UK museum cancels show on Mohammed cartoons

The saga of the Mohammed cartoon continues, ten year after the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten first decided to publish a number of controversial depictions of the Prophet. Since then, Muslims have mobilized protests around the globe, Danish and Norwegian embassies have suffered several attacks, and several cartoonists have paid with their lives to defend their right to free expression when gunmen killed 12 people during attacks in January on the offices of French satirical magazine, Charlie Hebdo. The attack caused global outrage but did not put an end to the debate weighing religious liberties against personal freedom.

London could have seen another such crime scene next month with the opening of an exhibit of Mohammed cartoons in the borough of Southwark. But some of the organizers pulled the plug on the project after the Metropolitan Police warned about risks to public safety.

Anne Marie Waters, whose organization "Sharia Watch UK" had instigated the exhibit, told DW she had received reliable information that there was a "real threat" that someone could be hurt or even killed. She added, however, that she still hoped to revive the exhibit at some later stage.

"The venue pulled out on us. After finally finding this beautiful venue in Southwark, they pulled out on us, and so did some other people who were involved," Waters said.

"We could've done it successfully if we had seen more support, but there's so few of us who are behind this cause, which means that there's a high risk of attack against us and our families."

Pushing boundaries

Waters said the idea of showing Mohammed cartoons at a public exhibition in London came only a couple of months ago, well after the Charlie Hebdo attacks and a shooting in Dallas, Texas, during which two gunmen were killed after opening fire at an exhibition where caricatures of Mohammed were displayed. She said that she wanted to see for herself how far she could go with the attempt to put on a show about the Mohammed cartoons.

"People tell me they weren't surprised it was cancelled. Neither am I. But one of the things that I wanted to see was what reactions we would get out of this exhibit and whether we could pull it off," Waters explained.

Ridley: 'Real victims are Muslims'

Yvonne Ridley, a journalist and convert to Islam, said, however, that those hurt by the Mohammed cartoons were first and foremost Muslims across the world. She said that it may be hard for non-Muslims to relate to the offense the depictions caused, but was adamant that it was a real and painful experience to a faithful Muslim's psyche.

"I have to question the motives of these groups that organize these sorts of events," Ridley told DW. "It has nothing to do with free speech and all to do with upsetting Muslims."

"Why do these people do this if they know it causes hurt and upset? And why do they even bother anymore? No one is going to flock to a Mohammed exhibition. It's been done, it's passé. It's just a meaningless, pointless exercise and a hate-fueled one at that."

Attention seekers or defenders of freedom?

Ridley, a veteran journalist of more than 30 years, who converted to Islam after being captured by Taliban fighters in Afghanistan in 2001, called the organizers of the exhibit "attention seekers," adding that she thought they wanted to stir up the Muslim community for no apparent reason.

"They're tiresome attention seekers who want to cause upset in the Muslim community. And they know fully well that there are minorities that will respond in a violent fashion to these cartoons. So why are these attention seekers so surprised when people react to their actions? It may not be the kind of attention they want, but in the end they get all the attention in the world for their hate-fueled missions," Ridley told DW.

Waters: 'Freedom before dogma'

Anne Marie Waters, however, insisted that her freedom of speech should be protected no matter what feelings Muslims might have on the matter.

"They've got a right to say what they think. If you don't like the Mohammed cartoon you have every right to say that – just as much as I have a right to publish it," Waters said.

"Islam has become a global, violent bully. I will not be bullied by their dogmatic views, which make women suffer in Saudi Arabia and Iran. Religious minorities are jailed, tortured, executed, persecuted by the Islamic State. And you want to tell me that I can't publish a cartoon to fight that? We've got to show people that there's a little glimmer of hope for freedom," she said.

Beyond cartoons

Nasima Begum from the Muslim Council of Britain is another of those people who welcomed the decision to cancel the event.

"We are pleased that in this case, common sense has prevailed in not fulfilling the aims of those who want to spread hatred and division in our society," she told DW.

According to Anne Marie Waters, however, it is a growing Islamization of Britain that is causing division and hatred in Britain today.

"Just the word 'Islam' evokes fear in the majority of the people I meet, and this is amplified upon mention of 'Mohammed cartoons.' There is a tangible uneasiness, an anxiety around violence and death in people's minds. These shift from possibility to probability upon mention of a Mohammed cartoon, and that can be rather sobering," Waters said on the homepage of Sharia Watch UK.

"Fear is controlling our society where Islam is concerned, and it was fear that got this exhibit cancelled," she added.

'Climate of Islamophobia'

Yvonne Ridley, however, is worried that the cartoons are being made light of. She said that she thinks the efforts to ridicule Mohammed are part of a "present climate of Islamophobia across Europe."

"This isn't the first time that a religious group has been attacked in Europe. We all know what happened in the 1930 when this sort of hatred was directed against a group of people because of their faith. We need to learn from that history and to stop ridiculing people's faith. Instead of engaging in such juvenile exhibits we should work together to bring about understanding. There are other ways of fighting for freedom of expression and speech, far more pressing ways than drawing a cartoon."