徵求犹太大屠杀漫画既恐怖、也令人无法接受

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徵求犹太大屠杀漫画既恐怖、也令人无法接受(Contest idea for Holocaust cartoons is grisly and unacceptable)

Surely the editors who allowed publication of cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad last September in a Danish newspaper never imagined the aftermath that has followed. It is old news now that the cartoons received wider notoriety after newspapers reprinted them throughout Europe and Asia.

Since then, Muslims everywhere have expressed outrage, and radical elements in several cities in the Middle East have led massive protests that have caused boycotts, attacks on embassies, and senseless violence against life and property.

The reactions to the cartoons took a vicious and frightening new turn recently. Reports now say that a popular Iranian newspaper has announced a contest to solicit what one report described as "the best Holocaust cartoon," apparently in a sick attempt at revenge. This notion is disgusting. The newspaper, "Hamshahri," defends its actions by arguing the contest will enrich the debate about freedom of speech versus respect for different religions.

We do not need this thirst for new blood and should deplore it at all costs. We get the point, thank you very much. Those of us who had been ignorant about Muslim sensitivities have grasped the unacceptability of the original drawing of Muhammad with a bomb-like turban wrapped around his head have awakened with a start.

Revenge, like that proposed by the Iranian newspaper, always proves spiritually destructive for those who perpetrate it, and that is why this proposition should be condemned.

(Father Daniel J. Bauer SVD is a priest and associate professor at Fu Jen Catholic University, where he is chair of the English Department in its School of Education.)