Controversial newspaper caricatures
Encyclopedia
Muhammed cartoons and response
- The Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversyJyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversyThe Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy began after 12 editorial cartoons, most of which depicted the Islamic prophet Muhammad, were published in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten on 30 September 2005...
, involving unflattering depictions of the Islamic prophet MuhammadMuhammadMuhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
first published in DenmarkDenmarkDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
in September 2005 and subsequently in other countries, lead to wide-scale protesting and rioting. - On February 7, 2006 the Arab European LeagueArab European LeagueThe Arab European League or AEL is a radical Pan-Arabist civil rights movement/organization in Belgium and the Netherlands.-Foundation:...
published multiple cartoons suggesting Holocaust denialHolocaust denialHolocaust denial is the act of denying the genocide of Jews in World War II, usually referred to as the Holocaust. The key claims of Holocaust denial are: the German Nazi government had no official policy or intention of exterminating Jews, Nazi authorities did not use extermination camps and gas...
in response to the Muhammed cartoonsJyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversyThe Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy began after 12 editorial cartoons, most of which depicted the Islamic prophet Muhammad, were published in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten on 30 September 2005...
published months earlier. - French Satirical Newspaper 'Charlie Hebdo' Wins Over Controversial Cartoon Ban Request.
The Arab world
Many Muslim Middle Eastern newspapers have frequently published cartoons with allegedly anti-Semitic themes, or those created or inspired by NaziNazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
-style propaganda. These newspapers have generally claimed to be anti-Israeli but not anti-Jewish. Some examples:
- On June 6, 2002, Akhbar al-Khalij from Bahrain published a cartoon showing an Israeli Jew piercing a baby with a spear.
- On July 24, 2002 Al Watan from Qatar published a cartoon of Ariel SharonAriel SharonAriel Sharon is an Israeli statesman and retired general, who served as Israel’s 11th Prime Minister. He has been in a permanent vegetative state since suffering a stroke on 4 January 2006....
, the then Prime Minister of IsraelPrime Minister of IsraelThe Prime Minister of Israel is the head of the Israeli government and the most powerful political figure in Israel . The prime minister is the country's chief executive. The official residence of the prime minister, Beit Rosh Hamemshala is in Jerusalem...
, drinking from a cup of Palestinian children's blood. - On December 17, 2001, Keyhan published a cartoon showing a Jewish Israeli Soldier in front of a Holocaust scenery, killing Arabs.
- Almost all Israeli prime ministers in the last 15 years (Shamir, Peres, Rabin, Barak, Sharon) have been depicted as Nazis. Israeli Jews have been depicted as spiders, octopuses, scorpions, snakes, thieves or other menacing-looking persons with exaggerated "Jewish" characteristics.
- On May 17, 2001 the Palestinian Al Quds published a cartoon depicting then Prime Minister of IsraelPrime Minister of IsraelThe Prime Minister of Israel is the head of the Israeli government and the most powerful political figure in Israel . The prime minister is the country's chief executive. The official residence of the prime minister, Beit Rosh Hamemshala is in Jerusalem...
, Ariel SharonAriel SharonAriel Sharon is an Israeli statesman and retired general, who served as Israel’s 11th Prime Minister. He has been in a permanent vegetative state since suffering a stroke on 4 January 2006....
, eating Palestinian children.
Spain
- On July 20, 2007, the cartoon on the front page of the weekly satirical magazine El JuevesEl Juevesis a Spanish satirical weekly magazine published in Barcelona. Its complete title is ""...
whose front page carried a drawing of Crown Prince Felipe having sex with his wife and commenting on a government plan to give parents €EuroThe euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
2 500 for each child born. Judge Juan del Olmo ruled that the cartoon "struck at the honour and dignity of the people represented."
Canada
- On March 2, 2006, the Student newspaper the SheafThe SheafThe Sheaf is a student run newspaper serving the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan since 1912. A new issue comes out every Thursday with approximately 9,000 copies per issue.The Sheaf is a student-run non-profit organization...
from the University of SaskatchewanUniversity of SaskatchewanThe University of Saskatchewan is a Canadian public research university, founded in 1907, and located on the east side of the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. An "Act to establish and incorporate a University for the Province of Saskatchewan" was passed by the...
, published a cartoon entitled "Capitalist PigletCapitalist PigletCapitalist Piglet was a comic strip which appeared briefly in The Sheaf during 2005-2006, and is best known for a controversial installment depicting Jesus Christ performing fellatio on a cartoon pig.-Creation:...
" which featured JesusJesusJesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
performing a sexual act with a PigPigA pig is any of the animals in the genus Sus, within the Suidae family of even-toed ungulates. Pigs include the domestic pig, its ancestor the wild boar, and several other wild relatives...
(which was intended to represent CapitalismCapitalismCapitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
). The Cartoon was published in the wake of the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversyJyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversyThe Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy began after 12 editorial cartoons, most of which depicted the Islamic prophet Muhammad, were published in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten on 30 September 2005...
, and the paper apologised for the incident four days later, and the editor resigned the following day.
France
- In May 2002, Le MondeLe MondeLe Monde is a French daily evening newspaper owned by La Vie-Le Monde Group and edited in Paris. It is one of two French newspapers of record, and has generally been well respected since its first edition under founder Hubert Beuve-Méry on 19 December 1944...
in France published a cartoon comparing the destruction following the Warsaw Ghetto UprisingWarsaw Ghetto UprisingThe Warsaw Ghetto Uprising was the Jewish resistance that arose within the Warsaw Ghetto in German occupied Poland during World War II, and which opposed Nazi Germany's effort to transport the remaining ghetto population to Treblinka extermination camp....
with the destruction caused by Israeli military following the Battle of Jenin. The text below it says: "History has a strange way of repeating itself!"
Indonesia
On 27 March 2006, Indonesian daily Rakyat MerdekaRakyat Merdeka
Rakyat Merdeka is an Indonesian daily tabloid newspaper, owned by the country’s largest media group Jawa Pos. The newspaper has gained prominence as a result of its controversial headlines and its "gritty, often abrasive, style" , with articles and caricatures that frequently strongly criticize...
published a cartoon
Rakyat Merdeka dingo cartoon controversy
The Rakyat Merdeka Dingo cartoon controversy began after a front page editorial cartoon depicting the Australian Prime Minister John Howard and Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer as dingoes were published in the Indonesian newspaper Rakyat Merdeka on 27 March 2006 to protest the...
on its front page depicting the Australian Prime Minister and Foreign minister as dingoes discussing the acquisition of the Indonesian province of West Papua. A cartoonist in The Australian
The Australian
The Australian is a broadsheet newspaper published in Australia from Monday to Saturday each week since 14 July 1964. The editor in chief is Chris Mitchell, the editor is Clive Mathieson and the 'editor-at-large' is Paul Kelly....
responded on 1 April with a cartoon depicting the Indonesian President as a dog copulating with a West Papuan.
Iran
- In the Iran newspaper cockroach cartoon controversyIran newspaper cockroach cartoon controversyThe cockroach cartoon controversy of "Iran weekly magazine" arose over a cartoon, published in the Iranian holiday-magazine of Iran-e-jomee, drawn by the cartoonist Mana Neyestani, an ethnic Iranian Azeri...
, on 23 May 2006, the Iranian government suspended publication of a state-owned newspaper.
Mexico
- Mexican cartoonists enjoy a broad freedom of speech, and so they have commented about almost every possible aspect of the political and common life. This freedom of speech has allowed the publication of cartoons which are normal in Mexico, but quite controversial in the American point of view. For example, two days after the September 11 attacks, La JornadaLa JornadaLa Jornada is one of Mexico City's leading daily newspapers. It was established in 1984 by Carlos Payán Velver. The current editor is Carmen Lira Saade...
newspaper published a cartoon where El Fisgon makes a comparison between the attacks and the multiple US military operations. La Jornada also published in September 2001 another cartoon where Magu states that: "As the world (global) policemen of the new millennium, the Americans are using torture techniques invented by the Mexican police in the last century". The freedom of speech extends to other Mexican newspapers. El Universal (Mexico City)El Universal (Mexico City)El Universal is a major Mexican newspaper.El Universal was founded by Félix Palavicini and Emilio Rabasa in October 1916, in the city of Santiago de Queretaro to cover the end of the Mexican Revolution and the creation of the new Mexican Constitution...
published several cartoons where Boligan criticizes American military operations in Iraq, specially presenting a pair of soldiers as vultures who complain about the Mexican illegal immigration to the US, when at the same time they are invading Iraq.
United Kingdom
- On January 27, 2003, the day before Israeli elections, British newspaper The IndependentThe IndependentThe Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
published a cartoon depicting the Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon naked (with an Election badge acting as a Fig-leaf) sitting among bombed houses eating a baby while helicopters and tanks buzzed 'Vote Sharon', with Sharon saying "What's wrong, haven't you seen a politician kissing babies before". The cartoon was based on Goya's Saturn Devouring His SonSaturn Devouring His SonSaturn Devouring His Son is the name given to a painting by Spanish artist Francisco Goya. It depicts the Greek myth of the Titan Cronus , who, fearing that he would be overthrown by his children, ate each one upon their birth...
and was penned after a pre-election raid by Israeli missiles on Gaza CityGazaGaza , also referred to as Gaza City, is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip, with a population of about 450,000, making it the largest city in the Palestinian territories.Inhabited since at least the 15th century BC,...
. The cartoon was eventually selected as the "Cartoon of the Year" by the United Kingdom's Political Cartoon Society. The Israeli embassy, backed by the Sharon government, issued a complaint saying the cartoon was anti-semiticAnti-SemitismAntisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
, however the Press Watchdog, the press complaints commissionPress Complaints CommissionThe Press Complaints Commission is a voluntary regulatory body for British printed newspapers and magazines, consisting of representatives of the major publishers. The PCC is funded by the annual levy it charges newspapers and magazines...
, said of the cartoon; "There is nothing inherently anti-semitic about the Goya image or about the myth of Saturn devouring his children, which has been used previously to satirise other politicians accused of sacrificing their own 'children' for political purposes".
United States
- Racist caricaturesBlackfaceBlackface is a form of theatrical makeup used in minstrel shows, and later vaudeville, in which performers create a stereotyped caricature of a black person. The practice gained popularity during the 19th century and contributed to the proliferation of stereotypes such as the "happy-go-lucky darky...
of African AmericanAfrican AmericanAfrican Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
s have also appeared in the United States before the American Civil Rights Movement, and occasionally since then as well. - During World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, several American newspapers and major animated studios put out cartoons and films depicting the Japanese with exaggerated Asian features and as being untrustworthy or trickster figures, echoing the anti-Japanese racist sentiments common during the war period. - A cartoon in Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles TimesThe Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, published in October 2000, shows a Jew and a Muslim, praying at a wall where the stones are formed to read "Hate". Below the cartoon the inscription says "Worshiping their God". According to the cartoonist, it showed "BOTH Israelis AND Palestinians worshipping 'hate.'" - Jesus with erectionJesus with erectionJesus with erection is a controversial satirical cartoon published in the March 2006 issue of the Student Insurgent, a student newspaper at University of Oregon....
is a controversial satirical cartoon published in 2006 in a student newspaper at University of OregonUniversity of Oregon-Colleges and schools:The University of Oregon is organized into eight schools and colleges—six professional schools and colleges, an Arts and Sciences College and an Honors College.- School of Architecture and Allied Arts :...
. - Jesus Dress UpJesus Dress UpJesus Dress Up is a game that was created by artist Normal Bob Smith in 1991 as a black-and-white colorform, which he photocopied and distributed to friends....
is a game that was created by artist Normal Bob Smith in 1991 as a black-and-white colorform, which he photocopied and distributed to friends.