Drawing the line

Dallas Morning News | Mark Davis:

“An artist does not need to ridicule or demonize the prophet Muhammad in order to make the point that some Muslims are murderous lunatics.”

Ed Cognoski responds:

Mr Davis' position is that the artist was not justified in his choice of metaphor, but had the freedom to do it. Mr Davis misses the artist's point, which is larger than that "some" Muslims are murderous lunatics. Muhammad is a metaphor for Islam itself. The artist's point is that Islam as a religion is a murderous lunacy. And that is a much more provocative point, not just some violation of a technical stricture against showing images of Allah or the prophets. The fact that the artist's point has been lost in the violent reaction is a shame. This is about more than the abstract principle of free speech. The world needs, Islam itself needs, an open and honest debate about the nature of Islam.