Intoonfada: A Government Blinks

Tim Cavanaugh | February 11, 2006

A rightwing, anti-immigrant party in Sweden has been planning a new Muhammad cartoon display. The web host for the party's newspaper pulled the plug on its site after "consulting" with the government. The Sweden Democrats now say they have canceled plans to run the cartoons.

Or have they? Here are statements from the paper SD-Kuriren, from editor-in-chief Richard Jomshof, and from Sweden Democrats party chairman Jimmie Akesson, but they're written in some kind of insane gibberish that nobody can read. (Update: Commenter Bramblyspam has a translation, which you can read in the comments section.)

Meanwhile, Jyllands-Posten culture editor Flemming Rose has been sent on indefinite leave after suggesting the paper would print Iranian Holocaust cartoons.

So the struggle goes on, but the countries get more boring. When will Prince Hans-Adam II of the Principality of Liechtenstein make his views known?

Update: Commenter "Dennis" sends in the picture that SD-Kuriren briefly posted on its site. I can't vouch for it but it matches the description of the picture in news accounts:

Wait a second! I recognize that guy. That's not Muhammad, it's Jesus!

Comments

|2.11.06 @ 1:50AM|#

Can we expect to see the cartoons in the next issue of Reason?

|2.11.06 @ 2:11AM|#

So, cartoons that insult Islam are fun, but when they are against Judaism they are forbidden.

How do you say hypocrisy in Danish? On second thought, I won't be going out of my way to buy Danish products after all.

|2.11.06 @ 3:18AM|#

Tim Cavanaugh,

I could have a Swedish friend look at them if you'd like.

|2.11.06 @ 9:03AM|#

the people are way ahead of their governments and media elites on this one.

so-called most offensive cartoon is now available on a T-shirt:
http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/156813.php

Dennis|2.11.06 @ 9:36AM|#

They say that they pulled the plug because they don't want to put Swedish lives in danger (refering to Swedish people living in the middle east). That's pretty much the gist of it, plus some free speech and anti-immigration statements.

SD also planned to run a contest where people could draw their own Mohammed cartoons and send them in, and SD would publish the cartoons on their homepage. But they backed off from the contest as well, and pulled the cartoon they had already published. The text says "Mohammedan self censorship".

amazingdrx|2.11.06 @ 11:51AM|#

What? No holocaust cartoons? Imagine that.

Who was right? Hehehey.

|2.11.06 @ 12:33PM|#

Heh, I speak that insane gibberish. For those who may care, here's a full translation:

The Swedish Democrats will refrain from further publication of Mohammed pictures, out of regard for Swedish lives.

Since Arabic media started reporting that the Swedish Democrats' party newspaper, the SD-Courier, published pictures of the prophet Mohammed, several pundits have warned that Swedish lives and interests in the middle east are under threat, and Sweden's foreign minister has beseeched the party to cease their publishing.

The Swedish Democrats won't apologize for defending freedom of speech, and won't distance itself from the pictures that have been published, but since they don't want to endanger Swedish lives, they will no longer publish such pictures. The Swedish Democrats' party chair Jimmie �kesson comments:

- Our decision to publish the Mohammed pictures was made long before the violence in the middle east started. At the time, we couldn't imagine that the decision might endanger Swedish lives.

- If it were just we who were threatened, then the muslim aggression wouldn't have influenced us, but the fact that other Swedes are threatened has caused us to rethink our position.

- We won't back down one centimeter from our position that Swedish freedom of speech is more important than Muslim complaints, and we don't apologize for the pictures we've published. In the current situation we can, however, think of at least temporarily removing the pictures from the SD-Courier's home page and refraining from publicizing further pictures.

I truly hope that this whole affair has caused Sweden's politicians to realize how terribly unfortunate the latest decades' mass immigration and integration policy has been, and what huge opposition it has built into the Swedish society. I hope also that the Swedish muslims who, via contacts in the Arab world, have contributed to directing anger at Sweden and Denmark will be deported, and that those muslims who place Islam ahead of freedom of speech and Swedish law will leave the country and move to a Muslim nation.

|2.11.06 @ 12:39PM|#

Oh yeah... in case anyone cares, that sentiment on deporting people was part of Jimmie �kesson's statement.

|2.11.06 @ 1:28PM|#

I guess the Iranian newspaper called Jyllands-Posten's bluff.

Snip|2.11.06 @ 2:23PM|#

I truly hope that this whole affair has caused Sweden's politicians to realize how terribly unfortunate the latest decades' mass immigration and integration policy has been, and what huge opposition it has built into the Swedish society. I hope also that the Swedish muslims who, via contacts in the Arab world, have contributed to directing anger at Sweden and Denmark will be deported, and that those muslims who place Islam ahead of freedom of speech and Swedish law will leave the country and move to a Muslim nation.

Well, I think the writer may have gotten it at least half right. As I wrote in my blog just yesterday, the long-term issue that will have to be dealt with is one of immigration and integration.

However, suggesting mass deportation is nothing if not just plain bone-headed. Won't happen. SHOULDN'T happen. It's a problem that needs to be dealt with, and 'changed my mind, go home' isn't an option... for many of these provocked/provocateurs, Sweden (or France, or Germany, or...) IS home, and in some cases has been for 2, 3, and even 4 generations now.

|2.11.06 @ 2:45PM|#

Looks like something out of high school art class. B+.

|2.11.06 @ 5:15PM|#

Muhammad is an asshole. There, I said it.

|2.11.06 @ 6:58PM|#

I shudder to think what will happen once some influential clearic decides to read Dune.

Rich Ard|2.11.06 @ 10:50PM|#

Looks like something out of high school art class. B+.

I'm going to go with a C at best - looks like plenty of time was spent on the face, but the hand is backwards. Or maybe that's significant somehow? :)

|2.12.06 @ 1:27AM|#

I shudder to think what will happen once some influential cleric decides to read Dune.

He'd probably say, "Well, the first two books were OK, but the rest of them... MAN! What was Herbert smoking?"

|2.12.06 @ 11:47PM|#

And he'd be right.

|2.13.06 @ 11:20AM|#

And Tim the Swedish == "some kind of insane gibberish that nobody can read" was beautiful.