The Mohammed Cartoons

Randall A. Terry
President, Society for Truth and Justice

Hopefully by now you have seen the cartoons of Mohammed. As the hubbub over the cartoons waxes and wanes throughout the world, we should use this moment in time as a snapshot to identify the enemies, as well as the champions of freedom. But perhaps more importantly, we should mark those media outlets in America who fade into the gray twilight; those who claim to be defenders of liberty, yet quickly withdraw from the battle of ideologies as noncombatants, and refuse to show the cartoons.

The Irish Examiner -- an Irish newspaper which ran the cartoon of Mohammed (depicting him with a bomb in his headdress) -- ran a story on exactly which papers were and were not showing the cartoon that provoked this international media frenzy. The Irish article focused on England, stating: �The BBC, Channel 4 and ITV � as well as several European newspapers � have re-run the cartoons, although no British newspapers have published them.� (Italics added)

This fact is at once incomprehensible and chilling. Any student of World War II or Winston Churchill know that the cowardice of Fleet Street (the base of British newspapers) almost single-handedly ensured that all of Europe would be thrown into World War II because of their refusal to print the truth concerning Adolph Hitler and Nazism during the mid-1930s. (Even at a time when Nazi Germany posed no military threat to the Western Powers.)

Like the timid of today in America, British media magnates did everything in their power to not "offend� Hitler and his Nazi henchmen who were running Germany � the same thugs who were preparing to shower fire and steel upon British soldiers and citizens. Articles, radio broadcasts, cartoons, and editorials that told the Truth about Herr Hitler and Nazism were considered inflammatory and therefore were routinely suppressed. Sound familiar?

And as we all know, such capitulation -- or as disgraced British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain called it -- such "appeasement" did nothing to ensure peace. Appeasement merely insured that villainous aggressors would mistakenly believe that the bulk of the British citizenry (and the entire West for that matter) did not have the heart to resist tyranny. It also ensured that the Nazis would have more time to develop their machines and stratagems of war. Ultimately, World War II was the direct fruit of the silence and cowardice of the political leadership and the press of England and France. Millions needlessly died -- including tens of thousands of American soldiers -- because the guardians of justice and liberty were afraid to declare the truth and exert their moral and political authority when it was their duty to do so -- long before the Nazis were strong enough to pose a real threat.

If the British and the French had condemned and resisted Hitler and the Nazis when the Rhineland, Austria, or even Czechoslovakia fell into Nazi clutches � or at any time between 1933 and 1938 -- Hitler would have been toppled, arrested, and probably tried as a criminal by German generals. Moreover, the momentum and machinations of war that led to WWII would have been ground to a halt. The British government was successful in "not offending the Nazis,� and obtaining �peace for our time;� yet it was all folly. It merely insured that war would come, and that it would be catastrophic -- nearly fatal to Europe and the entire British Empire.

Fast-forward to today. As we watch our so-called champions of free speech and liberty at the New York Times, the Washington Post, CNN and other media outlets bow in subservience to Islamic fear mongers, warmongers, and terrorists; as we watch Western leaders wring their hands concerning the nuclear ambitions of Iran; as our leaders ignore the threat that the Pakistani nuclear weapons already possess to our shores; we must ask the question: are we following in the path of the British dealings with the Nazis? Are we -- like the British and French governments who kowtowed to the Nazis in the mid- 1930s -- ensuring that the Islamic juggernaut that we are appeasing today grows more menacing tomorrow? Are our leaders in politics and the press emboldening our enemies and ensuring a trial by fire, steel and blood in the not-too-distant future? Are we surrendering our freedoms on the installment plan?

A brief definition of freedom as it has evolved throughout western Christendom is as follows: the right to vote on our leaders; the right to free speech and freedom of the press; the right to practice one's religion without fear -- which includes the right to disagree with and criticize the religions of others; the right to criticize one's government without fear of reprisals; the right to self-defense; and equal standing and rights of all citizens before the law, including the right to a trial by a jury of one's peers.

Every single one of these God-given rights is systematically denied and betrayed by virtually all Islamic states. Our mothers, our wives, and our daughters would live in fear for their lives if they lived in Saudi Arabia or Pakistan -- our so-called allies. Our fathers, our brothers, and our sons (who are not Muslims) would at best live as second-class citizens; at worst, they would be persecuted, tried, and punished as heretics or subverters of the common good.

If any of us lived in an Islamic nation and condemned the assassinations carried out at Mohammed�s command, or if we condemned Mohammed for ordering the murder of men and women who satirized him, it would cost us our freedom or our lives. (In case you did not know that Mohammed ordered assassinations, see http://www.earnedmedia.org/sftj0203.htm for examples of Mohammed�s actions.) Or if we preached the divinity of or the sacrificial redemption brought by Jesus Christ to our neighbor -- we could be labeled as a heretic guilty of blasphemy -- a capital crime -- and therefore sentenced to prison or death. (In case you think this is hyperbole, many such cases exist today for Christians who dared to discuss their faith while living in Islamic countries.)

The foolishness of certain western government officials and the press regarding the cartoons is only excelled by their ignorance. A serious study of the life of Mohammed and his successors shows that intimidation, terror, brutal punishment, and even death awaited those who fell under Islamic rule. Dedicated followers of Mohamed and Islam (like Osama bin Laden) will not stop until every nation has bowed its� neck in submission to the Islamic Law.

In our war with Islamic Terrorism, perhaps our most valuable assets are Truth and Courage. We must not succumb to fear; we must not tip-toe around those who are committed to destroying our liberties. We must declare the Truth about Mohammed�s role in assassinating those who satirized him. As the horror of the last century proves, appeasement does not abate the appetite of the aggressor -- it merely invites him to devour more victims and liberties � one bite at a time.

The best thing American press outlets can do right now is to print the Mohammed cartoons as frequently and as often as possible; we will thereby show part of the true nature of freedom, and in doing so we may show the true nature of Islam.

Additional articles on Islam by Randall Terry

Is Islam a Threat to Freedom?

Mohammed, Assassinations, and_Beheadings

Christian Iconography and Islamic Symbolism

Comparing Christ and Mohammed

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