Europeans think Muslim humour is an oxymoron, and many jumped to the defence of a Danish newspaper two years ago when it printed cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad that were, let’s say, rather unflattering, setting off jihadic jitters in the Muslim world and threats against the cartoonists, the newspaper, and the whole country of Denmark.
Let’s not squash freedom of expression, European Union officials said, while trying to balance their tight-rope walk by declaring that it was unseemly to attack religious beliefs, a classic case of politicians talking out of both sides of their mouths at the same time they were firmly putting both feet in.
They wanted it both ways, of course, to allegedly support freedom of speech while mollifying people they felt were dangerous. The EU is also livid over Turkey’s notorious Article 301 which makes it a crime to “insult Turkishness.” And apparently it’s kind of okay to make fun of Mohammad in Europe, but it’s not okay if the target is Spanish royalty. Two Spanish cartoonists who lampooned Spanish Crown Prince Felipe and Princess Letizia by depicting them engaged in a sex act have been fined 3,000 Euro for “insulting the monarchy.” Wonder what the Turks think of that?
The cartoon showed the royal couple in a popular caninestyle position, with the prince saying “Do you realise, if you get pregnant, this is the closest I will ever come to working for a living?” The cartoonists said they weren’t poking fun at the royals, who apparently never have sex, but a government ruling granting 2,500 Euro for the birth of every child.
The court, taking a cue from Turkey, rejected this argument saying criticism of a government edict did not require illustration with the Spanish royal couple, which may be partially true since a judge would have been better. The court said the cartoon on the cover of the satirical magazine El Jueves – had “vilified the Crown in the most gratuitous and unnecessary way.” It was a typically wonderful European judgment though, since the EU is so good at being both silly and hypocritical at the same time. While the crown princes of politics in the EU cowered and refused to criticise Spain, only five of the 785 Members of the European Parliament properly pointed out the indefensibly recreant and craven double standard.
The cartoon was reprehensible, but it wasn’t a crime and nobody in public life is above being offended. “When Muslims in Europe and around the world protested about the ‘Danish cartoons,’ Liberals and others insisted that the right to freedom of expression must be upheld,” they said, adding that the same principle applied to Turkey. But, said MEPs Sarah Ludford of the United Kingdom, Sophie In’t Veld and Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert of The Netherlands, Adina Valean of Romania and Marco Cappato of Italy, “It is … hypocritical for a leading EU country like Spain to have a criminal law which allows such a conviction for making a joke about a member of the Royal family.”
They added, “These examples of hypocrisy make a mockery of European pretensions to uphold a consistent set of values. If Europe is to avoid being seen as having double standards in preaching to others principles that we fail to uphold on our own territory, then laws which penalise jokes - however insulting - at the expense of established institutions like the monarchy and the Church must be swept away.”
Meanwhile, Spain’s Infanta Elena, the eldest daughter of King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia, separated from her husband Jaime de Marichalar, the Spanish royal house announced. No cartoons were available. Now teddy bears have been dragged into the fray. A British teacher was arrested in Sudan for insulting Islam’s prophet after she allowed her students to name a teddy bear Mohammed. “How can you call a bear Mohammad?
Mohammad is the holy prophet of Islam,” a government spokesman said. This isn’t funny, of course, because insulting Mohammad is a grave offense, even in Europe, but not in the United States, where there are no sacred cows, as the infamous Screw magazine has done for years, putting politicians and celebrities in a toilet of bad taste – legally. That’s why it’s called freedom of speech. Life imitates art, however, and the Mohammad cartoons have come full circle. Swedish artist Lars Vilks, already under a death threat for a cartoon depicting Mohammad’s head on the body of a dog, says he’ll turn it into a musical called “Dogs.” We can’t wait for the Spanish version.