MR. MCCORMACK: For us, freedom of expression is at the core of our democracy and it is something that we have shed blood and treasure around the world to defend and we will continue to do so. That said, there are other aspects to democracy, our democracy -- democracies around the world -- and that is to promote understanding, to promote respect for minority rights, to try to appreciate the differences that may exist among us....
[W]e believe that it is an important principle that peoples around the world encourage dialogue, not violence; dialogue, not misunderstanding and that when you see an image that is offensive to another particular group, to speak out against that. Anti-Muslim images are as unacceptable as anti-Semitic images, as anti-Christian images or any other religious belief. We have to remember and respect the deeply held beliefs of those who have different beliefs from us. But it is important that we also support the rights of individuals to express their freely held views....
QUESTION: When you say "unacceptable," it applies some sort of action against the people who perpetrate those images.
MR. MCCORMACK: No. I think I made it very clear that our defense of freedom of expression and the ability of individuals and media organizations to engage in free expression is forthright and it is strong, you know. This is -- our First Amendment rights, the freedom of expression, are some of the most strongly held and dearly held views that we have here in America. And certainly nothing that I said, I would hope, would imply any diminution of that support....
QUESTION: Do you caution America media against publishing those cartoons?
MR. MCCORMACK: That's for you and your editors to decide, and that's not for the government. We don't own the printing presses.... [W]e, as a Government, have made our views known on the question of these images. We find them offensive. We understand why others may find them offensive. We have urged tolerance and understanding. That -- all of that said, the media organizations are going to have to make their own decisions concerning what is printed... [I]t's not for the U.S. Government to dictate what is printed.
The BBC yesterday reported that in Jordan, two newspapers-- Shihan and al-Mehwar-- became the first in the Arab world to reprint some the cartoons. Their editors were promptly arrested and accused of insulting religion under Jordan's press and publications law. Jihad Momani, editor of Shihan, was also fired by his newspaper, which withdrew copies of the paper from newsstands. Momani had published three of the cartoons along with an editorial questioning whether the reaction in the Muslim world was justified. He later issued an apology.
In South Africa, where only one paper has published one of the cartoons so far, the Johannesburg High Court issued an order Friday night against several newspapers prohibiting them from publishing any cartoon, caricature or drawing of Muhammad. South Africa's Sunday Tribune reports that the pre-emptive order came in a suit filed by the Jamiat-ul Ulama of Transvaal.
On Saturday, protesters in Syria set fire to the Danish and Norwegian embassies (AP). On Sunday, Denmark's embassy in Lebanon was torched (AP).
For prior postings on the controversy, see 1, 2, 3 , 4 .UPDATE: On Sunday, according to Islam Online, several Muslim leaders called on the international community and the United Nations to enact international prohibitions on insulting religions and religious symbols. Meanwhile, HonestReporting.com accused Arab countries of ignoring insulting anti-Semitic and anti-Israel cartoons regularly published in their own media.
