Seattle cartoonist launches "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day"

After Comedy Central cut a portion of a South Park episode following a death threat from a radical Muslim group, Seattle cartoonist Molly Norris wanted to counter the fear. She has declared May 20th "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day."

Norris told KIRO Radio's Dave Ross that cartoonists are meant to challenge the lines of political correctness. "That's a cartoonist's job, to be non-PC."



Producers of South Park said Thursday that Comedy Central removed a speech about intimidation and fear from their show after a radical Muslim group warned that they could be killed for insulting the Prophet Muhammad.

The group said it wasn't threatening South Park producers Trey Parker and Matt Stone, but it included a gruesome picture of Theo Van Gogh, a Dutch filmmaker killed by a Muslim extremist in 2004, and said the producers could meet the same fate. The website posted the addresses of Comedy Central's New York office and the California production studio where South Park is made.

"As a cartoonist I just felt so much passion about what had happened I wanted to kind of counter Comedy Central's message they sent about feeling afraid," Norris said.

Norris has asked other artists to submit drawings of any religious figure to be posted as part of Citizens Against Citizens Against Humor (CACAH) on May 20th.

On her website Norris explains this is not meant to disrespect any religion, but rather meant to protect people's right to express themselves.


Update: After the massive response to the cartoon Norris posted this on her website:

I make cartoons about current, cultural events. I made a cartoon of a 'poster' entitled "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day!" with a nonexistent group's name -- Citizens Against Citizens Against Humor -- drawn on the cartoon also. I did not intend for my cartoon to go viral. I did not intend to be the focus of any 'group'. I practice the first amendment by drawing what I wish. This particular cartoon of a 'poster' seems to have struck a gigantic nerve, something I was totally unprepared for. I am going back to the drawing table now!




http://www.mynorthwest.com/?nid=11&sid=313170

YES!

Pretty clever.

This seems pretty cool, though part of me is all to aware of how easily this can go wrong.

ohhh I'm staying out of this I don't want a fatwa on my family

Not sure what I think of this, but someone please draw Kirk Douglas with a "I'm Mohammed" speech bubble

Muslim extremists already want to kill me, so why not give them more reasons?

ShitYeah!! That's badass...fuck the fear!

^ Incredible point. How strong are your beliefs in something if a cartoon gets you all irrationally zealous?

To follow up my previous statement, my concern would be that people would use this as free reign to draw horribly satirical pictures of Mohammed, which, I think, this is not what this is about (at least it should not). I can understand the desire for free speech, but at the same time I can understand how one's religious views should be respected. In the end, this looks more like secular world vs. religious world and seperately the question of what is truly off-limits vs. what is not is brought up again.



So many questions at was seems like a simple issue....hurm...

I make jokes and laugh at jokes about Jesus, I am a christian. If my GOD didn't have a sense of humor then he would not of created the duck billed playtupus.

why are muslim extremeists watching South Park anyway? tards.

The person who started this is now backing off. I guess she's scarred now lol

Denim wrote:I make jokes and laugh at jokes about Jesus, I am a christian. If my GOD didn't have a sense of humor then he would not of created the duck billed playtupus.

why are muslim extremeists watching South Park anyway? tards.

But wouldn't that just be a case of taking our viewpoint and enforcing it on another, which, by all intents and appearances, is different? That's like saying if one thing is okay in one culture, it is okay in another. And it really doesn't work that way. I'm all for free speech and hate censorship as the next person, but at the same time, I also feel that cultural differences are important and should be regarded. Irreverence may be acceptable to one group but not the other. Speaking in a more global manner, I feel this is one of those slippery slope issues.

The censorship that those extremist fucks caused is basically a 9/11 to art. If you're offended, I'm sorry but too bad. Just because it's sacred to group of people doesn't mean everybody should abide by that. People take religion way too seriously and this is great proof.


Yeah, Jesus watching porn and Buddha sniffing coke is okay, but SIMPLY showing Muhammad just standing around is bad. But killing for just drawing Muhammad is all okay, huh? Make Concentration Camp jokes, Slave jokes but dear god, don't you dare draw Muhammad! How lame.


There is no exceptions, it's either everything or nothing.

Rath99 wrote:The person who started this is now backing off. I guess she's scarred now lol

I don't think she wants to be head of some movement. I don't blame her. I think she was aiming at commentary and has gotten a movement, which may not be her cup of tea.

prescribeddrone wrote:The censorship that those extremist fucks caused is basically a 9/11 to art. If you're offended, I'm sorry but too bad. Just because it's sacred to group of people doesn't mean everybody should abide by that. People take religion way too seriously and this is great proof.


Yeah, Jesus watching porn and Buddha sniffing coke is okay, but SIMPLY showing Muhammad just standing around is bad. But killing for just drawing Muhammad is all okay, huh? Make Concentration Camp jokes, Slave jokes but dear god, don't you dare draw Muhammad! How lame.


There is no exceptions, it's either everything or nothing.

^^^^^^^^^^^

^ What PD said. Just dead-on.

Dr. Wade Fucking McNasty wrote:

Rath99 wrote:The person who started this is now backing off. I guess she's scarred now lol

I don't think she wants to be head of some movement. I don't blame her. I think she was aiming at commentary and has gotten a movement, which may not be her cup of tea.

I'm sure there is a myriad of reasons. Her family asking her not to, her bosses, or maybe, like what you were talking about, many of the drawings were hate-filled and not really about the joke of it all.

prescribeddrone wrote:The censorship that those extremist fucks caused is basically a 9/11 to art. If you're offended, I'm sorry but too bad. Just because it's sacred to group of people doesn't mean everybody should abide by that. People take religion way too seriously and this is great proof.

I'm against censorship as much as the next person (it has it's uses: ie. 4chan) but I could counter with:
Just because it's not sacred to group of people doesn't mean everybody should abide by that. People don't take cultural differences seriously enough and this is great proof.

It goes both ways really. I am not a fan of seeing Jesus or God being portrayed in an unflattering light. No, I don't hurl threats when such occurs but I will be unhappy and express unhappiness in the material. The threat being hurled, CC caving to such threats, those things I feel, after looking at this whole situation more, is the main issue here and thr true "crime" that was committed.

prescribeddrone wrote:
Yeah, Jesus watching porn and Buddha sniffing coke is okay, but SIMPLY showing Muhammad just standing around is bad?

CC dropped the ball on that point. I think, though, the respective religious groups would not have been happy with any of those depictions.

prescribeddrone wrote:
There is no exceptions, it's either everything or nothing.

That seems nice, but seriously, 4chan. Even with some censorship it's still a hotbed of the worst crap. I like the idea of no censorship but I recognize its uses. It needs to be more reasonable not done away with completely.


The more I think about this, the more misguided this whole thing seems. We should be angry with CC, we should be angry with the extremists, we should not be angry with Muslims. This event seems aimed at pissing off the extremists, yes, but how about the normal Muslims who were offended but did not care to comment? How about those that simply wrote a letter of disapproval? We're lashing back but we're doing so in an inconsiderate way.

Personally I'm 100% non-religious, so seeing any religion mocked is hilarious to me. As for the regular Muslims who got offended and wrote letters, that's fine and all, they don't have watch the show. They could write all the letters that they want, the show should still stay the same. Just don't watch it if you disprove of it. Hell, I bet some of them laugh at all the Jew jokes! But when the tables are turned, they get offended? Fine, don't watch the show. It's better that way.

I think Jesus watching porn and Buddha sniffing coke makes a great point, nobody did anything crazy because it isn't a big deal. It's just a cartoon. If you're offended by things like this, you need lighten up a bit. It doesn't mean anything. And what about the Super Best Friends episode from season 5? That was fine back then. But now it's not?


South Park always targets everybody. I was never offended by South Park, not once- ever.

prescribeddrone wrote:
I think Jesus watching porn and Buddha sniffing coke makes a great point, nobody did anything crazy because it isn't a big deal. It's just a cartoon. If you're offended by things like this, you need lighten up a bit. It doesn't mean anything. And what about the Super Best Friends episode from season 5? That was fine back then. But now it's not?

South Park always targets everybody. I was never offended by South Park, not once- ever.

Never did understand that.

He's right there. Being normal. He controlled fire but that was about it. I don't even think they had him speak.

Oh, and if anyone is good at photoshop--hint, hint--could they make me a Church of Seaman pic/sig.

Couldn't find too many pics of him, but if there's one with Swallow, that'd be great. Heh.

prescribeddrone wrote:Personally I'm 100% non-religious, so seeing any religion mocked is hilarious to me.

That's nice. I guess that should apply to everyone, right? Because you don't have a problem with something, other people should not have a problem with it. That sounds just like the extremists: They have a viewpoint and feel it should be enforced on other people. Screw anyone who doesn't like it.

Now you sound like those guys. Add some death threats and you al lcan be buddies. Like I said, it's all a slippery slope and not as cut and dry as it seems.

prescribeddrone wrote:
As for the regular Muslims who got offended and wrote letters, that's fine and all, they don't have watch the show.

That's fine and all, but if a show expresses racist or anti-homosexual viewpoints, would you tell someone, "just don't watch the show", like they don't have a right to be outraged? Mocking an aspect of one's culture can easily be seen in that light. Am I saying no aspect of culture should be mocked? No. I do think that it is an issue more complex and worthy of greater discussion beyond "fuck you if you don't like what I'm saying".

prescribeddrone wrote:
I think Jesus watching porn and Buddha sniffing coke makes a great point, nobody did anything crazy because it isn't a big deal.

How do those make a great point? Honestly, it seemed like more of the usual "let's make fun of religion" and nothing more. Ham-handed is the term that runs through my mind. Then again, this point is personal preference so I'll leave it alone. We'll just agree to diagree in the end.

prescribeddrone wrote:
It's just a cartoon. If you're offended by things like this, you need lighten up a bit. It doesn't mean anything.

Sure, but the minute he cartoon becomes about something one dislikes, then it is bad and reprehensible. You that happens all the time.

prescribeddrone wrote:
South Park always targets everybody. I was never offended by South Park, not once- ever.

That's nice. I'm not offended by dog-fighting but the minute I refer to it as Pokemon fighting, people get pissed. Go figure.

Understand, I'm not defending CC or the extremists here, but I feel like we're over-reacting and going after the wrong thing here. The manner in which we hope to prevent such hypocrisy from CC and hope to stop the extremists from making death threats is to draw pictures of Muhammed? Something seems amiss since neither of the problems are really being addressed and we're just partaking in petty vengeance schemes under the cover of some front of defiance. It doesn't really add up. Nothing is being fixed here. I mean, do whatever. As long as it doesn't bother me I tend not to truly care, but seriously, this seems silly the more and more I think about it. Concerning censorship, overall, I think one can't really make an all ecompassing rule about it and it should be handled in a case by case basis (reasonably). Anything more broad than that is simply not good enough and can never truly work.

^ You're confusing what South Park did as some kind of vindication, when all they were saying is that it isn't a thing at all. And they weren't even really allowed to say that at the end of the episode, censored by the fears of Comedy Central by these extremists promises of violence.

Jesus has been depicted as all sorts of craziness, but it was for a joke, not anti-Christian sentiments. Not opinion. If you look at the jokes, some are very blasphemous, but are hardly saying that Christianity is this awful.

It may sound like I shouldn't be talking, being that I'm not religious, but when faith is shaken, shouldn't that add to your resolve of your beliefs. Let it roll and show people that they have it wrong by just your spiritual strength alone. Islam only suggests that violence be allowed when defending one's self, and here these extremists, claiming a faith that is about sharing the world, skew every piece of scripture through these actions.

All I\'m going to say is I don\'t care if people approve or disapprove. They don\'t have to agree with me and my outlook. I don\'t expect that. I guess South Park should cater to only certain fans because obliviously some people can\'t handle it. Sure people have a right to be outraged but I\'d definitely still say just turn it off. Turn it off and be angry. I don\'t like people like Glenn Beck, so I never ever even pay attention to him or his fans or the nonsense that they spew.

As for the great point, not one Christian or Buddhist had a titty attack. Some of them have a sense of humor. The point was they were doing \"fucked up\" stuff by moral standards yet nobody had a titty attack, but they show Mohammad not doing anything but standing around and everybody has a this big titty attack.


That\'s the point I meant.