The cartoon of Jyllands-Posten newspaper -12 Prophet Muhammad cartoons
Cartoons provide visual communication that allows interesting combination of entertainment while raising awareness of social, cultural or political concern (Patricia B. & Mora N., 2009). However, conflicts can arise when misconception of visual meaning made by difference cultural social group.
In about four year ago, Denmark’s embassy in Damascus had been torched, Danish consulate in Beirut was being set fire and effigies of the Danish Prime Minister were burnt in Turkey. Protest has turned into riots from Middle East to other countries, caused 450 people killed, and 800 people injured. This is all because of the decision made by Danish newspaper editors to publish the 12 caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad which consider against sacred iconography by Muslims and led to the enragement. Jyttee Klausen, the professor of comparative politics at Brandeis University in Massachusetts and also the authors of Cartoons that Shook the World further detailed the published of 12 caricatures of Prophet Muhammad is started by the editors of the Danish newspaper, Jyllands-Posten decided to conducted an experiment to find out whether the cartoonist will afraid of what the Muslims would do if the Danish artist continued their business insulting religion like they used to embrace such as differences between religious Muslims and the lifestyle issues (The Cartoons that shook the world 2010). The headed in favor of freedom of speech and freedom of press be erroneously perceived as battle against Islamic culture.
The media should be responsible for the securing of coherence and inclusion of all groups in society and aware of exercise of the freedom does not take place in a space without societal context (Bonde N., 2005). Before publishing the 12 caricatures of Prophet Muhammad, the media should consider the sensitive issue that will rise up the conflict between the group with different cultural background and different religion belief. The international authorities have been extremely cautious to avoid biased reporting against any population group as this might cause renewed hate and violence in certain countries (Bonde N., 2005). According to Hans Rask Jensen(2008), one of the drawings which depict the Prophet Mohammed with a bomb in his turban, does not make clear what figure and background are caused some observers perceived it as an insult to the religious sensibilities and an expression of the West's contempt for Muslims. In fact the artist himself says that the image in no way refers to Islam as a whole, but only to a fundamentalist interpretation of Islam. Kress & van Leeuwen(2006) states that visual meanings are too indefinite, people can make radically different meaning from an image due to respective cultural background, past experience and level of knowledge, text must come together to arrive definite meaning.
Overall, publishers must keep in mind it is their responsible to comply with ethical norms, make clear of the meaning wish to express and try to avoid the offensive publication which can lift up the conflict among the difference social group with difference culture and religion in society.
Reference List:
1. Bonde N.(2005), “Media and Communication in Conflict Prevention and Peace-Building –Exploring Strategies for International and UN-led Conflict Transformation”, Roskilde: Roskilde University.
4. Kress,G.& van Leeuwen, T.(2006), “ The semiotic landscape: language and visual communication in reading images”, Routledge, London.
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