TEHRAN (AFP) - An international contest of cartoons on the Holocaust opened in Tehran in response to the publication in Western papers last September of caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed.
We staged this fair to explore the limits of freedom Westerners believe in," Masoud Shojai, head of the country's "Iran Cartoon" association and the fair organizer, said.
"They can freely write anything they like about our prophet, but if one raises doubts about the Holocaust he is either fined or sent to prison," he added.
"Though we do not deny that fact that Jews were killed in the (second world) war, why should the Palestinians pay for it?" Shojai told the opening ceremony of the month-long fair in Tehran's Palestine Contemporary Art Museum.
I find this quite odd. “Explore the limits of freedom Westerners believe in”, from a place that limits most of the freedoms that Westerners take for granted.
Westerners will be offended at this but will understand that if you want freedom, you have to take the good with the bad, and go on there way. There will not be death threats, the authors will not have to hide and embassies will not be burnt. And life will go on.
I don't actually think this event is being conducted as an act of revenge against the Jewish people - rather a device for highlighting the apparent double standards entertained by the 'west' when it comes to free speech.
I see. It's still unnecessarily hurtful to those who lost relatives in the Holocaust, just as the Danish cartoons were needlessly offensive to Muslims. It's the wrong approach in my opinion.
It will not have the desired effect anyway. When these pictures will appear in some magazines in the west, some people will have a good shake of their bellies, and that's it. But the only thing which I'm afraid of, most will start to mock again muslims because of this silly action !
..and besides, the Danish Newspaper which released the pictures made apologies in public, no? So why now looking for troubles again?
Im Always Right,Its Like,When Im Right,Im Right,And When Im Wrong,I Could've Been Right,So Im Still Right,'Cause I Could've Been Wrong!
I don't actually think this event is being conducted as an act of revenge against the Jewish people - rather a device for highlighting the apparent double standards entertained by the 'west' when it comes to free speech.
Since when do we need the "west" as an example on how to approach/highlight issues? We should take the good an forbid the bad from the west.....after all thats what the best 'example'/role model (saw) taught us - enjoining Haq and forbidding bartil. So should we allow/engage in bartil to prove a point?- I dont think so.
This is stupid. Why take revenge on Jewish people? They're not the ones who made and published those cartoons in the first place.
Great post.
What is the purpose of this? Go make fun of Danish people, this Holocaust cartoon fair is a perfect example of the Anti-Semitism in the Arab World, not Anti-Zionism.
Wasn't there a famous case in Germany a few years back where a man was sentenced to prison for writing a book postulating the numbers of the holocaust may have been exagerrated?
Holocaust denial is a crime in the places it happend because they realize all the blood they have on there hands. They have admitted to the atrocious crimes they commited, and they will never let people diminish what happend, or try and deny it, because history does repeat itself.
Long live America, the land of the free (at least as far as freedom of speech is concerned) where both holocaust denial and rude mohammed cartoons are protected by the constitution. Iran only makes itself ridiculous like this, since everyone knows you can get thrown in jail for anti-regime comments.
Wasn't there a famous case in Germany a few years back where a man was sentenced to prison for writing a book postulating the numbers of the holocaust may have been exagerrated?
In Austria and I don't agree with this law. I think as long as you aren't advocating violence or inciting a riot you should be allowed to make an ass of yourself.
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