Jordan editor fired for Prophet cartoon reprint

By Mohammad Ben Hussein

The editor of a weekly tabloid was sacked on Thursday for reprinting three offending cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad that were originally published in European papers, triggering outrage. Chief editor of Shihan Jihad Momani was sacked by the Arab Printers, the publishing company, which also pulled the paper from newsstands and opened an investigation into the issue.

"The company was shocked that Shihan republished the insulting caricatures and it strongly condemns such an irresponsible behaviour," the Arab Printers said in a statement. It vowed "severe measures against people whose implication is proven." The government also strongly condemned the newspaper's move.

"The government believes that the paper committed a grave mistake and demands an apology, while at the same time is considering legal action," Government Spokesperson Nasser Judeh was quoted by the Jordan News Agency, Petra, as saying. Momani apologised last night, expressed his "deep regret" and said he meant to show people how the cartoons were insulting. "Muslims of the world, be reasonable," read a commentary by Momani that appeared alongside the cartoons.

Source: [The Jordan Times]

One of the caricatures Shihan reprinted depicted the Prophet Mohammad with a bomb-shaped turban on his head. "I ask God to forgive me and the people to accept my apology," he said.

The Jordan Press Association yesterday referred Momani to a disciplinary council after "questioning" him at a meeting. Lawmakers and unionists as well as the Higher Media Council condemned the weekly's "provocative action."

"It was a direct insult to Islam. The paper must be closed," said deputy Younis Jamrah (Irbid First District), spokesperson of the National Labour Front bloc (25 MPs). Deputy Azzam Huneidi (Amman First District), head of the Islamic Action Front bloc (17 MPs), said the lawmakers will take action against the paper within the coming week.

Fury

The escalating controversy over irreverent cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed in European newspapers has exposed a wide gap between Western principles of free speech and Muslim values. Underlining the gravity the row has taken on, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan was moved to speak out Thursday with a plea for calm, Agence France-Presse reported.

First published in Denmark in September and later picked up by a dozen publications across Europe, the caricatures have provoked a firestorm of indignation in the Islamic world, with boycotts of Danish goods being observed in some countries, especially Gulf states.

The Danish government has until recently expressed regret for the furore, but refused to become involved, citing freedom of expression. Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen appeared Thursday on Arab satellite network Al Arabiya, part of his government's efforts to resolve the tensions that have led to boycotts of Danish goods, bomb threats and demonstrations.

In a statement sent to The Jordan Times on Tuesday, Fogh Rasmussen said: "This being said I would like to stress as my personal opinion that I deeply respect the religious feelings of other people. Consequently, I would never myself have chosen to depict religious symbols in this way. Likewise I am deeply distressed by the fact that these drawings by many Muslims have been seen as a defamation of the Prophet Mohammed and Islam as a religion. I hope that the apology of the independent newspaper JyllandsPosten will contribute to comfort those that have been hurt."

"I want to emphasise that the Danish government condemns any expression, action or indication that attempts to demonise groups of people on the basis of their religion or ethnic background. It is the sort of thing that does not belong in a society that is based on respect for the individual human being."

Earlier, Rasmussen invited ambassadors to meet him to discuss the controversy. In October he had declined to meet ambassadors from 10 predominantly Muslim countries who objected to the drawings.

Outrage over the cartoons mocking escalated in the Arab and Muslim world Thursday. Iraqi Islamic leaders urged worshippers to stage demonstrations from Baghdad to the southern city of Basra following main weekly prayer services Friday.

Afghanistan's president and Indonesia's foreign ministry condemned the cartoons, and Iran's foreign ministry summoned the Austrian ambassador, whose country holds the EU presidency, to protest the depictions of the Prophet Mohammad in several European newspapers.

In Gaza, foreign diplomats and journalists began pulling out of the Palestinian areas and two countries closed diplomatic offices Thursday after masked Palestinians, incensed by the depictions of the prophet, threatened to kidnap foreigners.

Palestinians in the West Bank searched several hotels for foreigners to kidnap, and a German citizen was briefly abducted from a hotel in Nablus. In Gaza City, activists briefly surrounded the local office of the EU Commission, and some Palestinian shoppers said they would boycott European products. Late Thursday, about 10 armed Palestinians gathered at the French cultural centre and threatened a "tough response" for further disparagement of the prophet.

"Muslims should display firm reaction to such disgraceful acts," state television quoted Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as saying in a telephone conversation with King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak warned Thursday "of the near and long-term repercussions [of the] campaign of insults against the noble Prophet," AFP said. The leader of the Lebanese Shiite movement Hizbollah claimed that if Muslims had executed British novelist Salman Rushdie in line with a 1989 religious edict others would not dare to insult Islam.

"If there had been a Muslim to carry out Imam Khomeini's fatwa against the renegade Salman Rushdie, this rabble who insult our Prophet Mohammad in Denmark, Norway and France would not have dared to do so," Hizbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said.

In Paris, meanwhile, the daily newspaper France Soir fired its managing editor Thursday after it published the caricatures.

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For single page combination of all stories on the Danish cartoon row click here

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