Media Admits Censorship due to Islamist Intimidation

When asked why they did not publish the Danish cartoons of Muhammad, American media offered many high-minded reasons about mutual respect and the like, all of which begged the question why many of the same editors and producers thought it just fine to insult Jesus. But two outlets have come clean, admitting their intimidation.

First, the Boston Phoenix, a weekly, on Feb. 10, 2006, which listed the following as the first of three reasons not to publish the cartoons:

fear of retaliation from the international brotherhood of radical and bloodthirsty Islamists who seek to impose their will on those who do not believe as they do. This is, frankly, our primary reason for not publishing any of the images in question. Simply stated, we are being terrorized, and as deeply as we believe in the principles of free speech and a free press, we could not in good conscience place the men and women who work at the Phoenix and its related companies in physical jeopardy. As we feel forced, literally, to bend to maniacal pressure, this may be the darkest moment in our 40-year publishing history.

(A day later, Tim Rutten of the Los Angeles Times quoted the Phoenix argument approvingly and added that "There is something wonderfully clarifying about honesty.")

Second, the Comedy Central channel, in a generic letter sent to viewers who complained that an image of the Muhammad cartoons had been deleted from "South Park" (to get the details on this complex episode, see Michelle Malkin's coverage):

Comedy Central's belief in the First Amendment has not wavered, despite our decision not to air an image of Muhammad. Our decision was made not to mute the voices of Trey and Matt or because we value one religion over any other. This decision was based solely on concern for public safety in light of recent world events.

For good measure, Borders Books also admitted its fears when it refused to sell an issue of the magazine Free Inquiry: "For us, the safety and security of our customers and employees is a top priority, and we believe that carrying this issue could challenge that priority," said Borders Group Inc. spokeswoman Beth Bingham.

Comment: Admitting to intimidation is not good, but it beats denial. (April 20, 2006)

Aug. 28, 2006 update: When Berkeley Breathed's Opus comic strip has the ever-searching and faddish Lola Granola character become an Islamist, the Washington Post yanked the cartoon for two weeks. Fox News explains:

the strips were shown to Muslim staffers at The Washington Post to gauge their reaction, and they responded "emotionally" to the depiction of a woman dressed in traditional Muslim garb and espousing conservative Islamic views. There was also considerable alarm over the strip at the highest echelons of The Washington Post Co., according to the sources.

[Washington Post Writers Group comics editor Amy] Lago said she flagged some of the syndicate's newspaper clients for two reasons: because of the possibility that the jokes about Islam would be misconstrued and because of the sexual innuendo in the punchline. "The strip came in and I knew we would have to send out an alert to all the newspapers," Lago said. "I do that fairly regularly with materials that might pose issues for local areas. ... We knew that because it was a sex joke, it could raise issues. And there is another client that has issues with any Muslim depiction whatsoever."

"Opus" conjures with Islamism. Click for larger version.

Dec. 3, 2006 update: Breathed returns to the subject of Islamist censorship in a cartoon today. It shows two characters coming up with anagrams (such as "God" and "Dog"), when one of them suggests they work out an anagram for "The Prophet Mohammed." The other replies, "No! Newspapser won't show that anagram!!" The first protests: "Shocking truths are newspapers' strengths." The second replies, "Whisper it." So the first whispers something that's been smudged out and the second looks at the reader and says, "Folks, as always, send your comments and complaints directly to the cartoonist."

Comment: Wordmith.org turns up no less than 55,556 anagrams for "The Prophet Mohammed," but few of them sound like English ("Heptad Morpheme Moth" is ranked first).

"Opus" of Dec. 3, 2006. Click for larger version.

Nov. 19, 2007 update: Grayson Perry, described by Ben Hoyle of The Times (London) as "the cross-dressing potter, Turner Prize winner and former Times columnist," admitted: "I've censored myself. The reason I haven't gone all out attacking Islamism in my art is because I feel real fear that someone will slit my throat."

Mar. 28, 2008 update: LiveLeak.com, the British internet site that hosted the Geert Wilders film Fitna, seen by over 3.6 million persons, after one day replaced the film with an explicit cry against censorship:

The Removal of "Fitna": Official Liveleak statement

Following threats to our staff of a very serious nature, and some ill informed reports from certain corners of the British that could directly affect the safety of some staff members, Liveleak has been left with no other choice but to remove Fitna from our servers.

This is a sad day for freedom of speech on the net, but we have to place the safety and well being of our staff above all else. We would like to thank the thousands of people from all backgrounds and religions, who gave us their support. They realised LiveLeak.com is a vehicle for many opinions and not just for the support of one.

Perhaps there is still hope that this situation may produce a discussion that could benefit and educate all of us as to how we can accept one another's culture.

We stood for what we believe in, the ability to be heard, but in the end the price was too high.

Mar. 30, 2008 update: LiveLeak today replaced the above statement with this one:

On the 28^th of March LiveLeak.com was left with no other choice but to remove the film "fitna" from our servers following serious threats to our staff and their families. Since that time we have worked constantly on upgrading all security measures thus offering better protection for our staff and families. With these measures in place we have decided to once more make this video live on our site. We will not be pressured into censoring material which is legal and within our rules. We apologise for the removal and the delay in getting it back, but when you run a website you don't consider that some people would be insecure enough to threaten our lives simply because they do not like the content of a video we neither produced nor endorsed but merely hosted.

Apr. 2, 2008 update: Ben Elton, the English comedian and writer, accuses the British Broadcasting Corporation of giving in to Muslim pressure. He talks of

"the genuine fear that the authorities and the community have about provoking the radical elements of Islam. There's no doubt about it, the BBC will let vicar gags pass but they would not let imam gags pass." He said the BBC might pretend that this hesitancy had something to do with moral sensibilities. "But it isn't. It's because they're scared." Elton said the situation was so bad that even everyday sayings were frowned upon: "I wanted to use the phrase 'Mohammed came to the mountain' and everybody said, 'Oh, just don't! Just don't! Don't go there!' It was nothing to do with Islam, I was merely referring to the old proverb, 'If the mountain won't come to Mohammed, Mohammed must go to the mountain'. And people said, 'Let's just not!' It's incredible."

Aug. 13, 2009 update: Those pesky Muhammad cartoons keep embarrassing the media, this time Yale University Press (publisher of my first book in 1981). Patricia Cohen provides details in "Yale Press Bans Images of Muhammad in New Book":

It's not all that surprising that Yale University Press would be wary of reprinting notoriously controversial cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad in a forthcoming book. … So Yale University and Yale University Press consulted two dozen authorities, including diplomats and experts on Islam and counterterrorism, and the recommendation was unanimous: The book, The Cartoons That Shook the World, should not include the 12 Danish drawings that originally appeared in September 2005. What's more, they suggested that the Yale press also refrain from publishing any other illustrations of the prophet that were to be included.

The article goes on to explain that the book's author, Jytte Klausen of Brandeis University "reluctantly accepted Yale University Press's decision not to publish the cartoons. But she was disturbed by the withdrawal of the other representations of Muhammad." It also notes that Reza Aslan withdraw a blurb for the book after the press reached this decision, calling it "frankly, idiotic."

Related Topics:  Freethinking & Muslim apostasy, Media, Muslims in the West, Radical Islam receive the latest by email: subscribe to daniel pipes' free mailing list