The Danish newspaper, Jyllands-Posten, and its Muhammad cartoon controversy of 2005 is a conflict between Western ideas of free speech and Islamic prohibition against pictorial images, especially of the prophet Muhammad. The cartoon depictions were first printed in Denmark with a picture representation of Muhammad wearing a bomb-shaped turban. This caused much unpleasant tension first with the Muslims in Denmark and later lead to massive violence throughout the Middle-East and many European countries.

In the Muslim view, the reasons of their anger are that the bomb-shaped turban symbolizes the radical Muslim terrorists and their intolerance and that the picture of Muhammad is forbidden in Islamic belief. Some radical Muslims often fight against opposing forces with terrorism and violence. Because of those radicals, many people think of Islam as a religion that is itself violent and supports terrorism. This is the stereotype as if all Muslims are violent. Muslims argue that this is only a small part of all Muslims and that other countries should not criticize one’s most sacred beliefs. The drawing in a satirical cartoon of the holy figure, Muhammad, was the one of the causes of Muslim anger. Islam belief forbids pictorial depictions of holy figures in fear that they would lead to idol worship. Many Muslims believe that all pictorial depictions are bad. Many Muslim historical artifacts and temples, therefore, have geometric designs and virtually no human figure depictions. The critics of the Danish cartoons thought that connecting Muhammad to the radicals of Islam was a mockery to all Muslims.

The main reason for this cartoon from the Danish journalists was to show Muslim intolerance. The opposite Western opinion is that expressing one’s opinion is a basic human right that no one can give up or be criticized as having. In this different perspective, the satire cartoon on the Muslim prophet Muhammad can also be counted as free speech. By violating that freedom of speech, Muslims cannot cover over their faults and the violence committed, goes the Danish journalists’ argument. Expressing an opinion is not bad, a Western point of view can claim. Satire, in fact, on the issues of the day is common in the western world.

Religious conflicts seem not easily resolved, and the tension between the different religions grows stronger. The Muslim anger against the depictions of Muhammad was expressed through the boycott on European products and hate and violence toward European people living in Islamic countries. The conflict is proof to Muslims of Western ignorance of their religion, and to the West, the violent backlash against the cartoons is another proof of the violent nature of apparently many Muslims. The extremists of both sides seem to be at fault in this conflict, but the public sees the extremists rather than the majority of the people on either side.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/02/AR2006020202720.html

http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/commentary.aspx?id=16434

http://www.imran.com/media/blog/2006/02/lets-make-new-cartoons-of-prophet.html. Islamic view