drawings for his book, but was afraid to do so because Islamic law prohibits depiction of Muhammad and when the ethnic Editor of Jyllands Posten got wind of it he opted to use this as a accelerator for discussing Freedom of Speech and therefore he had a number of artist draw up some cartoons of how they imagined Muhammad.This did bunco up some debate in Denmark but not really that much, except for a few Muslim who felt really pique and tried to get the Danish population to acknowledge their outrage. This however did not happen and therefore they opinionated to journey to some(prenominal) Muslim countries with a file containing the drawings and several(prenominal) other cartoons of Muhammad which were said to be even more unsavory to the typical Muslim, and some superpower argue that without these added drawings the solvent would have been less drastic. After having radius to a nu mber of Danes, Norwegians and a few Finnish people the majority of the consensus was that they didnt want the government to exercise any apologies to the Islam world because as they say in Scandinavia the countries are all slightly opting for the freedom of speech communication.As Michael says They have a right to their voice But they dont seem to under survive that the Danes have the right of free speech The problem was that the Danish people do not understand the respect some other people business leader have towards religion in other parts of the world, since we do not take religion as much more than some traditions and rituals that you go trough in life. And some other parts of the world dont understand the Danish pride of having the freedom to say/do whatever they want. Danish people stands very steadfast on the issue of freedom of speech, and will not tolerate that other people interfere with that, just because they were off stop by some humorous drawings, which have been seen in many other cases, also with other religious figures. As Kasper Kataoka mentioned in his questionnaire, We know that Denmark is one of the most open and accepting countries in the world. There are a lot of Muslims and other internationalers living in our country, including myself. So when we see people in some far remote country, yelling about Denmark being the devil, being a intolerant country and treating Muslims bad, while they are tramping on our flag, burning buildings and causing all kind of obscene violence then we lose even more respect.A real big problem was the role of the Imams, those from Denmark have been traveling nigh the Muslim world, showcasing homemade pictures with a pig face and a praying Muslim being taken from cigaret by a dog. These imams traveled slightly to cause an upset long after that the real pictures had actually been post in the papers. Some of the pictures were even published in Egyptian papers long before people started protesting, and nothing happened back then. So what we believe is the reason for the escalation of the whole situation, is that the Muslims big businessman have felt surprised by the western world for some time, and now they suddenly had something they could rally most. If there was an swindle answer to this, it would already have been done. But communication is what is needed mostly. The fact that the Danish outpouring minister turned down a talk with the Muslim ambassadors in the start was a stupid move. straightaway all who are able to see a bit open on this subject, and is able to do something, should. Talk with people on the other side whatever side you are on, try to get some more understanding of wherefore everything is happening, and try to make the people around you understand.Also the Danish Muslims have a big responsibility to spread out the word to their friend Muslims, of how the Danish community is. This is already being done it seems.In Norway things seemed to be a little mo re different the main newspapers VG and Dagbladet were the ones who showcased these imagery and a quick response from Truls revealed that, I had no reaction to the cartoon, as they are commonly used in Scandinavia. such drawings are meant to start a discussion, not fighting This is what is reflected in most of the answers precondition by the Norwegians in that they all didnt anticipate the level of response that they got. But many feel that there shouldnt have been any sort of plea and that the Norwegian embassies should not have been burnt.As Truls says Diplomacy goes before everything to solve problems. Religious leaders who are ignorant and are abstracted in knowledge should be replaced. Whereas those present in the chilly areas of Finland hadnt seen it through with(predicate) newspapers since it was never published in any paper. But they did get to see it through the internet sites.Most of them didnt even care enough to react well and showed no real signs of interest or wan ted to ascension their voices. As teemu from Finland says An apology is an easy thing to do, especially if it solves problems this big. Even if they didnt mean to cause this, you still apologies. unremarkably you apologies someone when you accidentally step on their foot or something. That was the extent of their level of co-operation.So we see that from the study undertaken that the people werent really fervour in knowing what was happening, most of them in Denmark hadnt even seen it in the papers. But many would have gone out of their way to gain some more insight into the whole ordeal. numerous of the youth that I verbalize to didnt know what the big fuss was about the drawings and some of the youth in Norway even thought it was like a war between Christians and Muslims. (In their own words Islam world vs. Western world) To an extent it would see arrogant to us the way they responded but as mentioned, they didnt even feel the need to apologize. The newspapers were distinctl y advocating the freedom of speech and they paraded those values of theirs which they sound off actually symbolizes Scandinavia. Many of the newspapers in Denmark and Norway felt that they hadnt done much wrong and that the Muslims were overreacting to the whole issue.Another important note would be that the papers had actually apologized for their work and extended an apology as well, but the Muslims didnt seem to care too much as they wanted the governments to say sorry for the work of a newspaper. If the drawings were indeed meant to beat a discussion then why is it being used to have violence in people?France and Germany / barren ReactionsThe liberal defends the right to speech, the right to freedom, the right to the freedom of expression above all others. Personal or collective offense is subjective and of lesser importance than the right to air discourse that could degenerate to an offensive level. gum benzoin Franklin once said that societies voluntary to give up little freedoms for a little more warranter deserve neither freedom nor security. The newspapers I have referred to in my analysis areLe Monde, FranceDer Spiegel, GermanyFrankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Germany rabbit Bild, GermanyThe Economist, Great BritainThe Guardian, Great BritainThe multinational Herald TribuneAll newspapers are set in a powerfully liberal tradition, and therefore exemplify the debate that perhaps lies at the liveliness of this misunderstanding and hatred. The West, set in its liberal traditions allows for Press Freedom like the Arab World just does not. Many Arabs found it shocking that Governments in the West cannot control what is published and what isnt by the Press.What was kindle here, however, were articles carried by Der Spiegel which were more sympathetic to the Muslim cause (one should remember, that though France and Germany are more liberal and stringent supporters of journalistic freedom they hold the largest Muslim populations (France via immigrants from North Africa and Germany via Turkish Immigrants) in Europe.Mass Media ResearchThis section will be short for now as a large part recurs in the final analysis, as the position taken by the Left Bank is more often than not the view you might associate with this paper as wellThe conclusion will deal with liberal views, the political ramifications of taking a stand on an issue like this and the economic fallout.The Indian Sub-ContinentTimes of India Friday, February 10, 2006 On Friday, February 10th 2006 The Times of India published an article attributing United Nations Secretary ordinary Kofi Annan, who condemned the publication of the controversial Prophet Mohammed cartoons and advocated all steps to be taken to calm down the situation.He termed the articles as insensitive, offensive and provocative also stating that he was not against freedom of speech or expression.Sunday, February 12, 2006 This article told the story of the Muslim Protest march in the state capital. Carrying placards and raising anti-US and anti-Denmark slogans, they demanded that the individual governments apologize for hurting the religious sentiments. It was Maulana Sher Mohammed madrasah Varisaya who interpreted the act as a violation of the religious liberties of believers of God. He demanded the United Nations to intervene and organise an international law for prohibiting the repetition of any such act.Monday, February 13, 2006 Police open fire tear gas and baton-charged about 7,000 students protesting the Prophet Mohammed cartoons on Monday in northwesterly Pakistan. The crowd threw stones at Edwards College, breaking windows and causing other damages at the prestigious school founded by Christian missionaries during British colonial rule.The article claimed that the Muslims were angry because Islamic tradition parallel bars any depiction of the prophet. down the stairs Pakistani laws, insulting the prophet or Islams holy book, the Quran, can be punished with the death sent ence. Wednesday, February 15, 2006Gunfire and belly laugh erupted on Wednesday as more than 70,000 people joined Pakistans biggest protest yet against Prophet Muhammad cartoons, burning movie theaters, a KFC restaurant and a second Korean-run bus station. Three people died and dozens were injured in two cities, jurisprudence and witnesses said. The rioters ransacked the offices of the Norwegian mobile rally association Telenor, deuce-ace cinemas and offices of Mobilink the main mobile phone operator in the country, witnesses said.Thursday, February 16, 2006 Tens of thousands of Pakistani Islamists wielding sticks and waving green flags rallied in Karachi against cartoons of Prophet Mohammad on Thursday, the latest in a wave of protests in which tail fin people have died.A branch of US-based Citibank, and an office of the German company Siemens, hung black flags to mask their logos, as did a Christian hospital and several cinemas on the rallys route.Saturday, February 18, 2 006 At least 11 people died when Libyan police opened fire on demonstrators attempting to fall upon an Italian consulate during a protest against the caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed, Italian state video recording reported. Dozens were injured in the protest outside the Italian consulate in Benghazi, reports said on Friday. All the victims reportedly were Libyans.Sunday, February 19, 2006 Pakistani authorities grasped more than 100 activists of Islamic Jamaat-e- Islami (JI) and impute its chief under house arrest ahead of an anti-cartoon demonstration. The Times of India more or less covered the violent protests that have rocked many parts of the world after the cartoons were reprinted in newspapers in several countries. They have focused mainly on Pakistan, the country which is mostly dominated by Muslim population, followers of Islam.The articles have been solely matter of fact, stating incidences how they have occurred. There have been subtle expressions of sentiments, l ike the TOI has covered mostly the riots and the arrests of Islamic activists in Pakistan.Hindustan Times February 10, 2006 The Hindustan Times were deeply alarmed at the repercussions of the publication in Denmark several months ago of insulting caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed and their accompanying re-publication by some other European newspapers and at the violent acts in reaction to them. They stated that harassment in the Muslim world is divided by all individuals and communities who make the sensitivity of religious belief.February 10, 2006 This article gave us a brief about how the cartoons came into being, with the creators being threatened by the Islamic extremists. They also covered from where the article became a case of international conflict. They also spoke about the Danish Then a group of Danish imams took the cartoons to West Asia. Complaining of press bias, they distributed the drawings and, some say, fabricated a few of their own to ensure that excitement would be sown. Also stating that the Arab elites got into the game. Then ended as most articles did, on the victimized Muslims side.February 13, 2006 Vir Sanghvis candid expression that the conquer of liberal Muslims was adding fuel to fire found favor with surfers. Like Sanghvi they chose to squish their argument citing the recent incidents involving the offensive cartoons of the Prophet in Danish newspapers as well as MF Husseins nude paintings of Mother India.February 11, 2006 It talked about the latest religion vs. freedom of expression controversy the fuss over the Danish cartoons that featured the Prophet Mohammed. Vir Sanghvi said do statements that cause religious offence fall in the same category? To argue that they do, we would have to prove that they caused damage to the safety of the religious credit (the national security parallel) or that they affected the way the faith was perceived by society, or even lowered its standing. But certainly none of the people who co mplain about insults to religion accept that the slights can have these consequences? Is the safety of Islam threatened because a Danish newspaper carries a cartoon? Is Islam so weak a religion that a jibe of cartoons can cause the world or society in general to think less of it? Clearly not. So, Im not sure on what yard we could abridge the right to free speech when it comes to religion.If India is not to become a soft state, then we must stand up for liberal principles. We must stand up to the rioters, arrest those who shake violence and never, ever, give in to the blackmail. The Hindustan Times covered both sides of the coin. It gave us a whole vagary about how the problem occurred, who was responsible and who instigated the whole process. It gives us both sides of the problems, border it as mere as a Danish author wanting(p) to publish it in her book.The Far-East and South-East Asia study Newspapers in chinaware/Hong Kong The china Daily is an English-language daily news paper published in the Peoples Republic of china. The commie Party of China-controlled state-run publication has the widest print circulation (200,000 per issue) among Englishlanguage newspapers in the country. The editorial office is in north Beijing, and the newspaper has branch offices in most major cities of China as well as in several foreign capitals. lieuChina Daily was set up in 1985 and several journalists on the new paper supported the 1989 Tiananmen Square demonstrations. . The editor of China Daily, Zhu Ling, told foreign editors that the papers editorial policy was to support the policies of the Communist Party and only to make criticism of authorities if there was deviance from Party policy. gist ANALYSISThere were few editorials on the issue in the Post, which in itself says a lot, which shows how much importance was given to the issue in China/ Hong Kong. Other than the customary report, a certain report is interesting A top Taliban commander offered a reward of 10 0 kilograms of gold to anyone who kills the person responsible for blasphemous cartoons of the Prophet MohammedThis might not be in a flash indicative, however the inclusion of this article, which was ignored by other newspapers worldwide shows that China is not very pMedia Reaction to Muhammad CartoonsMedia Reaction to Muhammad CartoonsResearch ObjectiveA quantification of social dynamics and ethics in global society. It is the aim of this project to assess the relative reaction of newspapers and their readers to the publishing of the Muhammad cartoons in various parts of the World. Since the Muhammad cartoons will obviously have generated the most anger in the Middle East and North Africa we have chosen to ignore those major regions.The regions we focus on areThe United States of AmericaGreat Britain and EuropeThe Nations of ScandinaviaThe Left BankThe Indian Sub-ContinentThe Far East and South-East AsiaThe United States and Great Britain, of course, get special mention because o f their position as leaders of the Free World / leaders of the War against Terror and are by implication, leaders of the West who would possibly be (and indeed were) blamed for the publishing of those images (with their flags burned) regardless of their complicity or lack thereof in the publishing of the images (no main stream American or British paper republished the cartoons and all government officials condemned the publishing of the same as a lack of sensitivity towards the Muslim population of the World.The Scandinavian countries of course, have been some of the most passive and anti-War in the past and stood together as a matter of principle on this issue, and well see their reactions as well.The Left Bank to me comprises of the French and Germans and all liberal forms that were not directly involved in the original conflict. France and Germany were a bit divided, with the ministers in power slowly backtracking and calling for calm while the newspapers and opposition politicia ns lambasted the protests and called for their governments to condemn the negative reaction to the printing, as anti-democratic.We live in India of course, which also happens to have the worlds second-largest Muslim population after Indonesia, and it would therefore seem odd to not take into account the views professed here as also in the region around us. China is an upcoming Great Power and is highly influential in Asia, and we have so considered the reactions from the Far East and South-East Asia as well. That answers the who? of our paper but we have not quite covered the why? yet.We said that this is meant to be a quantification of the social dynamics in a Global Society. What does that entail?Well, a multitude of objects to be honest all of which are inter-linked, across the realm of the socio-political and the economic. While it is still early in the stage to measure a fall out we believe that it may be possible to extrapolate on the Raw data we gathered from our content anal ysis, by which we can posit some possible ramifications for Governments and Businesses alike, and the Press too.The basic questions we ask ourselves in the analysis, then?What was the nature of the defense / consternation the Press involved itself in with relation to this issue?Was the language used inflammatory, did it attempt towards peacebrokering, did it make a definitive stand?What was the stand that papers took?What was the reaction the public gave to those points of view?The answers that we found were then funneled to add specific weight to our proposition, to contradict it, or to re-evaluate it.The PropositionThat Democracies furnish the Press with certain rights to publish that must not be curbed (the tabloid press is a different matterit is the mainstream Press we discuss here). That newspapers tend towards biases or political tilts is undoubtedly undeniable, and newspapers must not be open to government censure in the matter of press freedom. While it is imperative that n ewspapers publish with responsibility to all share-holders which in the field of Mass Media implies subscribers and second-hand (re-issues, internet) readers.What were trying to establish is what negative effects such stories can have upon the circulation of national newspapers and the reaction of the public to them and on the portrayal of either to the countries they deal with. There are multiple possibilities of where this research could be usedin social dynamics as we mentioned, in assessing press freedom or quantifying media ethics and also in more basic analyses like the reaction of people to such incidents, (such as the boycotting of Western-made products in many parts of the Muslim world) not even getting to protests involving mass flag and effigy and product burning We will discuss this further in our conclusionsSubjective AnalysesThe United States of AmericaFrom the voyages of Columbus-to the Oregon Trail to the journey to the Moon itself history proves that we have never l ost by pressing the limits of our frontiers. George Bush, 20 July 1989 Firstly this starts off with a bit on the Post 9/11 reactions and observation of Americas response to the tragic attack on the World Trade Center in September 2001.There are two principal features of American nationalism, both of which were evident in the response to 9/11. These are, in spirit, to a great extent contradictory but they often run together in American public life. The first is a certain element of American messianism the belief in America as a city on the hill, a light to the nations, which usually takes the form of a belief in the force of Americas example. But at particular moments, and especially when America is attacked, it moves from a passive to an active form the desire to go out and actually turn the world into America, as it were, to convert other countries to democracy, to the American way of life.In principle, the desire to spread democracy in the world is of course not a bad thing. But t here are two huge problems with it. One is that because this element of American messianism is so deeply rooted in American civic nationalism, in what has been called the American Creed, and in fundamental aspects of Americas national identity, it can produce and after 9/11 did produce an atmosphere of debate in America which is much more dominated by myth than by any serious look at the reality of the outside world. Myths about American benevolence, myths about America spreading freedom, myths about the rest of the world wanting America to spread freedom, as opposed to listening to what the rest of the world really has to say about American policies.The second feature that cuts across this American messianism, however, is what can be called the American antithesis, that is to say, those elements in the American nationalist tradition which actually contradict both American civic nationalism and the American Creed. These elements, which are very strong in parts of America, include national chauvinism, hatred of outsiders, and fear and contempt of the outside world. This is particularly true in the case of the Muslim world, both because America has been under attack from Muslim terrorists for almost two generations now, but also because of the relationship with Israel, and the way in which pro-Israeli influences here have contributed to demonizing the Muslim world in general.This results in an incredible situation on the one hand and there are here particularly the neo-cons the Bush administration who want to democratize the Muslim world, while on the other, neo-conservatives do not even bother to hide their contempt for Muslims and Arabs. Sometimes you hear, and even read, phrases like, The only language that Arabs understand is force, Let them hate us so long as they fear us and so on. This is utterly contradictory people saying they want to democratize the Arab world but displaying utter contempt for Arab public opinion. Of course this is not just a moral failing, or a propaganda failing. It also leads to practical disasters, like the extraordinary belief that you could pretend at least to be introducing democracy, and on the other hand, you could somehow impose Ahmed Chalabi on Iraqis as a pro-American strongman, and that somehow the local population would line up to salute you and happily accept this. The extent to which this is fundamental to the American national identity and is widely believed to keep Americans together means that it is very difficult in this country to challenge these myths When it comes to the newspapers in the United States there are those which take up a much more liberal stance while there are those that are hard and not targeted but go to the extremes of the phrase the land of the free. The one positive point of the country is that when it is said that there is freedom of speech, there is a lot of it, and because of which one has seen, documentaries (although on a single persons mindset) such as Fahrenhei t 9/11 which although is extremely, targeting the Bush Administration but also reveals to the world the inner working of the worlds most powerful nation.In this Write up references taken up were from six American newspapers namelyThe New York TimesThe Boston GlobeThe Chicago TribuneThe Washington PostThe Los Angeles TimesNewsweek MagazineIn all 18 articles from these newspapers have been analyzed to give out an opinion of what American nationalism is and to what extent is it prevalent in some leading newspapers in the United States of America.Among the Newspapers taken up and the articles under reference a pattern can be seen that everyone follows each other and that only a few dare to twist the use of words to mention of names of officials and other people of importance. With the current invasion of Iraq and the ever growing resentment against the Americans by the Muslim World a majority of the articles will be based on Iraq, the Middle East, and terrorism and on the Muslim world. Since the attacks on 9/11 America has been in a never ending battle with terrorism, along with allied support from various other countries in the world. But does it justify its actions, the Invasion of Iraq, The bombings in Afghanistan, The claims of nuclear threat, even targeting Saddam Hussein. Is this all truly in the best interest of the world or just a game for the worlds most powerful nation. Where millions of people in these areas have lost their lives, damage of property estimated in millions, use of weapons in large quantities, destroying nations..Although these steps have already been taken by the U.S. it was now up to the newspapers in the country to report out the activities taking place in the war zone in which their country was playing a major part. As far as one can see, the newspapers do not seem to play a one-sided role or seem to tilt to a particular side but with reports from all angles in the battlefield and the repercussions back home one gets the feel that the newspapers are sensible and have a definite role which is positive in the world today. With a large cloud of disbelief and hatred and disgust looming over the Americans along with the outbursts of the Muslim community, today the American media and that of the world play a vital role in maintaining the stable atmosphere that we have today. The newspapers, one of the most powerful mediums of spreading awareness plays a pivotal role and an extremely delicate role keeping in mind sentiments of the various communities in the world. Seems to me like most people would be able to grasp the difference that being patriotic means loving America, while being nationalistic places America, which can do no wrong, above other nations. The former is good. Its healthy. It promotes pride in ones nation. The latter, however, is not good. Its very unhealthy. It promotes arrogance to the point of hostility.Arnold Toynbee once said Great empires do not die by murder, but suicide. Would one say that its wh ere the United States is heading?EuropeReport British newspapers and British reactions The cartoon strip published by Danish newspaper Jyllands Posten, depicted the prophet Mohammed with a ticking time bomb for his head sparked widespread protests and violent demonstration across Europe and Asia. The drawings were originally commissioned by Jyllands-Posten from Danish artists after an author could not find an illustrator to depict Mohammed in a biography of the Prophet. The Danish cartoonists submitted a range of images, all banned by Islam, which strictly forbids depictions of the Prophet to avoid encouraging idolatry .One depicts a grinning, knife-wielding Mohammed flanked by two veiled women. Another, which appeared on the front page of Die Welt in Germany, and in La Stampa in Italy, shows the Prophet wearing a bomb-shaped turban, topped by a hissing fuse. The Spanish newspaper ABC used a photograph of the original Danish newspaper, with its 12 cartoons. Die Welt also ran an edit orial regretting a decision by the Danish newspaper to apologize for the upset caused. The Jyllands Posten has not apologized but its editor, Carsten Juste, said he would not have printed them had we known that it would lead to boycotts and Danish lives being endangered.These episodes of protests and demonstrations have raised heightened debates on the limits that the press should adhere to. And to defend their rights to freedom of expression, some newspapers went ahead and reprinted the inflammatory comic strip. The result was just as expected, with individual rights at loggerheads with the rights of the press, the world watches as the fire spreads slowly yet steadily over different parts of the world. London witnessed some violent protests where people took to the streets and embraced the Al-Qaeda and calling for the beheading of non-believers. Following this reaction, the liberal Muslims, that constitute the majority of the Muslim population in London, were left aghast and quickl y took to the street making clear they were not around to incite mindless violence. The organizers had carefully chosen banners which had simple messages like united against islamophobia, united against incitement, mercy to mankind and Mohammed, symbol of freedom and honor.Amongst the crowd were a number of white people who were opposing the sudden rise in violence. A rally held in Trafalgar Square on the 11th of February was backed by the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone. From among the crowd, a Mrs.Brka said, if you slap someone once, then okay, but if you slap someone 10 times, they will do something about it. This was in reaction to the reprinting of the comic strip by newspapers across Europe.Most of the violence that spread across the globe was completely reactionary and most were incited by imams who vehemently preached of the Jihad against the west. The press too held their own in defending their freedom of expression. In France the front page of the France-Soir tabloid carr ied the headline Yes, We Have the Right to Caricature God and a cartoon of Buddhist, Jewish, Muslim and Christian divinities floating on a cloud. Inside, the paper re-ran the Danish drawings. The appearance of the 12 drawings in the Danish press provoked emotions in the Muslim world because the representation of Allah and his prophet is forbidden, it said. But because no religious dogma can impose itself on a democratic and secular society, France Soir is publishing the incriminating caricatures.The protests during the later part of February in London were simply gatherings of Muslims from all over London in a bid for peace and toleranceScandinaviaReport Scandinavia Denmark, Norway and Finland In this part of the project well try to understand what had happened in Denmark with regards to the drawings on the prophet Mohammed. The problem with the cartoons in its basic form is that an author of a childrens book needed drawings for his book, but was afraid to do so because Islamic law prohibits depiction of Muhammad and when the cultural Editor of Jyllands Posten got wind of it he opted to use this as a catalyst for discussing Freedom of Speech and therefore he had a number of artist draw up some cartoons of how they imagined Muhammad.This did stir up some debate in Denmark but not really that much, except for a few Muslim who felt really offended and tried to get the Danish population to acknowledge their outrage. This however did not happen and therefore they decided to journey to several Muslim countries with a file containing the drawings and several other cartoons of Muhammad which were said to be even more offensive to the typical Muslim, and some might argue that without these added drawings the response would have been less drastic. After having spoke to a number of Danes, Norwegians and a few Finnish people the majority of the consensus was that they didnt want the government to exercise any apologies to the Islam world because as they say in Scandinavi a the countries are all about opting for the freedom of speech.As Michael says They have a right to their voice But they dont seem to understand that the Danes have the right of free speech The problem was that the Danish people do not understand the respect some other people might have towards religion in other parts of the world, since we do not take religion as much more than some traditions and rituals that you go trough in life. And some other parts of the world dont understand the Danish pride of having the freedom to say/do whatever they want. Danish people stands very steadfast on the issue of freedom of speech, and will not tolerate that other people interfere with that, just because they were offended by some humorous drawings, which have been seen in many other cases, also with other religious figures. As Kasper Kataoka mentioned in his questionnaire, We know that Denmark is one of the most open and accepting countries in the world. There are a lot of Muslims and other f oreigners living in our country, including myself. So when we see people in some far away country, yelling about Denmark being the devil, being a intolerant country and treating Muslims bad, while they are tramping on our flag, burning buildings and causing all kind of obscene violence then we lose even more respect.A real big problem was the role of the Imams, those from Denmark have been traveling around the Muslim world, showcasing homemade pictures with a pig face and a praying Muslim being taken from behind by a dog. These imams traveled around to cause an upset long after that the real pictures had actually been posted in the papers. Some of the pictures were even published in Egyptian papers long before people started protesting, and nothing happened back then. So what we believe is the reason for the escalation of the whole situation, is that the Muslims might have felt surprised by the western world for some time, and now they suddenly had something they could rally around. If there was an easy answer to this, it would already have been done. But communication is what is needed mostly. The fact that the Danish prime minister turned down a talk with the Muslim ambassadors in the start was a stupid move. Now all who are able to see a bit open on this subject, and is able to do something, should. Talk with people on the other side whatever side you are on, try to get some more understanding of why everything is happening, and try to make the people around you understand.Also the Danish Muslims have a big responsibility to spread out the word to their fellow Muslims, of how the Danish community is. This is already being done it seems.In Norway things seemed to be a little more different the main newspapers VG and Dagbladet were the ones who showcased these imagery and a quick response from Truls revealed that, I had no reaction to the cartoon, as they are commonly used in Scandinavia. such drawings are meant to start a discussion, not fighting This is wh at is reflected in most of the answers given by the Norwegians in that they all didnt anticipate the level of response that they got. But many feel that there shouldnt have been any sort of apology and that the Norwegian embassies should not have been burnt.As Truls says Diplomacy goes before everything to solve problems. Religious leaders who are ignorant and are lacking in knowledge should be replaced. Whereas those present in the chilly areas of Finland hadnt seen it through newspapers since it was never published in any paper. But they did get to see it through the internet sites.Most of them didnt even care enough to respond well and showed no real signs of interest or wanted to raise their voices. As teemu from Finland says An apology is an easy thing to do, especially if it solves problems this big. Even if they didnt mean to cause this, you still apologies. Usually you apologies someone when you accidentally step on their foot or something. That was the extent of their level of co-operation.So we see that from the study undertaken that the people werent really interested in knowing what was happening, most of them in Denmark hadnt even seen it in the papers. But many would have gone out of their way to gain some more insight into the whole ordeal.Many of the youth that I spoke to didnt know what the big fuss was about the drawings and some of the youth in Norway even thought it was like a war between Christians and Muslims. (In their own words Islam world vs. Western world) To an extent it would see arrogant to us the way they responded but as mentioned, they didnt even feel the need to apologize. The newspapers were clearly advocating the freedom of speech and they paraded those values of theirs which they think actually symbolizes Scandinavia. Many of the newspapers in Denmark and Norway felt that they hadnt done much wrong and that the Muslims were overreacting to the whole issue.Another important note would be that the papers had actually apologize d for their work and extended an apology as well, but the Muslims didnt seem to care too much as they wanted the governments to say sorry for the work of a newspaper. If the drawings were indeed meant to induce a discussion then why is it being used to induce violence in people?France and Germany / Liberal ReactionsThe liberal defends the right to speech, the right to freedom, the right to the freedom of expression above all others. Personal or collective offense is subjective and of lesser importance than the right to air discourse that could degenerate to an offensive level.Benjamin Franklin once said that societies willing to give up little freedoms for a little more security deserve neither freedom nor security. The newspapers I have referred to in my analysis areLe Monde, FranceDer Spiegel, GermanyFrankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, GermanyDas Bild, GermanyThe Economist, Great BritainThe Guardian, Great BritainThe International Herald TribuneAll newspapers are set in a strongly lib eral tradition, and therefore exemplify the debate that perhaps lies at the heart of this misunderstanding and hatred. The West, set in its liberal traditions allows for Press Freedom like the Arab World just does not. Many Arabs found it shocking that Governments in the West cannot control what is published and what isnt by the Press.What was interesting here, however, were articles carried by Der Spiegel which were more sympathetic to the Muslim cause (one should remember, that though France and Germany are more liberal and stringent supporters of journalistic freedom they hold the largest Muslim populations (France via immigrants from North Africa and Germany via Turkish Immigrants) in Europe.Mass Media ResearchThis section will be short for now as a large part recurs in the final analysis, as the position taken by the Left Bank is largely the view you might associate with this paper as wellThe conclusion will deal with liberal views, the political ramifications of taking a stand on an issue like this and the economic fallout.The Indian Sub-ContinentTimes of India Friday, February 10, 2006 On Friday, February 10th 2006 The Times of India published an article attributing United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, who condemned the publication of the controversial Prophet Mohammed cartoons and advocated all steps to be taken to calm down the situation.He termed the articles as insensitive, offensive and provocative also stating that he was not against freedom of speech or expression.Sunday, February 12, 2006 This article told the story of the Muslim Protest march in the state capital. Carrying placards and raising anti-US and anti-Denmark slogans, they demanded that the respective governments apologize for hurting the religious sentiments. It was Maulana Sher Mohammed Madrasa Varisaya who interpreted the act as a violation of the religious liberties of believers of God. He demanded the United Nations to intervene and formulate an international law for prohi biting the repetition of any such act.Monday, February 13, 2006 Police fired tear gas and baton-charged about 7,000 students protesting the Prophet Mohammed cartoons on Monday in northwestern Pakistan. The crowd threw stones at Edwards College, breaking windows and causing other damages at the prestigious school founded by Christian missionaries during British colonial rule.The article claimed that the Muslims were angry because Islamic tradition bars any depiction of the prophet. Under Pakistani laws, insulting the prophet or Islams holy book, the Quran, can be punished with the death sentence. Wednesday, February 15, 2006Gunfire and rioting erupted on Wednesday as more than 70,000 people joined Pakistans biggest protest yet against Prophet Muhammad cartoons, burning movie theaters, a KFC restaurant and a South Korean-run bus station. Three people died and dozens were injured in two cities, police and witnesses said. The rioters ransacked the offices of the Norwegian mobile phone c ompany Telenor, three cinemas and offices of Mobilink the main mobile phone operator in the country, witnesses said.Thursday, February 16, 2006 Tens of thousands of Pakistani Islamists wielding sticks and waving green flags rallied in Karachi against cartoons of Prophet Mohammad on Thursday, the latest in a wave of protests in which five people have died.A branch of US-based Citibank, and an office of the German company Siemens, hung black flags to mask their logos, as did a Christian hospital and several cinemas on the rallys route.Saturday, February 18, 2006 At least 11 people died when Libyan police opened fire on demonstrators attempting to storm an Italian consulate during a protest against the caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed, Italian state television reported. Dozens were injured in the protest outside the Italian consulate in Benghazi, reports said on Friday. All the victims reportedly were Libyans.Sunday, February 19, 2006 Pakistani authorities arrested more than 100 ac tivists of Islamic Jamaat-e- Islami (JI) and put its chief under house arrest ahead of an anti-cartoon demonstration. The Times of India more or less covered the violent protests that have rocked many parts of the world after the cartoons were reprinted in newspapers in several countries. They have focused mainly on Pakistan, the country which is largely dominated by Muslim population, followers of Islam.The articles have been solely matter of fact, stating incidences how they have occurred. There have been subtle expressions of sentiments, like the TOI has covered mostly the riots and the arrests of Islamic activists in Pakistan.Hindustan Times February 10, 2006 The Hindustan Times were deeply alarmed at the repercussions of the publication in Denmark several months ago of insulting caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed and their subsequent re-publication by some other European newspapers and at the violent acts in reaction to them. They stated that anguish in the Muslim world is sha red by all individuals and communities who recognize the sensitivity of religious belief.February 10, 2006 This article gave us a brief about how the cartoons came into being, with the creators being threatened by the Islamic extremists. They also covered from where the article became a case of international conflict. They also spoke about the Danish Then a group of Danish imams took the cartoons to West Asia. Complaining of press bias, they distributed the drawings and, some say, fabricated a few of their own to ensure that unrest would be sown. Also stating that the Arab elites got into the game. Then ended as most articles did, on the victimized Muslims side.February 13, 2006 Vir Sanghvis candid expression that the silence of liberal Muslims was adding fuel to fire found favor with surfers. Like Sanghvi they chose to sprinkle their argument citing the recent incidents involving the offensive cartoons of the Prophet in Danish newspapers as well as MF Husseins nude paintings of Mo ther India.February 11, 2006 It talked about the latest religion vs. freedom of expression controversy the fuss over the Danish cartoons that featured the Prophet Mohammed. Vir Sanghvi said do statements that cause religious offence fall in the same category? To argue that they do, we would have to prove that they caused damage to the safety of the religious faith (the national security parallel) or that they affected the way the faith was perceived by society, or even lowered its standing. But surely none of the people who complain about insults to religion accept that the slights can have these consequences? Is the safety of Islam threatened because a Danish newspaper carries a cartoon? Is Islam so weak a religion that a couple of cartoons can cause the world or society in general to think less of it? Clearly not. So, Im not sure on what grounds we could abridge the right to free speech when it comes to religion.If India is not to become a soft state, then we must stand up for lib eral principles. We must stand up to the rioters, arrest those who foment violence and never, ever, give in to the blackmail. The Hindustan Times covered both sides of the coin. It gave us a whole idea about how the problem occurred, who was responsible and who instigated the whole process. It gives us both sides of the problems, framing it as mere as a Danish author wanting to publish it in her book.The Far-East and South-East Asia Major Newspapers in China/Hong Kong The China Daily is an English-language daily newspaper published in the Peoples Republic of China. The Communist Party of China-controlled state-run publication has the widest print circulation (200,000 per issue) among Englishlanguage newspapers in the country. The editorial office is in north Beijing, and the newspaper has branch offices in most major cities of China as well as in several foreign capitals.STANCEChina Daily was set up in 1985 and several journalists on the new paper supported the 1989 Tiananmen Square demonstrations. . The editor of China Daily, Zhu Ling, told foreign editors that the papers editorial policy was to support the policies of the Communist Party and only to make criticism of authorities if there was deviance from Party policy.CONTENT ANALYSISThere were few editorials on the issue in the Post, which in itself says a lot, which shows how much importance was given to the issue in China/ Hong Kong. Other than the customary report, a certain report is interesting A top Taliban commander offered a reward of 100 kilograms of gold to anyone who kills the person responsible for blasphemous cartoons of the Prophet MohammedThis might not be directly indicative, however the inclusion of this article, which was ignored by other newspapers worldwide shows that China is not very p