Charlie Hebdo
TẠP CHÍ TIN TỨC & VĂN HÓA – VIETNAMI KULTURÁLIS FOLYÓIRAT: VƯỢT QUA NỖI SỢ HÃI ĐỂ LỰA CHỌN TỰ DO
“(NCTG) “Chủ nghĩa Hồi giáo với thế giới Phương Tây sẽ là một thách thức, tuy nhiên không nên quá sợ hãi” - nhà báo Flemming Rose, người đang bị truy đuổi và phải sống từ hàng chục năm nay dưới sự che chở của cảnh sát vì đã cho đăng những tranh biếm họa về Đấng tiên tri Muhammad…”
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Die Welt Kompakt: "Das Land ist gespalten"
ukendtDie Welt Kompakt
El Mundo: 'Los musulmanes también están fallando a la hora de integrarse'
Hace diez años tomó una decisión que le cambió la vida. Una de tantas que a diario forjan las señas de identidad de un periódico. Flemming Rose (1958), entonces jefe de Cultura del Jyllands-Posten, quería un boceto de la autocensura en Europa y envió un e-mail a la asociación de viñetistas daneses:«Dibujad a Mahoma como lo veais». La publicación de las caricaturas incendió el planeta y dejó escaldada su propia vida, obligándolo a una rutina de escolta y semiclandestinidad. La matanza de Charlie Hebdo le devolvió primera línea de combate por la libertad de expresión, que ha protagonizado su intervención en el campus FAES y en cuya defensa justifica la publicación de los dibujos.
¿Se arrepiente de haber publicado las viñetas?
No. No creo que una caricatura valga una sola vida humana. Si te rindes a la intimidación y a la violencia, envías el mensaje de que ambas funcionan. Yo no pedí librar esta batalla, me vino impuesta. Esos dibujos no se publicaron para ofender a los musulmanes, sino para preguntar si existe la autocensura y si está basada en el miedo. Diez años después, la respuesta es sí.
Tras la masacre de Charlie Hebdo, ¿cree que ha aumentado esa autocensura?
Creo que en algunas cuestiones hay más, pero también hay individuos luchando contra ella. En el caso de mi periódico no publicamos caricaturas de Mahoma desde 2008 por cuestión de seguridad. La gente no lo sabe, pero desde hace ocho años el periódico y empleados como yo o Kurt Westergaard [autor de la viñeta de Mahoma con una bomba en el turbante] hemos sufrido entre cinco y diez atentados fallidos.
La policía ha interrumpido dos veces la entrevista para conocer exactamente su ruta de hoy. ¿Vive así todos los días?
Sí, y es muy difícil acostumbrarse a coordinar la vida con la policía. Intento tener presente que esto ocurre porque hay personas que quieren matarme.
Dice que la matanza de Charlie Hebdo no le sorprendió... ¿Hay que acostumbrarse?
No creo que la amenaza se disipe, sino al contrario. Antes venía sobre todo en forma de ataques suicidas; ahora, como hemos visto en Túnez, llega de alguien que arranca a disparar en la playa o una tienda. Habrá más ataques, es parte de una batalla de ideas sobre lo que significa vivir en una sociedad multicultural y multirreligiosa...
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¿Se arrepiente de haber publicado las viñetas?
No. No creo que una caricatura valga una sola vida humana. Si te rindes a la intimidación y a la violencia, envías el mensaje de que ambas funcionan. Yo no pedí librar esta batalla, me vino impuesta. Esos dibujos no se publicaron para ofender a los musulmanes, sino para preguntar si existe la autocensura y si está basada en el miedo. Diez años después, la respuesta es sí.
Tras la masacre de Charlie Hebdo, ¿cree que ha aumentado esa autocensura?
Creo que en algunas cuestiones hay más, pero también hay individuos luchando contra ella. En el caso de mi periódico no publicamos caricaturas de Mahoma desde 2008 por cuestión de seguridad. La gente no lo sabe, pero desde hace ocho años el periódico y empleados como yo o Kurt Westergaard [autor de la viñeta de Mahoma con una bomba en el turbante] hemos sufrido entre cinco y diez atentados fallidos.
La policía ha interrumpido dos veces la entrevista para conocer exactamente su ruta de hoy. ¿Vive así todos los días?
Sí, y es muy difícil acostumbrarse a coordinar la vida con la policía. Intento tener presente que esto ocurre porque hay personas que quieren matarme.
Dice que la matanza de Charlie Hebdo no le sorprendió... ¿Hay que acostumbrarse?
No creo que la amenaza se disipe, sino al contrario. Antes venía sobre todo en forma de ataques suicidas; ahora, como hemos visto en Túnez, llega de alguien que arranca a disparar en la playa o una tienda. Habrá más ataques, es parte de una batalla de ideas sobre lo que significa vivir en una sociedad multicultural y multirreligiosa...
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Elsevier: Lafheid kwam bij vrijheidslezing in De Balie uit onverwachte hoek
04/05/15 15:11 Filed in: Debate | Netherlands
“...In zijn boek Tyranny of Silencevertelt Flemming Rose - chef buitenland van Jyllands-Posten, de Deense krant die de Mohammedcartoons plaatste - een interessant verhaal over een Iraanse man.
Een 76-jarige Iraniër gooide in februari 2006 een molotovcocktail naar de Deense ambassade in Teheran. Dat deed hij omdat hij boos was over Westergaards Mohammedcartoon. Hij had die bewuste tekening zelf niet gezien...”
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Een 76-jarige Iraniër gooide in februari 2006 een molotovcocktail naar de Deense ambassade in Teheran. Dat deed hij omdat hij boos was over Westergaards Mohammedcartoon. Hij had die bewuste tekening zelf niet gezien...”
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Toronto Sun: The silence is deafening
“...Rose’s book, THE TYRANNY OF SILENCE: HOW ONE CARTOON IGNITED A GLOBAL DEBATE ON THE FUTURE OF FREE SPEECH, chronicles the story behind the publication of the Mohammed cartoons, along with Rose’s attempt to understand the events that followed their publication.
Although the book was published in November, 2014, there has been silence from most Canadian media sources on it.
There have been no references to the book, for example, in the four Toronto daily newspapers until my column, today.
The Economist listed it as one of the best books of 2014.
Yet it has received scant attention internationally...”
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Although the book was published in November, 2014, there has been silence from most Canadian media sources on it.
There have been no references to the book, for example, in the four Toronto daily newspapers until my column, today.
The Economist listed it as one of the best books of 2014.
Yet it has received scant attention internationally...”
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De Telegraaf: Vrijheid van meningsuiting onder vuur
24/04/15 12:50 Filed in: Debate | Netherlands
“Afshin Ellian sprak bij de uitreiking van het eerste exemplaar van de bundel ‘Freedom of Scpeech under Attack’ aan Flemming Rose in Den Haag de volgende rede uit: Waarom worden we hier zo zwaar beveiligd? Wie zijn wij eigenlijk? Wij allen zijn hele gewone mensen. En dit boek is een heel gewoon academisch boek. Onze gast, die wij vandaag eren, is eveneens een heel gewone man. Flemming Rose is een intellectueel uit Denemarken.”
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De Volkskrant: 'Ik heb echt alle begrip voor zelfcensuur'
'Ik heb echt alle begrip voor zelfcensuur'
De man achter de Mohammedcartoons laat weer van zich horen. 'Mensen zijn bang,wees daar eerlijk over.’..
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De man achter de Mohammedcartoons laat weer van zich horen. 'Mensen zijn bang,wees daar eerlijk over.’..
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De Morgen: Interview with Flemming Rose "Eén ding is zeker: ik houd mijn mond niet"
“Flemming Rose is de voormalige chef kunst van de Deense krant Jyllands-Posten. Hij was het die in 2005 twaalf cartoonisten vroeg een paar cartoons te tekenen over de profeet Mohammed. Enkelen onder hen stierven begin dit jaar bij de aanslag op Charlie Hebdo. Toch weigert hij te zwijgen.”
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wazne-sprawy.pl: Wolność słowa a mowa nienawiści
“Prawie 10 lat temu duńska gazeta “Jyllands-Posten” opublikowała kilkanaście karykatur Mahometa. Dziennikarze i graficy dostali wyroki śmierci od różnych islamistycznych ugrupowań. Aresztowano ludzi, którzy chcieli przeprowadzić zamachy na redakcję.
Niedawno Flemming Rose, ówczesny redaktor działu kultury “J-P”, który podjął decyzję o publikacji karykatur, wydał w USA książkę „ The Tyranny of Silence”, w której broni prawa do wolności słowa, wypowiadając się przeciwko przepisom o tzw. mowie nienawiści, obowiązującym we wszystkich państwach europejskich, w tym w Polsce.
Wprowadzenie tych przepisów było wynikiem Holocaustu – uznano w Europie, że dla zapobiegania aktom ludobójstwa należy ograniczyć możliwość publicznego nawoływania do nienawiści wobec pewnych zbiorowości, bo następstwem tej nienawiści może być fizyczna przemoc, być może śmiercionośna, wobec tych grup...”
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Niedawno Flemming Rose, ówczesny redaktor działu kultury “J-P”, który podjął decyzję o publikacji karykatur, wydał w USA książkę „ The Tyranny of Silence”, w której broni prawa do wolności słowa, wypowiadając się przeciwko przepisom o tzw. mowie nienawiści, obowiązującym we wszystkich państwach europejskich, w tym w Polsce.
Wprowadzenie tych przepisów było wynikiem Holocaustu – uznano w Europie, że dla zapobiegania aktom ludobójstwa należy ograniczyć możliwość publicznego nawoływania do nienawiści wobec pewnych zbiorowości, bo następstwem tej nienawiści może być fizyczna przemoc, być może śmiercionośna, wobec tych grup...”
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UPJF: France Charlie-Hebdo, grand blessé de guerre Par Ivan Rioufol
“...Il faut se souvenir, comme le rappelle Flemming Rose dans son livre dont rend compte Michèle Tribalat dans la dernière revue de l’Institut d’histoire sociale, que les violences suscitées par les caricatures danoises (singulièrement celle de Kurt Westergaard représentant le prophète avec une bombe dans son turban) avaient été tout sauf spontanées. Le monde musulman et l’Organisation de la conférence islamique (OCI) en tête, y avaient vu l’opportunité de faire avancer leur campagne contre le blasphème. La Commission des droits de l’homme de l’Onu y prêta son appui en recommandant aux Etats de "combattre et punir toute tentative visant à assimiler l’islam à la violence et au terrorisme". L’Union européenne emboîta le pas, avec le commissaire aux affaires étrangères, Javier Solana, qui négocia avec l’OCI un accord appelant au bannissement de la diffamation des religions. Heureusement, des désaccords internes empêchèrent l’Europe d’être représentée au Qatar pour la signature (février 2006) de ce document avalisé par l’Espagne, la Turquie et Kofi Annan, secrétaire de l’ONU. Quand, mardi, le président d’honneur du Conseil français du culte musulman, Mohamed Moussaoui, reproche au président du Conseil représentatif des institutions juives de France, Roger Cukierman, d’avoir dit la veille que les islamistes qui prennent les juifs pour cibles sont des musulmans, c’est cette même dialectique du déni qui est appliquée. Elle vise à rendre l’islam intouchable et à réduire la liberté d’expression. Cette mise en scène d'une culpabilisation dans l'usage du mot juste est une autre forme d’intimidation, qui dépasse la seule caricature du prophète. Une démocratie digne de ce nom oblige chacun à résister à cet engrenage... “
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AIDemocracy.org: How are the Changes in Media Affecting Media Freedom?
“...Another important idea connected to a more accessible medium of news has been mentioned by Flemming Rose, the Danish editor who made the decision to publish cartoons depicting Muhammed in 2005, igniting a global debate that left protesters around the world dead. Publishing the cartoons has led to threats from Muslim governments, a fatwa issued against Rose, and repeated terrorist attempts against the paper itself. In a recent interview, he said the most important thing he had learned from the ten-year debate on the cartoons was that in this age of widely accessible Internet, contexts are lost.[
Without making a judgment on his actions in 2005, he brings up a critical point about the broader audience that can now be reached by local publications. Rose had allowed the cartoons to be published through his Danish magazine and for the Danish debate on free speech. The cartoons were interpreted differently in every country they reached, because they arrived solely as pictures, without the environment in which they were originally published. Many were unaware that in addition to mocking Islam, Charlie Hebdo cartoons mocked Catholicism, the French government, and Judaism. Cross-cultural media have stifled the debate on the limits of “free speech.”
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Without making a judgment on his actions in 2005, he brings up a critical point about the broader audience that can now be reached by local publications. Rose had allowed the cartoons to be published through his Danish magazine and for the Danish debate on free speech. The cartoons were interpreted differently in every country they reached, because they arrived solely as pictures, without the environment in which they were originally published. Many were unaware that in addition to mocking Islam, Charlie Hebdo cartoons mocked Catholicism, the French government, and Judaism. Cross-cultural media have stifled the debate on the limits of “free speech.”
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Le Figaro: Charlie-Hebdo, grand blessé de guerre
“..La peur, compréhensible, est forcément omniprésente, même si elle n’est pas dite. Flemming Rose, qui fut à l’origine des premières caricatures danoises de Mahomet parues en 2006 dans le Jyllands-Posten, l’assume pour sa part, quand il reconnaît que son journal ne poursuivra plus dans cette voie (1) : "Nous devons dire que nous ne publions pas parce que nos avons peur". Disons-le : le terrorisme islamiste a emporté une première victoire en imposant l’autocensure sur Mahomet. Cependant, aller plus loin dans l’accommodement et l’apaisement avec l’islam radical serait, pour la France, rendre les armes face à un totalitarisme. Le régime nazi savait lui aussi imposer cette même terreur...”
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THE Institute of Race Relations: Flemming Rose and the absence of empathy
“...To a great extent, many of the stories touched upon by Flemming Rose in The Tyranny of Silence[1] as issues of free speech are uncomplicated, and it is easy to agree wholeheartedly with his concern. They go to the remote corners of the former Soviet Union in time and space, Hitler’s Nazism, 9/11 in New York and Washington and the Madrid bombings. Rose travels widely, conducts countless interviews and, by introducing his humble social background and family story, evokes sympathy for a man who wrestles with his own new importance and global reputation...”
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CNN: Danish journalist under threat: I will not give in
Brooke Baldwin speaks to journalist Flemming Rose, culture editor of Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, who published drawings of Prophet Mohammed in 2005.
Watch the video
Watch the video
WorldPost: Why I Published Cartoons of Muhammad and Don't Regret It
“...Back in 2005, I was trying to cover a story about self-censorship and fear among writers, artists, museums, publishers, comedians and other people in cultural life in Denmark and Western Europe. A children's writer had made headlines when he claimed that he had difficulties finding an illustrator for a book about the life of the Prophet Muhammad; the reason, he said, was fear. That was the starting point for a debate about self-censorship in dealing with Islam. Several other examples followed. In one example, a Danish comedian admitted he was afraid of mocking Islam the same way he did with Christianity. In another, two imams called on the Danish government to pass laws criminalizing criticism of Islam.
This last example added another dimension to the debate. What do you do when people adhering to a faith or ideology insist that others with different convictions submit themselves to taboos outside sacred places?”
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This last example added another dimension to the debate. What do you do when people adhering to a faith or ideology insist that others with different convictions submit themselves to taboos outside sacred places?”
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Background Briefing with Ian Masters: The Publisher of the Danish Cartoons That Caricatured the Prophet; A World-Renowned Islamic Scholar on Recent Terror in the Name of Islam
16/02/15 11:23 Filed in: Press in English | Debate
“...Since Flemming Rose made the decision to publish the cartoons, we discuss the decision to hold a public event “Art, Blasphemy, and Freedom of Expression” in a Copenhagen café with the controversial Swedish Cartoonist Lars Vilks who also caricatured Muhammad, that provoked a terrorist attack which left a film director at the cafe and a Jewish guard at a synagogue dead. In discussing freedom verses censorship, we look into whether restrictions should be put into place to prevent young European Muslims from being radicalized in prison as was the case with the terrorists responsible for the recent massacres in Paris and the young Danish-born terrorist who was just released from jail two weeks ago...”
Listen to full program
Listen to full program
Liberation: La gauche candide sur Charlie
“Cela fait longtemps que je n’ai pas vu Flemming Rose, le journaliste du Jyllands-Posten qui, à l’époque, décida d’imprimer les caricatures de Mahomet. Nous nous croisions de temps en temps sur les pistes cyclables de Copenhague et nous bavardions un moment avant de repartir chacun chez soi. C’est l’un des avantages de vivre dans une petite capitale, en plus de pouvoir se rendre à vélo partout. Chez nous, la société ouverte est aussi facile d’accès.
Personnellement, je n’ai jamais eu une position politique marquée, mais de l’avis de mes amis situés à gauche, Flemming Rose est une voix de droite. On se montrait solidaire de sa liberté d’expression fondamentale, mais on trouvait que c’était une mauvaise idée de publier ces caricatures. On oubliait la cause première de celles-ci : la peur qui avait empêché un auteur de jeunesse connu de trouver un illustrateur pour son projet de livre sur la vie du Prophète. On prenait ses distances avec les caricatures perçues comme une insulte délibérée à l’encontre d’une minorité faible et vulnérable, et on relativisait la menace de violence - il n’y avait qu’une poignée de fanatiques -, pour souligner sa sollicitude multiculturelle à l’égard des sentiments des croyants...”
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Personnellement, je n’ai jamais eu une position politique marquée, mais de l’avis de mes amis situés à gauche, Flemming Rose est une voix de droite. On se montrait solidaire de sa liberté d’expression fondamentale, mais on trouvait que c’était une mauvaise idée de publier ces caricatures. On oubliait la cause première de celles-ci : la peur qui avait empêché un auteur de jeunesse connu de trouver un illustrateur pour son projet de livre sur la vie du Prophète. On prenait ses distances avec les caricatures perçues comme une insulte délibérée à l’encontre d’une minorité faible et vulnérable, et on relativisait la menace de violence - il n’y avait qu’une poignée de fanatiques -, pour souligner sa sollicitude multiculturelle à l’égard des sentiments des croyants...”
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The New Yorker: Copenhagen, Speech, and Violence
“Several weeks ago, New Yorker cartoon editor Bob Mankoff conducted the following interview with Flemming Rose, the foreign editor of Jyllands-Posten, the Danish daily newspaper known for having published twelve cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad in 2005. Rose, who was then the culture editor, made the decision to publish the cartoons, which sparked attacks and violent protests across the Muslim world, and multiple terrorist plots against Jyllands-Posten, Rose, and other staff members.
Rose’s book, “The Tyranny of Silence,” was published late last year in the U.S. Rose and Mankoff spoke about the book and Rose’s views on free speech in person, and continued their conversation via e-mail. This interview is an edited version of their exchanges. Mankoff spoke to Rose today, shortly after a shooting attack on a Copenhagen café. The café was hosting a public event, “Art, Blasphemy, and Freedom of Expression,” featuring the artist Lars Vilks, who has also caricatured Muhammad. One person was killed and three were reported injured. Rose, who said he was not at the event, declined to comment at this time.
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Rose’s book, “The Tyranny of Silence,” was published late last year in the U.S. Rose and Mankoff spoke about the book and Rose’s views on free speech in person, and continued their conversation via e-mail. This interview is an edited version of their exchanges. Mankoff spoke to Rose today, shortly after a shooting attack on a Copenhagen café. The café was hosting a public event, “Art, Blasphemy, and Freedom of Expression,” featuring the artist Lars Vilks, who has also caricatured Muhammad. One person was killed and three were reported injured. Rose, who said he was not at the event, declined to comment at this time.
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Boston Globe: Can hate speech be eradicated?
“CAN HATE be eradicated from the public arena?
That utopian dream is what’s driving the European Union’s efforts to ban “hate speech,” a difficult-to-define concept that European governments keep trying to apply in more and more contexts. It’s based on an interpretation of the Holocaust that has become the founding narrative for European integration:that evil words beget evil deeds...”
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That utopian dream is what’s driving the European Union’s efforts to ban “hate speech,” a difficult-to-define concept that European governments keep trying to apply in more and more contexts. It’s based on an interpretation of the Holocaust that has become the founding narrative for European integration:that evil words beget evil deeds...”
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DR.DE Mediathek video: Dänemark Verzicht auf Pressefreiheit
Das Magazin euroblick hat sich zum Ziel gesetzt, europäische Zusammenhänge am anschaulichen Beispiel zu erklären und dabei die farbigen Unterschiede europäischer Regionen lebendig darzustellen. Der Blick auf Land und Leute innerhalb Europas hat dabei einen besonderen Stellenwert. Ziel ist es, Verständnis für ein zusammenwachsendes Europa zu schaffen.
Moderation: Natalie Amiri Autor: Gerhard Losher Redaktion: Gerhard Losher
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Moderation: Natalie Amiri Autor: Gerhard Losher Redaktion: Gerhard Losher
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The Tribune Papers: Be Offended: Vive La Resistance
“...Before Charlie Hebdo, Flemming Rose authored The Tyranny of Silence: How One Cartoon Ignited a Global Debate on the Future of Free Speech. Flemming is fighting against the growing psychosis of victimhood where, “it can be difficult to figure out the difference between an offensive cartoon or movie and committing mass murder. . . . It amounts to giving people who feel like reacting with violence a free hand to decide whether speech incites terror.”
Rose coins the phrase “grievance fundamentalism” to describe the syndrome where victims of assault are “deemed to have been asking for it.” Claiming we need more “insensitivity training,” he writes, “The only right we do not and should not have in a liberal democracy is a right not to be offended.”
Walter Olson, known best for his advocacy of tort reform, argued, “One way we can honor Charb, Cabu, Wolinski, Tignous, and the others who were killed Wednesday is by lifting legal constraints on what their successors tomorrow can draw and write.”
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Rose coins the phrase “grievance fundamentalism” to describe the syndrome where victims of assault are “deemed to have been asking for it.” Claiming we need more “insensitivity training,” he writes, “The only right we do not and should not have in a liberal democracy is a right not to be offended.”
Walter Olson, known best for his advocacy of tort reform, argued, “One way we can honor Charb, Cabu, Wolinski, Tignous, and the others who were killed Wednesday is by lifting legal constraints on what their successors tomorrow can draw and write.”
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Die Welt: Muslime, traut euch doch, über Mohammed zu lachen!
“...Erst Jahre später, und nachdem ich anfing, mich kritisch mit dem Islam auseinanderzusetzen, erkannte ich, wie wichtig Satire sein konnte. Die dänischen Mohammed-Karikaturen im Jahre 2005 spielten bei meinem Sinneswandel eine wichtige Rolle. Massen von Muslimen gingen auf die Straße und wollten ihre Liebe zum Propheten dadurch zum Ausdruck bringen, indem sie westliche Botschaften anzündeten. Über 150 Menschen starben bei Unruhen. Kaum jemand wagte es zu sagen, dass der Tod von so vielen Menschen viel schlimmer ist als eine satirische Zeichnung des Propheten.”
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eltiempo.com.ve: Y el hombre creó a Dios
“...“En este país (Inglaterra) la cobardía intelectual es el peor enemigo al que han de enfrentarse periodistas y escritores en general. Es un hecho grave que, en mi opinión, no ha sido discutido con la amplitud que merece”, señala Orwell.
En septiembre de 2005, la urgencia de frenar las crecientes concesiones de los medios occidentales a la política de silencio informativo propugnada por fundamentalistas islámicos animó a Flemming Rose, responsable de la sección de Cultura del diario danés Jyllands Posten, a contratar once viñetas acerca del islam.
Con esta iniciativa, Flemming Rose demostraba a la opinión pública nacional e internacional que aún existían publicaciones y artistas dispuestos a asumir el costo político de defender el principio de la libertad de expresión, entre ellos Kurt Westergaard, autor de la caricatura más controversial de la muestra, en la que aparecía un hombre con facciones árabes ataviado con un turbante bomba...”
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En septiembre de 2005, la urgencia de frenar las crecientes concesiones de los medios occidentales a la política de silencio informativo propugnada por fundamentalistas islámicos animó a Flemming Rose, responsable de la sección de Cultura del diario danés Jyllands Posten, a contratar once viñetas acerca del islam.
Con esta iniciativa, Flemming Rose demostraba a la opinión pública nacional e internacional que aún existían publicaciones y artistas dispuestos a asumir el costo político de defender el principio de la libertad de expresión, entre ellos Kurt Westergaard, autor de la caricatura más controversial de la muestra, en la que aparecía un hombre con facciones árabes ataviado con un turbante bomba...”
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The College Fix: Editor who first ran Mohammed cartoons says identity politics is eroding free speech
“...Freedom of expression worldwide is under attack from identity politics, the Danish newspaper editor who first published cartoons of Mohammed 10 years ago told a Rutgers University event Thursday night.
Flemming Rose is promoting his new book, The Tyranny of Silence, which illustrates the greater debate surrounding free speech in light of religious extremism, political power and an increasingly globalized world. It was published less than two months before the massacre of journalists at French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo.
The anti-religion bent of the panel discussion, which featured other free-speech activists, rubbed some students the wrong way. Though there were no visible protests, security was tight at the event...”
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Flemming Rose is promoting his new book, The Tyranny of Silence, which illustrates the greater debate surrounding free speech in light of religious extremism, political power and an increasingly globalized world. It was published less than two months before the massacre of journalists at French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo.
The anti-religion bent of the panel discussion, which featured other free-speech activists, rubbed some students the wrong way. Though there were no visible protests, security was tight at the event...”
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The Daily Targum: Experts discuss ‘tyranny of speech’ in relation to Charlie Hebdo attacks
“...“My newspaper did not republish Charlie Hebdo cartoons as many of the newspapers about the world didn’t do, especially in the United States,” he said. “It is not a decision that I am proud of.”
Rose said he would have been happy to see republication of the cartoons, but understands the decision.
The staff of the newspaper and the writers face great challenges when publishing controversial subjects, Rose said. In attempt to promote unconventional thoughts, they are putting themselves in danger, he said.
“It’s a huge pressure for the employees. People have to go to psychologists. They cannot sleep at night,” Rose said.
Many newspapers in the United States, such The New York Times, refuse to publish cartoons because they do not want to fuel a spark, Rose said. Publishing such controversial cartoons may cause more terrorist attacks, uprisings and riots.
Another reason the cartoons should be republished is because they are news, Rose said.
“Publication does not mean endorsement. We publish things that I find offensive, but nevertheless, I publish them,” Rose said.”
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Rose said he would have been happy to see republication of the cartoons, but understands the decision.
The staff of the newspaper and the writers face great challenges when publishing controversial subjects, Rose said. In attempt to promote unconventional thoughts, they are putting themselves in danger, he said.
“It’s a huge pressure for the employees. People have to go to psychologists. They cannot sleep at night,” Rose said.
Many newspapers in the United States, such The New York Times, refuse to publish cartoons because they do not want to fuel a spark, Rose said. Publishing such controversial cartoons may cause more terrorist attacks, uprisings and riots.
Another reason the cartoons should be republished is because they are news, Rose said.
“Publication does not mean endorsement. We publish things that I find offensive, but nevertheless, I publish them,” Rose said.”
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New Brunswick Today: New Club Hosts Panel Discussion Featuring Danish Editor Responsible For Controversial Cartoons
“...Hosted by the new "Objectivist Club" at Rutgers and funded by the California-based Ayn Rand Institute, the event's tagline was “Freedom of Speech vs. the Tyranny of Silence.”
The panel of speakers included Flemming Rose, the editor of the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, the daily paper that, in September 2005, published cartoons that sparked protests and rioting in Europe and the Middle East.
The publication of the cartoons led to widespread protests and rioting, attacks on newspaper offices, and even the jailing of editors who republished the cartoons in some countries.
Much of the discussion touched on the recent "Charlie Hebdo" massacre, where two men allegedly killed twelve people at the satirical newspaper’s Paris office, sparking the largest protest in the country's history.
Rose said the journalists at Charlie Hebdo there paid the highest price just for publishing cartoons.”
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The panel of speakers included Flemming Rose, the editor of the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, the daily paper that, in September 2005, published cartoons that sparked protests and rioting in Europe and the Middle East.
The publication of the cartoons led to widespread protests and rioting, attacks on newspaper offices, and even the jailing of editors who republished the cartoons in some countries.
Much of the discussion touched on the recent "Charlie Hebdo" massacre, where two men allegedly killed twelve people at the satirical newspaper’s Paris office, sparking the largest protest in the country's history.
Rose said the journalists at Charlie Hebdo there paid the highest price just for publishing cartoons.”
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Publishers Weekly: Four Questions for...Flemming Rose
“...The U.S. media have obviously decided to censor themselves when it comes to religion and they insist that it isn’t a free speech issue. It’s just decent behavior. I am not convinced. It’s fine with me when media do not want to offend, but then they should be consistent in applying that principle. .... I think the motive behind editorial decisions not to publish Mohammad cartoons is fear, and it would make the public debate about free speech a lot easier if editors were more honest about their motives...”
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The Comics Journal: Cartoons of Mass Destruction: The Whole Story Behind the Danish 12
“In 2006, 12 Danish cartoonists controversially drew pictures of Muhammad at the urging of Flemming Rose, the culture editor of the Danish weekly Jyllands-Posten. This news story from The Comics Journal #275 (April 2006) offers a multitude of perspectives — from cartoonists, Danes, Muslims, Danish Muslims — and is being rerun to help supply context for the Charles Hebdo killings.
Michael Dean and R.C. Harvey, with the assistance of Eric Millikin and Houria Kerdioui”
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Michael Dean and R.C. Harvey, with the assistance of Eric Millikin and Houria Kerdioui”
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EU Observer Opinion Charlie's false friends
“...This logic is both weasely and contradictory.
If freedom of speech means anything, it means having the right to mock ideas that are open to mockery – whether Christianity, Islam, fascism, communism, Euroscepticism or EU federalism. It also means having the right to offend those who offend you – whether representatives of religions that preach peace while sanctioning slaughter or those that eulogise equality while enslaving women.
“It’s impossible to know all the limits and taboos of every individual in society if you want to follow the ‘do not offend’ rule,” Flemming Rose told me earlier this week.
“It will lead to a tyranny of silence.” Rose, who first commissioned cartoons of Mohammed almost 10 years ago when an editor at Danish newspaper Jyllands Posten, adds: “I think respect, like tolerance, is one of the most abused words. People turn these concepts on their heads in order to intimidate people with whom they disagree.”
It is a tactic that appears to be working...”
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If freedom of speech means anything, it means having the right to mock ideas that are open to mockery – whether Christianity, Islam, fascism, communism, Euroscepticism or EU federalism. It also means having the right to offend those who offend you – whether representatives of religions that preach peace while sanctioning slaughter or those that eulogise equality while enslaving women.
“It’s impossible to know all the limits and taboos of every individual in society if you want to follow the ‘do not offend’ rule,” Flemming Rose told me earlier this week.
“It will lead to a tyranny of silence.” Rose, who first commissioned cartoons of Mohammed almost 10 years ago when an editor at Danish newspaper Jyllands Posten, adds: “I think respect, like tolerance, is one of the most abused words. People turn these concepts on their heads in order to intimidate people with whom they disagree.”
It is a tactic that appears to be working...”
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Al Jazeera America: Flemming Rose talks to Antonio Mora
“...Let's go back a decade, when you were thinking about publishing these cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. You had seen self-censorship happening throughout Europe and in different situations. And the straw that broke the camel's back for you was a man who wanted to write this and couldn't find an illustrator to draw the prophet for this children's book. So what was your intent, then? Because you went out and you invited people, cartoonists throughout Denmark, someone to come up with these drawings. What was your intent behind that invitation and then the subsequent publication?
I think there were two issues. In fact, we were not sure about how wide a problem self-censorship was. We had this one case. So one person self-censorship in fact taking place when it comes to dealing with Islam? And if it is taking place, is it based [on] a fiction of the mind or of our imagination, or is it based in real fear? And nine years after the fact, we have to acknowledge that we received an affirmative answer to both questions.”
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I think there were two issues. In fact, we were not sure about how wide a problem self-censorship was. We had this one case. So one person self-censorship in fact taking place when it comes to dealing with Islam? And if it is taking place, is it based [on] a fiction of the mind or of our imagination, or is it based in real fear? And nine years after the fact, we have to acknowledge that we received an affirmative answer to both questions.”
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The New York Review of Books: Defying the Assassin’s Veto Timothy Garton Ash
“...Most striking was the case of Jyllands-Posten, the paper that published the original “Danish cartoons” of Muhammad in 2005. Whereas many Danish papers republished the Charlie Hebdo ones, Jyllands-Posten did not, citing its “unique position” and concerns for employees’ safety. Flemming Rose, the man who commissioned the original cartoons and is now the paper’s foreign editor, told the BBC frankly, “We caved in.” “Violence works,” he added, and “sometimes the sword is mightier than the pen.”
He thus strikingly answered an appeal made by the British columnist Nick Cohen in a panel discussion at The Guardian: “If you are frightened, at least have the guts to say that. The most effective form of censorship is one that nobody admits exists.” As if in response, the Financial Times columnist Robert Shrimsley would next day write: “I am not Charlie, I am not brave enough.” (In the meantime, there has developed a rather tiresome subgenre of “I am not Charlie” prose.) While accusations of cowardice whizz around the Internet, I would like to see the person—probably an anonymous blogger, personally risking nothing—who charges Flemming Rose with cowardice. Whatever you think of the wisdom of his commissioning the Danish cartoons back in 2005, cowardly it was not...”
Timothy Garton Ash
February 19, 2015 Issue
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He thus strikingly answered an appeal made by the British columnist Nick Cohen in a panel discussion at The Guardian: “If you are frightened, at least have the guts to say that. The most effective form of censorship is one that nobody admits exists.” As if in response, the Financial Times columnist Robert Shrimsley would next day write: “I am not Charlie, I am not brave enough.” (In the meantime, there has developed a rather tiresome subgenre of “I am not Charlie” prose.) While accusations of cowardice whizz around the Internet, I would like to see the person—probably an anonymous blogger, personally risking nothing—who charges Flemming Rose with cowardice. Whatever you think of the wisdom of his commissioning the Danish cartoons back in 2005, cowardly it was not...”
Timothy Garton Ash
February 19, 2015 Issue
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Alberni Valley Times: Governments should protect free speech
22/01/15 19:37 Filed in: Press in English | Debate
“...It wasn't always that way. There was a time when speech was protected from death threats, when physical force was the only way an individual's rights could be violated; when as children, we were taught "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never harm me."
In the book "Tyranny of Silence" by Flemming Rose, the editor who published the controversial Danish cartoons writes about the history of free speech. He describes some of the atrocities committed when religion had full control of our lives. And when finally, in the 16th century, the English enlightenment provided us with the legal framework for freedom of speech, showing there is a vast difference between force and words. Most of the Islamic extremist-lead atrocities have occurred since Iran's religious leader called for the death of "Satanic Verses" author Salman Rushdie.
They fear our free speech, not our retaliatory defence. If the Muslim extremist world valued life they would stop brutalizing and killing their own people. They find our criticism intolerable...”
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In the book "Tyranny of Silence" by Flemming Rose, the editor who published the controversial Danish cartoons writes about the history of free speech. He describes some of the atrocities committed when religion had full control of our lives. And when finally, in the 16th century, the English enlightenment provided us with the legal framework for freedom of speech, showing there is a vast difference between force and words. Most of the Islamic extremist-lead atrocities have occurred since Iran's religious leader called for the death of "Satanic Verses" author Salman Rushdie.
They fear our free speech, not our retaliatory defence. If the Muslim extremist world valued life they would stop brutalizing and killing their own people. They find our criticism intolerable...”
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The Cato Institute: Hard Choices
24/01/15 19:27 Filed in: Press in English | Debate
“...It’s disconcerting for a publisher to discover that a horrific tragedy has made one of its current titles more relevant. But that’s what happened to the Cato Institute when 11 journalists at Charlie Hebdo and a police officer were murdered by Islamist extremists.
In November, we published The Tyranny of Silence, by Flemming Rose, the editor at the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten.Rose stirred up controversy in 2005 by publishing cartoons of Muhammad that led to protests, petitions, and an investigation by Danish prosecutors. More tragically, there were death threats to Rose and the cartoonists, an armed intruder in cartoonist Kurt Wester-gaard’s house, and more than 200 deaths in riots and violence in the Middle East and Africa.
Rose published the Danish edition of Tyranny of Silence, a book about the controversy and the future of free speech, in 2010. I was surprised to discover in 2013 that the manuscript had been translated into English but had not found a publisher. I brought it to the attention of John Samples, the editor-publisher of Cato Institute Press, who began to explore publication.
We had three questions in mind: safety, of course; the quality of the manuscript; and whether Rose was anti-|Muslim or genuinely an advocate of free speech and provocative journalism.
We determined that the publication of the book had not generated any violence in Denmark, and that the controversy over the cartoons had generally subsided in the nine or so years since they had been published. The manuscript was compelling, well written, and well translated. And my contacts in Denmark and Europe assured me that Rose was a genuine liberal with a strong anti-authoritarian bent, sharpened during his years as a reporter in the Soviet Union.
Given all that, the book was a natural fit for the Cato Institute. Since our founding in 1977, we’ve been committed to the libertarian values of individual liberty, limited government, free markets, and peace. We take our name from Cato’s Letters, a series of 18th-century newspaper essays by John Trenchard and Thomas Gordon that were enormously influential in shaping the ideas of the American Revolution. In essay #15, they set out one of their basic principles: “Without freedom of thought, there can be no such thing as wisdom; and no such thing as publick liberty…. In those wretched countries where a man can not call his tongue his own, he can scarce call any thing else his own.”
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In November, we published The Tyranny of Silence, by Flemming Rose, the editor at the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten.Rose stirred up controversy in 2005 by publishing cartoons of Muhammad that led to protests, petitions, and an investigation by Danish prosecutors. More tragically, there were death threats to Rose and the cartoonists, an armed intruder in cartoonist Kurt Wester-gaard’s house, and more than 200 deaths in riots and violence in the Middle East and Africa.
Rose published the Danish edition of Tyranny of Silence, a book about the controversy and the future of free speech, in 2010. I was surprised to discover in 2013 that the manuscript had been translated into English but had not found a publisher. I brought it to the attention of John Samples, the editor-publisher of Cato Institute Press, who began to explore publication.
We had three questions in mind: safety, of course; the quality of the manuscript; and whether Rose was anti-|Muslim or genuinely an advocate of free speech and provocative journalism.
We determined that the publication of the book had not generated any violence in Denmark, and that the controversy over the cartoons had generally subsided in the nine or so years since they had been published. The manuscript was compelling, well written, and well translated. And my contacts in Denmark and Europe assured me that Rose was a genuine liberal with a strong anti-authoritarian bent, sharpened during his years as a reporter in the Soviet Union.
Given all that, the book was a natural fit for the Cato Institute. Since our founding in 1977, we’ve been committed to the libertarian values of individual liberty, limited government, free markets, and peace. We take our name from Cato’s Letters, a series of 18th-century newspaper essays by John Trenchard and Thomas Gordon that were enormously influential in shaping the ideas of the American Revolution. In essay #15, they set out one of their basic principles: “Without freedom of thought, there can be no such thing as wisdom; and no such thing as publick liberty…. In those wretched countries where a man can not call his tongue his own, he can scarce call any thing else his own.”
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The Guardian: After the Paris attacks we’re in danger of abandoning the right to offend
22/01/15 19:22 Filed in: Press in English | Debate
“...First, the misunderstandings. Sensitivities vary but mine is that Charlie Hebdo has never been racist or anti-Muslim; anticlerical, certainly. But there has been a great deal of incomprehension about it based simply on ignorance. One example: the cartoon representing the prophet Muhammad lying naked on his stomach, saying to a cameraman, “Do you like my bum?” Some saw this as pornography, even sodomy. The reference is, in fact, to a scene from a 1963 Jean-Luc Godard movie featuring a naked Brigitte Bardot. Anyone who knows the movie knows the cartoon is about a softly erotic scene, with no aggressive pornography involved. The artist who drew it – and cartoons do stand somewhere between comment and art – was trying to say, “Dare I do this? Yes, I do.” I can see a problem from a religious standpoint – that of blasphemy: Muhammad is depicted. Yet this is one case where Charlie Hebdo is judged to have been outrageous and beyond decency.
Sensitivities can be inflamed by misunderstandings, but sometimes by deliberate manipulation. In his book Tyranny of Silence Flemming Rose, the editor who commissioned 12 cartoons depicting the prophet for the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten in 2005, describes how that episode began. After the cartoons were published a delegation of Danish imams travelled to the Middle East with a dossier intended to arouse hatred and anger. The file included drawings that were never run, nor commissioned by Jyllands-Posten, including some pornographic ones and a picture of a man disguised as a pig, which was taken at a French rural festival. This aroused public anger, and subsequently there were violent incidents and dozens of deaths. Had the dossier been a faithful representation, would that have been the case?”
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Sensitivities can be inflamed by misunderstandings, but sometimes by deliberate manipulation. In his book Tyranny of Silence Flemming Rose, the editor who commissioned 12 cartoons depicting the prophet for the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten in 2005, describes how that episode began. After the cartoons were published a delegation of Danish imams travelled to the Middle East with a dossier intended to arouse hatred and anger. The file included drawings that were never run, nor commissioned by Jyllands-Posten, including some pornographic ones and a picture of a man disguised as a pig, which was taken at a French rural festival. This aroused public anger, and subsequently there were violent incidents and dozens of deaths. Had the dossier been a faithful representation, would that have been the case?”
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Le site du Journal du Dimanche: Caricatures : "Céder à la violence, c’est prouver qu'elle fonctionne"
“...Vous connaissiez bien l’équipe de Charlie Hebdo, vous avez notamment été témoin à leur procès. Que ressentez-vous?
C’est un énorme choc professionnel et personnel, même si cela ne m’a pas surpris. Il n’y avait pas eu d’incidents depuis plusieurs d’années, l’équipe avait baissé la garde en termes de sécurité. Le policier était attablé avec eux à la conférence au lieu d’être dehors, ils étaient devenus amis. C’est une réaction psychologique compréhensive, humaine, nous avons les mêmes débats au journal… Le Jyllands-Posten a été critiqué parce qu’il n’a pas republié la dernière une de Charlie Hebdo. Beaucoup de mes collègues ont peur car il y a eu plusieurs tentatives d’attentat contre le journal. S’il n’y avait pas ces considérations sécuritaires, nous l’aurions fait. Cela montre que l’intimidation marche, mais nous n’avons pas abandonné la bataille. Tout cela renforce mes convictions...”
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C’est un énorme choc professionnel et personnel, même si cela ne m’a pas surpris. Il n’y avait pas eu d’incidents depuis plusieurs d’années, l’équipe avait baissé la garde en termes de sécurité. Le policier était attablé avec eux à la conférence au lieu d’être dehors, ils étaient devenus amis. C’est une réaction psychologique compréhensive, humaine, nous avons les mêmes débats au journal… Le Jyllands-Posten a été critiqué parce qu’il n’a pas republié la dernière une de Charlie Hebdo. Beaucoup de mes collègues ont peur car il y a eu plusieurs tentatives d’attentat contre le journal. S’il n’y avait pas ces considérations sécuritaires, nous l’aurions fait. Cela montre que l’intimidation marche, mais nous n’avons pas abandonné la bataille. Tout cela renforce mes convictions...”
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Em VEJA desta semana: A expressão não pode ter limites
“Era fim de tarde de uma terça-feira, há seis anos, quando o telefone tocou. Uma voz que havia se tornado familiar, do Serviço de Segurança e Inteligência da Dinamarca, disse que dois homens que planejavam me assassinar tinham sido presos em Chicago. O FBI havia frustrado outro ataque planejado ao meu jornal, Jyllands-Posten, que tinha como alvos específicos a mim e o cartunista Kurt Westergaard. Os terroristas eram um americano e um canadense, ambos de origem paquistanesa. Um estava ligado a atrocidades no ano anterior em Mumbai. Ele já havia visitado a Dinamarca duas vezes em missões de planejamento e comprado sua passagem de volta a Copenhague. Um ano depois, Westergaard teve a sorte de escapar de outra ameaça a sua vida. O artista, de 73 anos, estava assistindo a um filme com sua neta pequena quando um somali com um machado invadiu sua casa para matá-lo. Ele se refugiou em um quarto de segurança que se vira obrigado a construir. Durante uma década, nós tivemos de viver à sombra de tais ameaças, depois que encomendei uma dúzia de charges retratando Maomé. Foi essa decisão que provocou uma tempestade ao redor do mundo, com a republicação das charges em vários outros jornais. Apesar das tentativas de assassinato, era muito fácil, à medida que a vida seguia, ser levado a acreditar que a ameaça era abstrata.”
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Le Figaro: Flemming Rose : «Dès que les médias intériorisent la peur, c'est fini»
“Aujourd'hui chef de la politique étrangère du grand journal danois Jyllands-Posten, dont il était rédacteur en chef pendant la publication des caricatures de Mahomet en 2005, Flemming Rose est l'une des cibles des islamistes radicaux aux côtés du caricaturiste Kurt Westergaard. Il a publié The Tyranny of Silence, sorti en novembre aux États-Unis (Cato Press, 2014).”
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Stars and Stripes: Home/ Opinion Satirists accept the price of pens held high
“...Rose told me that he wasn’t calling for cartoonists to publish “images of the Prophet Muhammad.” Rather, he encouraged honesty about self-censorship. “I understand that people feel intimidated,” Rose said. “I think we should be honest about it. We should not [apologize] it away to be polite. We mock all religions, but we give special treatment to one religion right now. I’m just calling for honesty so we know what we’re talking about.”
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The New Republic: The Danish Editor Who Published Mohammed Cartoons in 2005: "This Idea That Charlie Hebdo Had an Anti-Islamic Bias Is Stupid"
“...Rose has spent the years since then defending free expression against a culture of compromise and conciliation, but he remains deeply pessimistic about the future of free speech in Europe—not just because he knows the journalists killed in the Charlie Hebdo shooting and not just because they were killed for printing cartoons. He’s pessimistic because it’s a continuation of what he calls a decade-long assault in Europe on liberal ideals and freedom of expression. The assault is gradually snaking its way across the continent: Amsterdam 2004, the murder of filmmaker Theo Van Gogh; Madrid 2004, train bombings; London 2005, bus bombing.
Now France 2015: Twelve journalists and cartoonists murdered. Rose fears that this latest act will make editors across Europe pause before they go to the printers. It will encourage self-censorship; it will bring us closer to a “tyranny of silence.” I spoke with him by phone from Copenhagen about the massacre and where Europe needs to go from here...”
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Now France 2015: Twelve journalists and cartoonists murdered. Rose fears that this latest act will make editors across Europe pause before they go to the printers. It will encourage self-censorship; it will bring us closer to a “tyranny of silence.” I spoke with him by phone from Copenhagen about the massacre and where Europe needs to go from here...”
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BBC News HARD TALK: ‘Violence works’ - No to Hebdo reprint
“Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten which controversially published 12 cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad in 2005 has decided to not reprint Charlie Hedbo’s post-attack front cover.
"Sometimes the sword is mightier than the pen," said Flemming Rose, the newspaper’s cultural editor.
Mr Rose explained that their newspaper had been living with death threats and several foiled terrorists attacks since it published the cartoons which were republished by several European newspapers in 2006, sparking worldwide protests among some Muslims.”
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"Sometimes the sword is mightier than the pen," said Flemming Rose, the newspaper’s cultural editor.
Mr Rose explained that their newspaper had been living with death threats and several foiled terrorists attacks since it published the cartoons which were republished by several European newspapers in 2006, sparking worldwide protests among some Muslims.”
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ABC News George Stephanopoulos: Flemming Rose about free speech
“In my view there are two possible responses to a free speech challenge that maintain the principle of equality before the law. The first option would avoid any possible offense by equally protecting the right “not to be offended” for all groups: if you respect my taboos, I’ll respect yours. If one group is to be protected from emotional violation, then all groups must be. If it is against the law to deny the existence of the Holocaust or the crimes committed in the name of Communism, then it should also be forbidden to publish drawings of the Muslim prophet. But this thinking quickly spirals out of control—in such a world not much could be said at all.
The other response is to say that in a democracy no one can claim the right not to be offended. Because we are as different as we are, the challenge then becomes to work out a minimum limitation on freedom of speech, only making restrictions which are absolutely necessary in order for us to live together in peace. It would seem logical to suggest that a more diverse society should be allowed greater freedom of expression than a homogeneous one; however, the opposite is a widely spread conviction. This is where the tyranny of silence lurks. Faced with growing diversity, Europe has recently tended to increase restrictions on the freedom of expression; the majority of laws criminalizing the denial of the Holocaust have been passed since the collapse of the Berlin Wall. The United States, with its tradition of upholding absolute freedom of expression, stands more and more alone on this issue. In my opinion Europe should learn from our friends on the other side of the Atlantic.”
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The other response is to say that in a democracy no one can claim the right not to be offended. Because we are as different as we are, the challenge then becomes to work out a minimum limitation on freedom of speech, only making restrictions which are absolutely necessary in order for us to live together in peace. It would seem logical to suggest that a more diverse society should be allowed greater freedom of expression than a homogeneous one; however, the opposite is a widely spread conviction. This is where the tyranny of silence lurks. Faced with growing diversity, Europe has recently tended to increase restrictions on the freedom of expression; the majority of laws criminalizing the denial of the Holocaust have been passed since the collapse of the Berlin Wall. The United States, with its tradition of upholding absolute freedom of expression, stands more and more alone on this issue. In my opinion Europe should learn from our friends on the other side of the Atlantic.”
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Real Clear Politics: Free Speech: Putting Our Own House in Order
“...One way those in the West can make this clear to our enemies is to put our own house in order. That means several things, starting with the mainstream U.S. media dispensing with the fiction that they didn’t run the Danish cartoons—and won’t run the Charlie Hebdo cartoons even now—because they are loath to offend their readers. They offend readers all the time, and happily. They aren’t running them because they’re afraid to do so, a quite rational fear. In addition, it’s long past time to dismantle the witless university speech codes championed by feminists, gay right advocates, identity-politics mavens—and even the Obama administration.
It also means, and this is counterintuitive given the anti-Semitism embedded in modern Islamic society, dismantling Europe’s “hate speech” laws. These statutes were enacted with Nazi Holocaust-denial in mind, a noble goal. But they undermine the principle that free speech should be inviolate and that all other freedoms flow out of it. Certainly, the enemies of free thinking know this.
In his book, “Tyranny of Silence,” Danish editor Flemming Rose quotes a Saudi cleric and TV preacher Muhammad Al-Munajid—a man who has said Mickey Mouse should be killed—who revealed candidly what radical Muslim clerics and their violent followers really fear. They fear that people think about their own faith instead of being told what they must believe.”
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It also means, and this is counterintuitive given the anti-Semitism embedded in modern Islamic society, dismantling Europe’s “hate speech” laws. These statutes were enacted with Nazi Holocaust-denial in mind, a noble goal. But they undermine the principle that free speech should be inviolate and that all other freedoms flow out of it. Certainly, the enemies of free thinking know this.
In his book, “Tyranny of Silence,” Danish editor Flemming Rose quotes a Saudi cleric and TV preacher Muhammad Al-Munajid—a man who has said Mickey Mouse should be killed—who revealed candidly what radical Muslim clerics and their violent followers really fear. They fear that people think about their own faith instead of being told what they must believe.”
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Die Welt: Es ist kein Respekt, es ist Angst
“Das Problem ist nur: Der Satz stimmt nicht. Wir sind nicht Charlie. Und die Behauptung, der Terror werde nicht gewinnen, ist angesichts der Erfahrungen des letzten Jahrzehnts allenfalls eine Hoffnung. Die Wirklichkeit sieht leider anders aus.
Die Redakteure und Karikaturisten des Pariser Satiremagazins wussten, dass sie mit jeder Mohammed- Zeichnung ihr Leben riskierten. "'Charlie Hebdo' war die einzige Zeitschrift der Welt, die sich noch getraut hat, solche Cartoons zu bringen", weiß Flemming Rose, leitender Kulturredakteur der dänischen Tageszeitung "Jyllands- Posten". Vor fast zehn Jahren wurde das Blatt weltbekannt, weil es eine Reihe von Mohammed- Karikaturen ins Blatt gehoben hatte. Der verantwortliche Redakteur war Flemming Rose. Seitdem lebt er unter Polizeischutz.”
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Die Redakteure und Karikaturisten des Pariser Satiremagazins wussten, dass sie mit jeder Mohammed- Zeichnung ihr Leben riskierten. "'Charlie Hebdo' war die einzige Zeitschrift der Welt, die sich noch getraut hat, solche Cartoons zu bringen", weiß Flemming Rose, leitender Kulturredakteur der dänischen Tageszeitung "Jyllands- Posten". Vor fast zehn Jahren wurde das Blatt weltbekannt, weil es eine Reihe von Mohammed- Karikaturen ins Blatt gehoben hatte. Der verantwortliche Redakteur war Flemming Rose. Seitdem lebt er unter Polizeischutz.”
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EL PAÍS: ¿Qué clase de civilización somos?
DEBATE SOBRE LA LIBERTAD DE EXPRESIÓN
¿Qué clase de civilización somos?
DERECHO A OFENDER. Su decisión de publicar unas viñetas de Mahoma para denunciar la autocensura encendió el debate sobre el futuro de la libertad de expresión. Flemming Rose, jefe de Internacional del ‘Jyllands-Posten’, el principal diario danés, reflexiona sobre el uso de la sátira como respuesta de una civilización sana ante la barbarie.
Philippe Val, entonces redactor jefe de Charlie Hebdo, no podía ocultar su irritación cuando, en 2007, con motivo del juicio celebrado contra la revista satírica de izquierdas por publicar unas viñetas de Mahoma, se le preguntaba si realmente había sido necesario, si no se trataba de una provocación innecesaria y un ataque a una minoría débil y oprimida. Charlie Hebdo había reproducido unos dibujos del diario Jyllands-Posten, junto con otras viñetas del profeta hechas por sus caricaturistas, como reacción a los ataques contra las Embajadas danesas y las amenazas al diario. “¿Qué civilización seríamos si no nos pudiésemos burlar, mofar y reír de los que vuelan trenes y aviones y asesinan en masa a inocentes?”, se preguntaba indignado Philippe Val. La pregunta resurge con fuerza tras la matanza en la redacción de Charlie Hebdo.
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¿Qué clase de civilización somos?
DERECHO A OFENDER. Su decisión de publicar unas viñetas de Mahoma para denunciar la autocensura encendió el debate sobre el futuro de la libertad de expresión. Flemming Rose, jefe de Internacional del ‘Jyllands-Posten’, el principal diario danés, reflexiona sobre el uso de la sátira como respuesta de una civilización sana ante la barbarie.
Philippe Val, entonces redactor jefe de Charlie Hebdo, no podía ocultar su irritación cuando, en 2007, con motivo del juicio celebrado contra la revista satírica de izquierdas por publicar unas viñetas de Mahoma, se le preguntaba si realmente había sido necesario, si no se trataba de una provocación innecesaria y un ataque a una minoría débil y oprimida. Charlie Hebdo había reproducido unos dibujos del diario Jyllands-Posten, junto con otras viñetas del profeta hechas por sus caricaturistas, como reacción a los ataques contra las Embajadas danesas y las amenazas al diario. “¿Qué civilización seríamos si no nos pudiésemos burlar, mofar y reír de los que vuelan trenes y aviones y asesinan en masa a inocentes?”, se preguntaba indignado Philippe Val. La pregunta resurge con fuerza tras la matanza en la redacción de Charlie Hebdo.
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Philly.com Worldview: Stand up for free speech
...I spoke by phone to Rose in Copenhagen. (He recently published a prescient book in the United States titled The Tyranny of Silence: How One Cartoon Ignited a Global Debate on the Future of Free Speech.) "Today cannot be a surprise to anyone who has followed events over the past 10 years," he said, sadly.
"Charlie Hebdo was maybe the only paper in Europe that, didn't cave in after what we went through or after the fatwa against Rushdie," Rose continued. Most other media in Europe accepted self-censorship due to intimidation or fear of violence, but "Charlie Hebdo kept making fun of all kinds of religions, including Islam, despite the death threats. Today they paid the price for not being willing to shut up."
By Trudy Rubin, Inquirer Opinion Columnist
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"Charlie Hebdo was maybe the only paper in Europe that, didn't cave in after what we went through or after the fatwa against Rushdie," Rose continued. Most other media in Europe accepted self-censorship due to intimidation or fear of violence, but "Charlie Hebdo kept making fun of all kinds of religions, including Islam, despite the death threats. Today they paid the price for not being willing to shut up."
By Trudy Rubin, Inquirer Opinion Columnist
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Philadelphia Inquirer: 'Charlie' was courageous
“We are censoring ourselves. How and why is laid out in The Tyranny of Silence, a book by Flemming Rose, the editor who green-lighted the Danish Muhammad cartoons. Most news agencies would not show the offending cartoons then and most news outlets (including this one) today won't show Charlie's cartoons in any detail. Cowards.
Self-censorship is insidious.
Charlie Hebdo refused to do it, and paid the price. The editors and writers and cartoonists are martyrs to freedom of speech.”
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Self-censorship is insidious.
Charlie Hebdo refused to do it, and paid the price. The editors and writers and cartoonists are martyrs to freedom of speech.”
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Daily Mail: Jihadis want to assassinate me. But I refuse to be condemned to a tyranny of deathly silence'
“...By proposing a practical demonstration – Show, Don’t Tell, a time-honoured journalistic principle – we wanted to let readers form their own opinion. As we soon found out, fears of violence for ridiculing a religious symbol were far from fantasy.
I could never have imagined being condemned as a racist and finding myself on an Al Qaeda hit list. I was constantly asked to apologise for subsequent events, finding myself blamed for the lethal over-reaction of others...”
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I could never have imagined being condemned as a racist and finding myself on an Al Qaeda hit list. I was constantly asked to apologise for subsequent events, finding myself blamed for the lethal over-reaction of others...”
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De Volkskrant: Tegen de tirannie van het zwijgen
10/01/15 10:32 Filed in: Netherlands | Debate
“Na de massamoord in Parijs wordt Europa met hernieuwde kracht voor het dilemma van de multiculturele democratie gesteld. Het is de diepe overtuiging van Flemming Rose dat we moeten vasthouden aan het recht om te beledigen als we als beschaving willen overleven...”
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Stars and Stripes: Satirists accept the price of pens held high
08/01/15 10:52 Filed in: Press in English | Debate
“I prefer to die standing up than live on my knees.”
Those are the lasting words of Stephane Charbonnier, the editor of the French satirical publication Charlie Hebdo, who on a brutal Wednesday morning in Paris did, in effect, die standing up. Charbonnier — who as a cartoonist went by the nickname “Charb” — was among the 12 people, including three other cartoonists, who were slain by masked gunmen who struck during an editorial meeting at Charlie Hebdo’s offices.
What Charb’s rallying cry speaks to, really, is a decision — the decision for provocative commentators. Today, as much as ever, each true satirist makes a choice: How far will I go to stand up for my commentary?
Where, in other words, does each cartoonist draw the line when drawing potentially “blasphemous” lines...
(By Michael Cavna
The Washington Post)
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Those are the lasting words of Stephane Charbonnier, the editor of the French satirical publication Charlie Hebdo, who on a brutal Wednesday morning in Paris did, in effect, die standing up. Charbonnier — who as a cartoonist went by the nickname “Charb” — was among the 12 people, including three other cartoonists, who were slain by masked gunmen who struck during an editorial meeting at Charlie Hebdo’s offices.
What Charb’s rallying cry speaks to, really, is a decision — the decision for provocative commentators. Today, as much as ever, each true satirist makes a choice: How far will I go to stand up for my commentary?
Where, in other words, does each cartoonist draw the line when drawing potentially “blasphemous” lines...
(By Michael Cavna
The Washington Post)
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Newsweek: Funny’s Funny: Humor Is An Essential Freedom of Speech
“...Everywhere I go, I seem to provoke controversy. At American universities, I’ve been met by placards and students protesting against my speaking. When I was scheduled to lecture at a university in Jerusalem, a demonstration called for my removal.
When I talked about freedom of speech at a UNESCO conference in Doha in the spring of 2009, local media branded me the “the Danish Satan,”1 the authorities were inundated with angry emails and the Ministry of Internal Affairs set up a hotline for citizens who complained about my having even been allowed into the country...”
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When I talked about freedom of speech at a UNESCO conference in Doha in the spring of 2009, local media branded me the “the Danish Satan,”1 the authorities were inundated with angry emails and the Ministry of Internal Affairs set up a hotline for citizens who complained about my having even been allowed into the country...”
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Finacial Times: Danish journalist does not regret cartoon commission despite plots
Financial Times - Europe
“...The drama culminated in Paris this week with the massacre at Charlie Hebdo, the French satirical magazine whose editor, Stephane Charbonnier, decided to reprint Jyllands-Posten’s cartoons in 2006 out of solidarity and then increasingly made Islam a subject of his sharp-edged pen.
“It’s really sad. It’s a big shock. It’s really, really terrible. It’s a nightmare coming true,” says Mr Rose, himself on a purported al-Qaeda wanted list.
But anybody expecting Mr Rose to be repentant would be wrong. “I don’t regret commissioning those cartoons. I don’t believe that a cartoon is worth a single life. The problem is that there are quite a few people who believe otherwise and then we are confronted with this dilemma: what do we do?”
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“...The drama culminated in Paris this week with the massacre at Charlie Hebdo, the French satirical magazine whose editor, Stephane Charbonnier, decided to reprint Jyllands-Posten’s cartoons in 2006 out of solidarity and then increasingly made Islam a subject of his sharp-edged pen.
“It’s really sad. It’s a big shock. It’s really, really terrible. It’s a nightmare coming true,” says Mr Rose, himself on a purported al-Qaeda wanted list.
But anybody expecting Mr Rose to be repentant would be wrong. “I don’t regret commissioning those cartoons. I don’t believe that a cartoon is worth a single life. The problem is that there are quite a few people who believe otherwise and then we are confronted with this dilemma: what do we do?”
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Power Line: After Charlie Hebdo: Revisiting “The Tyranny of Silence”
This Saturday’s photo roundup will be be the Charlie Hebdo edition, and we’re currently collecting the most offensive Mohammed images for maximum effect. In the meantime, it is worth taking note of Flemming Rose’s recent book, The Tyranny of Silence.
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French-news-online.com: Let’s Hear it for (Charlie) Hebdo
21/09/12 15:37 Filed in: Press in English
”...Charlie Hebdo has once again been flying an increasingly battered flag for freedom of opinion and expression despite global threats of real fire and brimstone, but will the French hold out as others in the West cave in?”
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