The Cartoon Row

The Committee to Protect Journalists has condemned the Malaysian government's suspension for two weeks of the publishing permit of the Chinese-language Berita Petang Sarawak newspaper for reprinting controversial cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed. The cartoons accompanied a February 4 article headlined, "We are prepared for the jihad war," the official government news agency Bernama said in...

Chief Russian media figures have made an open statement against the closure of a newspaper that had published a picture of Jesus Christ, Moses, Buddha and Mohammed. Administration members of MediaSoyuz, the union of Russian journalists, have said in their statement published by Vremya Novostei newspaper on Sunday that the situation should be considered "in the sphere of journalist ethics...

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 25 (Bernama) -- The Internal Security Ministry on Saturday suspended for two weeks effective tomorrow the publishing permit of Berita Petang Sarawak newspaper for publishing a seditious article in Chinese which also carried the offensive caricatures of Prophet Muhammad. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who is also Internal Security Minister, decided to suspend the...

HERE in Denmark the Muhammad cartoon issue continues to dominate the headlines. Politiken, the paper we get at home, has been running a special report on Egypt’s role in communicating the matter to other Islamic countries and international Islamic organizations, as well as warning the Danish government. Thus the paper has helped throw new light on the development of the affair, including to which...

MINSK, BELARUS - A small independent newspaper in Belarus has reprinted the cartoons of Prophet Muhammad that set off violent riots across the Muslim world, an editor said this week. The government condemned the publication and said it was not in line with its policy. The European Union's representative to Sudan said the controversy over the prophet drawings sparked attacks on foreign aid workers...

A possible mediator role Turkey was expected to play to resolve the cartoon controversy is now at risk over a news report published by some Danish newspaper on Namik Tan, the Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman, which was later proven by Mr. Tan himself to be false. The Danish daily, Information, quoted Mr. Tan as saying that the Turkish government demands an officially-acknowledged apology from...

NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on Saturday granted bail to Vijay Dixit, publisher of Senior Media Limited, who was arrested for publishing cartoons depicting Prophet Mohammed in a periodical brought out by the company. Metropolitan Magistrate Chandra Shekhar granted bail to Dixit, whose group brings out the fortnightly magazine 'Senior India', on his furnishing a bail bond of Rs 50,000 with one surety...

European countries are paying the price for their "miscalculations" on Islam, which have come back to haunt them in the crisis over cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad, according to the most influential leader of France's Muslim community, the biggest on the continent. Dalil Boubakeur says Europe's mistakes include supporting extremist Islamic groups in Iran and Afghanistan during the cold war...

KEPALA BATAS: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has accepted the New Straits Times’ (NST) front-page apology over a cartoon it published last Monday. Abdullah said no action would be taken against the newspaper following its open apology yesterday. "The NST has conceded to the Government's decision and I take it that they are very regretful over the issue," he said after opening a...

RADFORD, Va. -- Online cartoons depicting Jesus that satirize televangelists, the commercialization of Christmas and other issues have caused a stir among both Christian and non-Christian students and administrators at Radford University. In his "Christ on Campus" comic strip on the Whim Internet Magazine, Christian Keesee has featured Jesus being stabbed by Santa Claus, playing poker with other...