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Libel against Holy Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h) Sweeps America
Wave of Provocations, Insults and Libel against Holy Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h) Sweeps America.
University of Washington Muslim Students Association unavailable for comment on recent campus hate crime.
University of Washington Muslim Students Association unavailable for comment on recent campus hate crime.
SEATTLE, Feb. 6 (Al-Masakin)—libelous caricature insulting the Holy Prophet Muhammad, salah lahu alaihi wasallam, God's final messenger, have appeared on the University of Washington campus in Seattle.
The leaflet being anonymously distributed on campus declares "Free Speech" at the top followed by a graphic insult to Islam and rasulallah followed by a quote from Wendell Philips which declares, inter alia, that “no religion has the right to tell another what to say...what images to display or what images not to display.”
In addition to this the Telluride Daily News has reported that Johnny Sunshine Designs of Denver of Colorado is preparing to release offensive “Muhammad is Gay” merchandise for Telluride's Gay Ski Week. The merchandise, ranging from t-shirts to coffee mugs, are to be released this week and feature the Prophet of Islam engaging in sodomy.
--------------------
Al-Masakin
http://al-masakin.blogspot.com
The leaflet being anonymously distributed on campus declares "Free Speech" at the top followed by a graphic insult to Islam and rasulallah followed by a quote from Wendell Philips which declares, inter alia, that “no religion has the right to tell another what to say...what images to display or what images not to display.”
In addition to this the Telluride Daily News has reported that Johnny Sunshine Designs of Denver of Colorado is preparing to release offensive “Muhammad is Gay” merchandise for Telluride's Gay Ski Week. The merchandise, ranging from t-shirts to coffee mugs, are to be released this week and feature the Prophet of Islam engaging in sodomy.
--------------------
Al-Masakin
http://al-masakin.blogspot.com
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PHOTO: Protesters run after police used tear gas in front of the Danish embassy in Tehran, on Monday Feb. 6, 2006. Police used tear gas to disperse hundreds of angry protesters who hurled stones and fire bombs at the Danish Embassy in the second attack on a Western embassy in the Iranian capital Monday over the publication of caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad. Police had encircled the embassy building but were unable to hold back the mob of 400 demonstrators as they pelted the walled brick villa housing the Danish mission with stones and Molotov cocktails. (AP Photo/Hasan Sarbakhshian)
AP - 2 hours, 48 minutes ago
The global furor over the publication of cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad as violent seems as inappropriate as the tepid condemnation over Pat Robertson’s call to assassinate Hugo Chavéz.
Calling for the beheading of an artist for creating a caricature depicting a religion as violent is hypocritical. About as hypocritical as assaulting or killing a woman for appearing in a degrading beauty contest. Or like amputating Ann Coulter’s legs for her immodest vagina flashing on Fox News. Or castrating and sodomizing men who rape.
As fanatical, intolerant Muslim clerics continue to incite violence over the depictions of violence, and as Israeli Jews deliberately incite riots by building unauthorized new structures in settlements, America’s religious righteous -- armed with justifications from their churches, mosques and synagogues -- are mincing into gay bars with machetes and guns and opening fire. Others are frantically preparing to picket Coretta Scott King’s funeral because she supported gay rights. The Pope, lost in the haze of his Nazi Youth is too busy purging the symptoms of his dysfunctional, homocentric Church -- in between satin dress fittings and Prada shopping sprees -- blissfully oblivious to the blatantly obvious causes. The one certain thing all of these Torah-touting, Koran-clutching, Bible-thumping, Scripture-screeching religious zealots seem to share, is an unbridled lust for violence.
While all the world’s major religions -- Judaism, Christianity, Catholicism, and Hinduism – shoulder responsibility for fueling extremist factions spewing hatred, violence and intolerance, Muslims do need to drop the victimization act and realize that just as they condemn and judge others with impunity, so too must they learn to cope with being subject to criticism.
Until people stop, in Allah's name, stoning woman to death, killing homosexuals, cutting the hands off children stealing food to survive, flying passenger planes into skyscrapers, car-bombing innocent people, forcing their religious convictions onto others, and other such atrocities, and until Muslims loudly and clearly reject and condemn the violence perpetrated by those who have hijacked and perverted their religion, the likelihood of cartoonists depicting Muhammad as a gentle, olive-branch carrying dove is not particularly high.
But Muslims say the defense rang hollow because the European media's overprotection of Judaism and Israel from criticism.
Anger over the publications of blasphemous caricatures representing Prophet Mohammed in Danish press and several other European newspapers, is gaining momentum, as protestors stage demonstrations worldwide.
New Zealand has become the latest country to be drawn into the global uproar, with more than 700 angry Muslims marching through Auckland after two local newspapers, owned by an Australian group, reprinted the cartoons, a move condemned by the New Zealand government.
About 300 of Muslims also demonstrated peacefully in front of the Danish embassy in Bangkok, which was closed, calling for a boycott of its goods.
In Jakarta, hundreds of Indonesians massed outside the shuttered Danish embassy, which was overrun by demonstrators on Friday, protesting that press freedom does not require insulting any religion.
In Bandung, demonstrators marched towards the local parliament demanding that the Indonesian government cut diplomatic ties with Denmark.
A Bangladeshi foreign ministry official said that his country will formally protest to the Danish ambassador over the publications of the blasphemous cartoons.
Meanwhile, a general strike called to protest the publications brought Indian-controlled Kashmir to a halt, as shops and business establishments downed shutters in Srinagar, while state transport was reduced to a stutter.
The strike, called by lawyers associations and endorsed by various political, religious and business lobbies, also saw groups of protestors in the streets shouting slogans against the "enemies of Islam."
In Malaysia, a junior editor of a newspaper has resigned for reproducing the blasphemous cartoons on February 4, after being summoned upon by the deputy internal security minister to explain how the caricature was let through
Earlier, Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi condemned the caricatures as "a deliberate act of provocation" and a "blatant disregard for Islamic sensitivities."
Fresh protests also erupted across Afghanistan, with three demonstrators wounded in a clash with police, one day after a demonstrator was killed and four others were wounded by police gunshots.
Some 4,000 protestors demanded the closure of Denmark's embassy and the expulsion of the more than 170 Danish troops under the NATO-led peacekeeping mission, a force expected to expand this year to 360.
They also wanted the punishment of the publishers of the cartoons in an Islamic court.
Earlier, Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai called on western governments to take strong measures against the publications and urged western newspapers to dismiss the editors.
Thousands of Muslims across the Middle East also protested against the caricatures that led some governments to recall their ambassadors to Denmark.
Thousands demonstrated in the Iraqi cities of Ramadi, and Amarah, demanding that Danish and Norwegian diplomats in Iraq be expelled.
Iraq's Transport Minister Salam al-Maliki said it would cancel its contracts with Danish firms and reject Danish reconstruction aid, while a ministry official said Norwegian contracts would be terminated, too.
Palestinians also took to the streets of East Jerusalem calling on Arab countries to cut off oil supply to European countries.
In Gaza, several dozens of students demonstrated outside the European Union offices, while in Tel Aviv, Palestinians held a protest outside the Danish embassy.
Meanwhile, hundreds of Muslims took to the streets of Cairo, calling for the boycott of all products coming from countries where caricatures have been published.
But the condemnation turned violent in Lebanon and Syria, where the Danish embassies were torched.
Denmark urged its nationals to leave both countries, and issued a list of 14 countries which travellers should avoid.
The Danish Foreign Minister, Per Stig Miller, said in a news conference, that the events in Beirut and Damascus were "beyond comprehension and totally unacceptable," repeating his statement that the Danish government cannot apologise for the country's free press and that those who committed blasphemy were breaking Danish law and would be prosecuted.
But Syria, which denounced the attacks, blamed Denmark for the angry protests, criticizing the European nation for refusing to apologize for the offense.
For his part, Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said he would ask Syria to pay compensation for the damage done to Norway's embassy in Damascus, adding that he will take the matter up at the UN.
Europe also witnessed protests, as about 4,000 people gathered in Brussels in front of the Belgian public Radio Television station.
About 1,000 people also protested in Paris, saying the drawings were an attack on Islam, and demanding public apologies, while French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin intervened in the international uproar with a call for respect for the sensitivities of other faiths.
Pakistanis boycott some EU
Doctors in Pakistan vowed not to prescribe medicines from firms based in some European countries where the provocative cartoons portraying the Prophet Mohammed were published. The Pakistan Medical Association will boycott drugs from Denmark, Norway, Switzerland, Germany and France to protest the "blasphemous" drawings. Pharmacists have also vowed not to sell such medicines. Many Muslim countries, institutions and organisations have called for a boycott of products from countries where the media have carried the caricatures.
Feb. 06 (Al-Manar)--Hezbollah Secretary General Sayed Hasan Nasrallah called on the government to open an investigation into Sunday's events to determine responsibilities. Sayed Nasrallah warned political and religious powers as well as media outlets, that they should heed their speeches and comments as the situation in Lebanon is critical.
Part of the Sayyed Speech in the 7th night of commemorating Ashura:
Of course everyone has a duty, but it is not right to violate the people's properties, sanctities, dignities and religious places.
The government should open a strict investigation into what happened.
The responsibility is distributed.
What is the responsibility of the security forces?
It is easy for anyone, at any time, to accuse security forces without any data, or accuse the demonstrators or anyone else.
This is not right. Therefore the government must open an investigation and determine the responsibility of the security forces and determine, as well, the responsibility of the organizers.
This is not just for today, but for the future, let us agree that when any group calls for a demonstration, this group must be responsible for managing and directing it.
Of course no one replaces the authorities, but the cooperation between the civil society and the authorities and with security forces prevents such incidents from taking place.
Determining the responsibilities of some protesters is crucial. Those who were in the front rows, and in other specific places, those youngsters who became tense, we have to know what happened to them.
Why were they strained?
Why did they behave in this manner and how did things get out of control?
This needs investigation. It is very easy brothers and sisters that the government or some political groups, meet and search for someone to blame without investigation and without follow up. This is very easy.
This is a sign of failure that is to simply say that "x" is responsible for planning and executing.
This is nonsense. Take it easy on the country.
This country cannot be ruled with the mentality of pre-accusations, disregarding facts, not investigating and politicizing events.
This is dangerous. What is required is a serious handling of the situation, because the current political atmosphere warns of looming dangers.
We have to face this situation through national unity. And we hope that the mistakes which we all refused are not exploited to instigate a religion against another or a sect against another.
Whoever is exploiting such events for religious and sectarian instigation is betraying the country's trust and its future and the future of the generations to come.
It is wrong to use what happened for political ends that have religious and sectarian characteristics.
Before we address the bases and the people, and call on them to observe discipline, I want to renew may address to the political and religious leaderships, as well as media outlets in
Iran-Denmark-Trade
Commerce Minister Massoud Mir-Kazemi said here Monday that Iran as decided not to purchase Danish products beginning Tuesday.
Mir-Kazemi criticized the Danish government's indifference to the blasphemous cartoons depicting Prophet Mohamad (PBUH).
The Commerce Ministry will not allow Danish brands or products which have been registered in Denmark to clear the customs, he underlined.
On products including medicine and capital goods, he added that Iranian importers including state-affiliated organs and companies have three month to designate substitute products for Danish and then 'we will enforce the law'.
All on-going negotiations or contracts with Denmark which are pending will also suspended, he said, adding, "Furthermore all signed contracts will also be reviewed."
All exchange of delegations between the two countries will also be suspended until further notice.
All state-affiliated organs and private companies including Iran's Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Mines (ICCIM) have expressed readiness to enforce the call.
He said the fees levied on Danish ships docking in Iranian ports will also revert to the previous prices which are much higher than the current fees.
A committee has been formed to review the entry of
Danish-registered ships into Iranian waters.
The total trade between Iran and Denmark is about dlrs 280 million of which a meager dlrs four million pertains to Iran's exports to that country, he said noting that Tehran runs a negative trade balance with Denmark.
On ban of Iranian exports to Denmark, he said Iran's exports to that country are meager.
On European Union's threat that any confrontation with Denmark will be treated as a confrontation with the entire EU, he added that 'the EU can take any action it wants to'.
He said that a committee has been formed to review trade ties with other countries which have published the offensive pictures, Mir-Kazemi added.
Insult to the holy prophet of Islam, Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) by a section of the press in Denmark, Norway and Sweden has made Muslim states, including Iranian government and nation, deeply concerned, said Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki here last week.
In separate letters to his Danish, Swiss and Swedish counterparts, Mottaki expressed concern and deplored growing trend of Islamophobia and sacrilege of Islam and Islamic sanctities in certain European states.
The letter underlined the need to respect the values and sanctities of the divine religions not only within the framework of the religious teachings and injunctions but also within the framework of the legal and international regulations, including the
international human rights conventions, calling for safeguarding and observing them.
Mottaki in his letter drew the attention of his European counterparts to the statement at the extraordinary summit of Organization of the Islamic Conference, which had raised strong protest to Islamophobia and distorting the image of Islam worldwide as a form of racism and racial discrimination.
He also recalled the resolutions of the UN Human Rights Commission regarding confronting sacrilegious acts as well as the UN General Assembly resolutions concerning dialogue among civilizations and cultures which reject insult to religions and sanctities.
The letter calls on foreign ministers of the three countries to seriously follow up the issue and inform Iran of the measures adopted in that connection.
-------------
Students stage protest gathering outside Australian embassy Tehran, Feb 6, IRNA
Iran-Austria-Protest
Police force tightened security around Australian embassy in Tehran on Monday.
A group of Basij students from universities in Tehran province on Monday staged a gathering outside the Austrian embassy to protest the sacrilege against holy Prophet Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him) by some segments of the European press.
Austria currently holds the rotating presidency of the European Union.
A cartoon of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) published first in a Danish newspaper in September and reprinted by some other
European print media has instigated angers of world Muslims.
Some 200 Basij university students threw stones and firebombs at the Austrian embassy in Tehran, smashing windows and setting fire to some paintings.
Furious university students carried various banners and chanted slogans such as 'God is the Greatest', 'We never submit to tyranny', 'Down with the USA', 'Down with Britain', 'Down with Israel', 'Nuclear Energy is our legitimate right', 'Down with Denmark', 'Hossein is our motto and martyrdom is our pride', 'Silence of every Muslim is regarded as treason to Holy Quran'.
According to the report, the fire caused by firebomb was extinguished.
Police are in full alert and every thing is under
their control, according to Colonel Mohammad Poorang.
-------------
Iran calls for OIC emergency session Tehran, Feb 6, IRNA
Iran-OIC-Yemen
Iran on Monday called on foreign ministers of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) to hold an emergency session to discuss Islamophobia in West.
Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki made the request in a letter to Yemen's Foreign Affairs Minister Abubakr al-Qirbi who is rotatory chairman of the OIC foreign ministers.
"Unfortunately, Islamophobia is currently spreading in Europe in different forms and at an alarming speed.
"Insult to Islamic values and Muslims' sanctity in the West has been now turned into a main challenge facing the Islamic nations now. It is vital to seriously confront this challenge," Mottaki said.
Pointing to the OIC duties, he added, "Campaign against Islamophobia is among the main priorities of the OIC's 10-year programs. This issue (Islamophobia) is currently taking place in certain Western states and in certain cases it involves officials of those states.
"Given the new approach of the OIC towards insult to Muslims' sanctity and the sensitivity of the issue, I propose foreign ministers of the OIC hold an emergency session to discuss various aspects of recent aggressions and adopt an appropriate decision.
Mottaki wrote, "It is hoped that timely action of the OIC and ts firm stance against enemies' Islamophobia will result in their setback and promotion of Islamic solidarity."
He referred to the blasphemous moves and well-calculated plots hatched by certain European states against Islamic beliefs and said, "Disrespect for holy prophet of Islam, which received wide media coverage later, provoked the outrage and strong sentiments of millions of Muslims."
The demonstration, in which mainly young people participated, was a spontaneous event and police presence was not massive.
Everything went peacefully, the local media reported. Some Belgian newspapers also reprinted the blasphemous cartoons.
KH
Copyright 2004,
http://indybay.org/news/2006/02/1800544_comment.php#1800573
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'Inquirer' One of Few U.S. Papers to Publish 'Muhammad' Cartoon
Submitted by editor4 on February 6, 2006 - 11:03am.
By Joe Strupp
Source: Editor & Publisher
NEW YORK As a collection of controversial cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad circulates online and through some European publications, prompting numerous acts of violence abroad, nearly all U.S. newspapers have chosen not to publish the cartoons.
Although most American papers have covered the issue, with many running Page One stories, most contend the cartoons are too offensive to run, and can be properly reported through descriptions. While some have linked to the images on the Web, others are considering publishing one or more of them next week.
Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Inquirer, day after complaining that The Associated Press should at least distribute the images and allow members papers to make the call, decided to publish one of the drawings on Saturday.
The cartoon was being published "discreetly" with a note explaining the rationale, said Amanda Bennett, The Inquirer's editor.
"This is the kind of work that newspapers are in business to do," Bennett told the AP. "We're running this in order to give people a perspective of what the controversy's about, not to titillate, and we have done that with a whole wide range of images throughout our history...You run it because there's a news reason to run it," Bennett said. "The controversy does not appear to have died down. It's still a news issue."
But the vast majority of other top editors seemed to disagree, for now.
"They wouldn't meet our standards for what we publish in the paper," said Leonard Downie, Jr., executive editor of The Washington Post, which ran a front-page story on the issue Friday, but has not published the cartoons. "We have standards about language, religious sensitivity, racial sensitivity and general good taste."
Downie, who said the images also had not been placed on the Post Web site, compared the decision to similar choices not to run offensive photos of dead bodies or offensive language. "We described them," he said of such images. "Just like in the case of covering the hurricanes in New Orleans or terrorist attacks in Iraq. We will describe horrific scenes."
At USA Today, deputy foreign editor Jim Michaels offered a similar explanation. "At this point, I'm not sure there would be a point to it," he said about publishing the cartoons. "We have described them, but I am not sure running it would advance the story." Although he acknowledged that the cartoons have news value, he said the offensive nature overshadows that.
"It has been made clear that it is offensive," Michaels said when asked if the paper was afraid of sparking violence or other kinds of backlash. "I don't know if fear is the right word. But we came down on the side that we could serve readers well without a depiction that is offensive."
The Los Angeles Times sent this statement to E&P this afternoon: "Our newsroom and op-ed page editors, independently of each other, determined that the caricatures could be deemed offensive to some readers and the there were effective ways to cover the controversy without running the images themselves."
The cartoons, which include one of the Muslim prophet wearing a turban fashioned into a bomb, have been reprinted in papers in Norway, France, Germany and Jordan after first running in a Danish paper last September. The drawings were published again recently after some Muslims decried them as insulting to their prophet, AP reported, adding that Dutch-language newspapers in Belgium and two Italian "right-wing" papers reprinted the drawings Friday.
Islamic law, according to most clerics' interpretations of the Quran, forbids depictions of Muhammad and other major religious figures -- even positive images.
Tens of thousands of angry Muslims marched through Palestinian cities, burning the Danish flag and calling for vengeance Friday against European countries where the caricatures were published. In Washington, the State Department criticized the drawings, calling them "offensive to the beliefs of Muslims."
Still, most American newspapers are not publishing the cartoons, sticking mostly to the view that they constitute offensive images. "You want to make sure that you are sensitive to the cultural sensitivities," said Mike Days, editor of the Philadelphia Daily News, which may run the images next week, but remains cautious. "I think you want to do it in a way that makes sense. I am not so sure the average American understands what the controversy is about, the use of the images of Muhammad."
Days said the paper might run the cartoons along with comments from experts in Muslim law so that the reasons behind the controversy are clear. It appears the New York Sun is the only American daily to run the images, according to The Washington Times.
Anne Gordon, Philadelpia Inquirer managing editor, criticized the Associated Press for not distributing images of the cartoons to member newspapers. Although Gordon understands the concerns about sensitivity, she said AP should allow each paper to make up its own mind.
"It is not AP's role to withhold information from news cooperative members," Gordon said. "They are a co-op and we believe they overstepped their bounds to independently withhold the cartoon. It is not their decision to make independently."
Kathleen Carroll, AP executive editor, said the news cooperative has long withheld images it deemed offensive, such as photos and video of beheadings. "We have a very longstanding policy of not distributing material that is found to be offensive," she said, adding that the Inquirer was the only newspaper she knew of that had specifically requested the images from AP. "These images have not met that standard."
But Carroll also agreed with some other editors who said the cartoons did not add to the news coverage in a major way. "If people want to find them, they are easily found," she said.
Doug Clifton, editor of The Plain Dealer in Cleveland, agreed that the offensive nature precluded running the cartoons. "It has become a part of great angst and I don't see any reason to run it, you can just describe it," he said of the cartoon images. "I don't see a need to insert ourselves in that fight."
Clifton recalled his time at the Charlotte [N.C.] Observer years ago, when the paper ran an image of a controversial piece of artwork, in which a crucifix was placed in a glass of urine. "You knew you would get an outpouring of anger," he recalled. "If I thought there were very good editorial reasons for running it, we'd run it. But I don't think there are."
But Clifton said his paper will likely place a link to the images from another site when it runs an editorial on the issue Saturday or Sunday. "They will have the option to see it if they choose," he said about the Web readers. "The [print] newspaper reaches a much, much broader audience."
http://mediachannel.org/blog/node/3209
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WATCH A VIDEO OF THE ATTACK ON EMBASSIES IN SYRIA
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/scp_v3/viewer/index.php?pid=16012&rn=49750&cl=269086',&39;playerWindow&39;,&39;width=793,height=608,scrollbars=no&39;));"%20Syrians%20Attack%20Embassies&ch=68276
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SOUTH AFRICA: Newspapers barred from publishing Muhammad cartoons
[ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]
© IRIN
Court interdict a blow to media freedom, says MISA. Islamic group calls for media to act responsibly
JOHANNESBURG, 6 Feb 2006 (IRIN) - A South African newspaper is set to challenge a court interdict barring the publication of controversial cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, initially printed in Denmark, that have caused angry protests in countries around the world.
On Friday a Muslim group obtained an interim interdict barring Sunday newspapers from reprinting the cartoons. South Africa's largest newspaper, the Sunday Times, said in a statement that the interdict "pre-empted a decision the newspaper had not yet made".
The Sunday Times had "opposed the urgent interdict on the grounds that it would not be held to ransom by pressure groups. We are aware of the sensitivities regarding the cartoons, and the editorial team was discussing whether these sensitivities should be given more weight than the right of non-Muslim readers to see the depictions that had caused huge offence in other parts of the world", the paper said.
"But before we came to a conclusion, we were threatened with the interdict by the Jamiatul Ulama of Transvaal [a council of Muslim theologians]. We declined to give an undertaking not to publish the cartoons, not because we were intent on publishing them, but because we strongly oppose the attempt by any group to edit or censor the newspaper," the Sunday Times explained.
Had it given an undertaking not to publish, the paper noted, "we would invite similar demands and threats from anyone who felt offended by the stories we publish". It said no "credible newspaper can be held to ransom by the beliefs of a section of the population", as a free press was "obliged to reflect the world that we live in - not just part of it".
The right to publish without fear or favour was enshrined in South Africa's constitution and fundamental to robust democracy, the paper pointed out.
However, the Johannesburg High Court granted the Jamiatul Ulama an interim court order interdicting the Sunday Times and other newspapers from publishing the offending cartoons, ruling that the right to dignity outweighed the right to freedom of expression in this case.
The Sunday Times said it had "every intention of challenging the ruling when the matter returns to court" later this month.
A Jamiatul Ulama spokesman was unavailable for comment on Monday, but a statement on the group's website said the publication of the cartoons in European papers was an abuse of freedom of speech. "The Muslim community views the publications of such offensive material as a serious attack on the integrity of their religion," it added.
The Jamiatul Ulama called on the media to "act responsibly ... and not to push the right to freedom of expression to ridiculous levels, where the lines of distinction between profound and profane are virtually obliterated".
"We urge the media that, just as they tread very cautiously in issues that are perceived as 'anti-semitic', a similar circumspection needs to be extended to sensitivities of other religious communities as well," the organisation said.
The recent violent protests triggered by the publication of the cartoons in European newspapers were also condemned. "The Jamiatul Ulama calls upon the Muslim community to register their protest respecting law and order, and not to act irresponsibly, for that is not what the Holy Prophet, peace be upon Him, would have approved," the group added.
Raymond Louw, of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), told IRIN the pre-emptive court interdict was a "calamitous" blow to freedom of the press. He said the judgement, should it stand, could have "serious effects on the rights of freedom of the press and expression contained in the constitution".
"This means that anyone who feels a newspaper may publish something that harms his dignity, or may damage him somehow, can go to the courts and get an interdict preventing them from publishing it," Louw noted.
MISA, along with other advocacy and rights groups, would consider joining the challenge of the order by the Sunday Times as amicus curae when the matter returned to court.
[ENDS]
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=51557&SelectRegion=Southern_Africa&SelectCountry=SOUTH_AFRICA
@%<
You're dismissed.
----------------
A fire burns in the Norwegian embassy, after protestors began throwing molotov cocktails and stones in protest over the publication of cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammad in several western newspapers, in Tehran, Iran February 7, 2006. (Raheb Homavandi/Reuters)
-----------------
So many excellent photos of Muslims asserting their rights, so little time. I wonder what's going to happen to Johnny Sunshine? Or the Philadephia Inqirer?