Der Spiegel discussed the Muhammed cartoon controversy with Al-Jazeera cartoonist Shujaat Ali. In the middle was a question and answer of interest to Israel’s supporters:
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Many critics here in the West point out the hypocrisy in the current protests from the Arab World. Arabs are now complaining about negative stereotyping of Islam. But Jewish groups here accurately complain about anti-Semitic portrayals of their religion in caricatures that often appear in Arab newspapers. A lot of cartoonists in the Arab world are clearly anti-Semitic.
Shujaat Ali: I would agree about that, and I feel sorry about it. We should respect people from other religions, whether they are Jews, Christians or whatever. We should have a code of ethics among cartoonists, and we need to ask ourselves how far it is acceptable for us to go and what kind of limits we should set. It’s fine for cartoonists to target politicians or governments, but they should leave religion alone. Cartoonists really need to be respectful in this regard.
What’s your reaction to Ali’s comment? Post your comments below.
