Everybody Draw Mohammed Day

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Everybody Draw Mohammed Day
by Ari Siletz
27-May-2010
 

May 20th was Everyone Draw Mohammad Day. A Western counter-reaction to the Islamist reaction to the infamous Danish Mohammad cartoons. The Facebook page is now gone, after some controversy.  But a web article on by Nick Gillespie and Matt Welch preserved three of the best drawings. Here they are, with some discussion:

Top left: A reference to The Treachery of Images by Belgian surrealist Rene Magritte (1898-1967). The original painting poses a philosophical question about the nature of representation. We say “it is a pipe,” but obviously it is not because it is merely a picture of a pipe. You can’t smoke it. This Mohammad cartoon takes Magritte’s mind bender one step further as it is not even a picture of Mohammad, though it claims it is. Delightfully clever reference.

Top Right: Another reference--this time to Where’s Waldo--the work could be called Where’s Mohammad (yes, I think I found him). One interpretation that immediately comes to mind is that the work criticizes people who go around looking for reasons to be offended, even if they are hard to find. They seem to find pleasure in being insulted and acting out over it. Where’s the IC commenter?

Bottom left:

This connect-the-dots cartoon is not in and of itself a picture of Mohammad unless the viewer wishes to make it so. On the one hand it is an in-your-face statement seemingly encouraging even the clumsiest to participate in the drawing contest. On the other hand it is a meditation on how the viewer actually participates in creating a work of art even though he/she believes the artist is the sole creator.  Even in the Mona Lisa we “connect the dots” to complete the artistic communication process. How Muslims connect the dots in the case of Mohammad images is a matter of free will.

Bottom right: One of the original Mohammad cartoons that started the fracas. First published in Denmark’s Jyllands-Posten in 2005, these drawings are examples of works where the word “art” cannot be applied even if to say it is bad art. Bad art is unoriginal, meaningless, boring, irrelevant, or poorly executed, but it is  harmless as long as it stays confined to cheap motels. The Jylland-Posten cartoons are actually meant to hurt. They are cuss words, not art. Paradoxically, they have now acquired a meaning in the context of freedom of speech. So now they’re art in the sense that they unlock deeper ideas in us! Go figure.

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Cost-of-Progress

seanj

by Cost-of-Progress on

What is "racist" about this? Race is not the topic here but a cult bent on domination and opression.

Ever heard of the concept of Free Speech? Who needs free speech when you have Islam, right?

 

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IRAN FIRST

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Midwesty

Thanks Ari,

by Midwesty on

For the most part, the testosterone rage from the so-called Muslims, is not nearly a religious act but rather a cultural reaction to an ever increasing hostile environment created for them especially in Europe.

The rise of white supremacist mentality has touched every middle-easterner regardless of being secular or religious.

From the Koranic stand point, which my beliefs revolve on it, there is a mandate, repeat a mandate, that Muslims must not get involved with the discussions of any form, not sort, that involves insulting or degrading god and prophet Mohammad(PBUH). 

This means Muslims must not only not to search for it but if they somehow stumble on any thing like that, they must ignore it and peacefully move on.

There are sick bastards every where including in the Danish "art" circle, and I believe no one can police anyone in every corner of this planet.

I am not the only one who thinks this way:

//www.almhml.com/c/The-truth-about-Prophet-Mu...

//newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/religion_these...


Darius Kadivar

seanj

by Darius Kadivar on

Chashb Gorban ... Harchi Shoma Beghin Dorosteh ...

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZFO8pXuRTk


seanj

Yet an other racist thread

by seanj on

Yet an other racist thread promoting hatred against muslims on Iranian.com

 

And Dariush Kadivar, Just shut up


Darius Kadivar

;0)

by Darius Kadivar on

Great Idea !

Coming from the Iranian community who have experienced Islam First hand this will be an even more powerful message than coming from a Danish Cartoonist.