Khalid Al-Hashimi is an excellent Bahraini cartoonist, I always enjoy his loaded cartoons even though I hate the paper he works for, he did in some people’s opinion however has stepped over the sacred line of criticising the Iranian cleric – because, hold it hold it, in their mind he besmirched the Shi’a reputation! So much so that some “Bahraini Shi’a Leader” whom I have NEVER heard of before has sent a letter of objection AND DEATH THREAT to the editor of that worthless rag called Al-Ayam Newspaper.
Over what you might ask?
Over this cartoon:
Because it depicts Iran’s exalted leader Ayatollah Khamenei in a “demeaning” way. It’s about the Iranian Elections 2005.
Not satisfied with a death threat, he led two demonstrations and sit-ins at the paper’s headquarters!
I know I love democracy probably more than than next man, and value the freedom of opinion a whole lot more than him/her as well, but this is going over the top. In my view anyway.
Hundreds protest Khamenei cartoon
From Hemu Gorde (Our correspondent) – 2 July 2005MANAMA  Around 800 people held a demonstration here yesterday  the second such exercise held in four days  in protest of a cartoon that was carried by a local Arabic daily last Monday.
The cartoon in Al Ayam newspaper’s Monday edition featured Iran’s influential religious leader Ayatollah Khamenei, which, according to the demonstrators, hurt the sentiments of the Shia community in Bahrain.
Last Tuesday, around 600 people, including women, took part in a demonstration staged in front of Al Ayam’s office in protest of the cartoon, under the leadership of one of Bahrain’s religious leaders, Aqeel Al Mousawi.
Al Mousawi had led a sit-in in front of the newspaper’s office on Tuesday, with around 600 people joining him in demonstration demanding an apology from the newspaper’s editor-in-chief Isa Al Shaygi  who is also the president of Bahrain Journalists Association (BJA) and deputy secretary-general of the Bahrain-headquartered Gulf Press Federation (GPF).
Al Mousawi has also sent a threat letter to Al Shaygi and has admitted doing so to the Public Prosecutor.
His case is now referred to a special court, where, if convicted, the Bahraini religious leader may face a jail sentence not exceeding one year and a BD100 fine. Both BJA and GPF have extended full support to Al Shaygi and have condemned the threat letter sent by Al Mousawi.
In its response to the letter sent by Al Mousawi, the BJA stressed there was no place for such language in a state of law and order and the oasis of freedom and democracy, like Bahrain.
Khaleej Times
Guys, calm down will you? You’re watering down the value of demonstrations for goodness’ sake!
Comments
Much ado about nothing?
A philosopher once said about democracy “I disagree with what you say, but I will fight to death your right to say it.”
Just like we push for a bigger margin of freedom from authorities, our society should accept its own different colors.
I hope Mr. Hashemi doesnt falter after this.. he’s one of the best cartoonists.
Re: Much ado about nothing?
He indeed is… and it was Voltaire who said those imortal words.
He also said:
Much ado about nothing?
[quote]”The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.”
— Thomas Jefferson
[/quote]
Of course I would rather see the TYRANT have his blood spilled over the blood of a patriot. Al Mousawi seems to be a wannabe tyrant at this stage.
Re: Ah, Zionists did it!
Check out the full article. All of a sudden it’s 1979 again.
[quote]Creeping Zionist influence on Bahraini press
Tehran Times 2 July 2005
By Hassan Hanizadeh
In a measure against media principles, the Bahraini daily Al-Ayyam recently published a caricature insulting Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.
The caricature is not only an obvious insult to the world’s Shia Muslims but also ridicules the free and democratic presidential election recently held in Iran.
Despite Bahraini Shias’ massive protest against the publication of the shameful caricature, Al-Ayyam Managing Director Jasem Mansur and Chief Editor Isa Al-Shaygi have unfortunately refused to apologize to Bahrain’s Shia, who make up about 85 percent of the country’s population, and ignored their feelings. Quite the contrary, they even defended their malicious action.
The caricature was published as a result of the influence of the Zionist regime over the Bahraini press. Israel, having witnessed the massive turnout of the Iranian nation in the presidential election wants to foment unrest in the sensitive Persian Gulf region.
Many of Bahrain’s religious leaders and clerics attempted to peacefully convince Al-Ayyam officials to apologize to the Shia, but they are insisting on their stance.
The measure taken by the main officials of the Arabic-language daily serves the interests of the Zionist lobby and will undoubtedly lead to unpredictable and dangerous consequences.
Due to its demographic structure, the small country of Bahrain is very vulnerable. At this point in time, certain suspicious elements affiliated to Israel are making efforts to create chaos by influencing the country’s press and provoking the religious sentiments of the people.
Fanning the flames of ethnic strife in the sensitive Persian Gulf region could seriously affect the weak rulers of the smaller Arab states of the Persian Gulf, particularly Bahrain, because the region’s Shia population is far greater than the total population of those countries.
At the same time, the anti-Shia attitude of the main officials of Al-Ayyam and their support of the Wahhabi is completely clear. In addition, the propaganda of the daily is in line with plan to insult the Shia clergy.
The main stockholders of the newspaper are members of the Al Khalifa royal family of Bahrain, whose hands are stained with the blood of Bahrain’s Shia youth. They should immediately put their animosity aside and realize that such methods of slander have no place in the information age.
The Westerners and Zionists have been attempting to divide Bahrain and Iran for about three decades through the use of propaganda, which has had a negative impact on the rulers of Bahrain.
The suppression of 85 percent of the residents of Bahrain by a government representing less than 15 percent of the population, which is ruling the country through violence and bloodshed, has not helped to stabilize the pillars of the shaky rule of the Al Khalifa dynasty. In fact, the stoicism and flexibility of Bahrain’s Shia religious leaders has prevented the outbreak of civil war in the vulnerable country.
The Muslim people of Bahrain have not forgotten how allies of the Al Khalifa dynasty committed violence against the Bahraini Shia during the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war, with the help of elements from Iraq’s Baath regime. If not for the moderate policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the crisis caused by the massacre of Shias in Bahrain would have spread to other parts of the region.
The officials of Al-Ayyam should realize that playing with the feelings of regional Muslim countries, especially the Shias of Iran and Bahrain, who share common religious beliefs, is a dangerous game, which will negatively affect Bahrain. Therefore, they should apologize to the Bahraini nation as soon as possible.[/quote]
Re(1): Much ado about nothing?
Voltaire is a font of insight into human polity.
I just wish people would listen more to history.
Re: Much ado about nothing?
With your post mate it looks like ES’s experience of ‘stupid and lazy conclusions’ isn’t just going to be limited to the school classroom.
Re: Much ado about nothing?
I wonder..
Alhamedi ([url=”http://muttawa.blogspot.com”]The Religious Policeman[/url]) vanished August of 2004. I wonder if he stopped due to some similar debacle?
Saudi Arabia must be stopped!
[Modified by: Ethan (Steelangel) on July 03, 2005 09:03 AM]
Re(1): Much ado about nothing?
The school had a large population of everything: Christians, Muslims, and Jews.
Secondly, my parents did the best thing by allowing me to be exposed to the mish-mashing of all three religions in a single boarding school. They supported my decisions to accept the scholarship, which took a lot of strength and courage from their part. It’s not my fault if my parents (fortunately) don’t have your, well, ignorant mentality by assuming that just because the school has a large Jewish population it’s incredibly dangerous. The people who threatened me were your usual trouble-makers, making a fuss about anything in existence and my article was just yet another excuse for them to rile certain people up.
I already said that this didn’t disgust me, everyone at school was pretty much used to their vile behavior, what disgusted me was the Dean of Students’ reaction which angered OTHER more stable Jewish students who stood by me throughout the fiasco.
Thirdly, since when is a Muslim attending a school full of ‘Jews’ rediculous? Maybe you’ll find it even more laughable once I state the fact that my roommates at the time were both Jewish, and we got along perfectly well. Sorry to disappoint. Maybe next time they visit me in Bahrain, a country full of *gasp* Muslims, I’ll make them diss the Prophet and take a shit on my face so they can back up your ill-informed opinions of them being unaccepting of the enemy’s religion and vice versa.
ES
Much ado about nothing?
“The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.”
— Thomas Jefferson
One could say that all people need to be respected.
If people are not willing to die then they will not be respected. Blood must to be shed to demonstrate that leadership can not control people by fear.
If leadership would respect those that it governs, then the blood of patriots would not be needed to dispose of tyrants.
Conflict appears to be something neccessary, but in a democracy this conflict can take form of dialogue, but if this dialogue is suppressed, then blood is required.
Re(1): Ah, Zionists did it!
What utter dirge.
Although I detest Al-Ayam on its various stances (ass-kissing-galore-at-every-opportunity), I stand by it to publish its views in keeping with the freedom of expression and the press.
If Al-Ayam’s caricature was found to be insulting to a certain segment of society or a person, write to the editor, yes and even demonstrate and picket their offices if you need to really get your voice heard by its management. If that doesn’t work or you want to take the issue further, go to court and sue their ass. I’d like someone to do that actually, I wonder what they would try to convince the court of and Al-Ayam’s defence. Should be quite fun!
I find the carticature actually quite penetrating as it explains the dynamics of the “democratic” elections in Iran and simple for the common folk to understand only after a little brain-juice activation. Ok, strike that last section of the sentance, it seems the simple people just took it as an excuse or a chance to vent their frustration on a paper that’s worth shit as far as news content and editorials is concerned.
Still, they have as much right as the other papers to print their opinions. No matter how unsavoury those are.
Re(2): Much ado about nothing?
or just learn from it…
Re: Ah, Zionists did it!
I think “the Zionists”(whatever that means, Israelis, US you name it) are behind very little of what happens in the Middle East. Oh, “they” play their role, sure. 99.99% of the time “the Zionists” are trotted out it is because of the governments own personal ineptitude or intolerance. “The Zionists” like the Palestinian issue, has been used far too often to justify the injustices of the governments in the area.
Much ado about nothing?
When I was at boarding school my studymate was a Jew. That was 25 years ago. He called me last week to check I was OK because he hadn’t heard from me in a while.
As a Bahraini
I’m staggered that the mind that typed this…..
[i]I’*I can safely say…*
True, but not one word of your remarks is credible.
To begin with, your parents enrolled you in a school with “a large Jewish population”???
That in itself is ridiculous. “[/i]
has the mental wherewithall to turn the pc on in the first place.
Your remarks are fantastically short sighted and show no understanding of the world at all.
Of course there are Jews in all walks of life, in Bahrain, in Iraq and even in Iran one can find members of the Jewish faith.
You either need to get out a bit more or that blow to the head you inflicted upon yourself while putting your socks on has rendered you a towering DUNDERHEAD!
Think before posting.
Re: Much ado about nothing?
Have you read the original post? It was a cleric who issued the threat against the pro-government paper.
As per usual the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights is silent when it comes to death threats from clerics. Any guesses as to how long it will be before they’re shamed into making a statement?
Much ado about nothing?
I didnt hear about this until I read it at Abu Sinan’s. Time for the winds of change to blow a bit harder in the Middle East.
[url]www.arabianews.org/english/article.cfm?qid=153&sid=2[/url]
Saudi Web Loggers Released from Prison
(Washington DC- July 1, 2005)…Three web loggers were released Thursday in the city of Najran after spending over 18 months behind bars, and subjected to torture by lashings hundreds of times.
Ali Al-Dwaic, Fadil Hamad Al-Dwaic, and Manea Saleh Al-Yami were all arrested in span of three months at the end of 2003 and sentenced to two years in prison and 750 lashes by Wahhani judge Hamad Abdullah Al-Dosary.
Saudi Justice system is limited to Wahabi citizens and bans Shia and Sunni Arabs from assuming the positions of judge.(MORE)
Ah, Zionists did it!
NOW I understand. It’s those peskygoodfornothing Zionists who are behind this!
Of course this has absolutely nothing to do with freedom of speech and expression. Or is it that this rule gets applied only selectively when you get to criticise the government, ruling family, ministers and “the other” religious sects and their leaders… but not the Shi’a. Oh no. That’s a [color=red]red line![/color]
Much ado about nothing?
I can safely say that I understand how Al-Hashimi must feel. I have received death threats myself from a large Jewish population in high school for writing a satirical article about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. What they didn’t realize, however, is that I was indirectly making fun of both leaders, not just Sharon. Their stupidity and lazy conclusions didn’t bother me as much as the Dean of Students, who called me inconsiderate (without reading the actual article) and moronic for discussing these sensitive issues in the first place. I was fired from being the official paper’s editor and the new editor thought it would be for the best to permanently ban my articles.
That didn’t stop me from writing, though. I started my own student-lead satirical newspaper which became a thousand times more successful than the official one and we’re now working on putting it on the web.
I think it’s pretty sad how people take these tiny little things to heart.
ES
Much ado about nothing?
*I can safely say…*
True, but not one word of your remarks is credible.
To begin with, your parents enrolled you in a school with “a large Jewish population”???
That in itself is ridiculous.
Much ado about nothing?
Sound like Leaders with thin skins that can’t take the heat. Making fun of our leadership is a national past time and is as source of great entertaiment. Ultimately, the sign of a true leader is one who can is one who can listen and learn from the criticism and still bounce back to serve.
Re(1): Much ado about nothing?
We do actually, on both counts. You might want to read up a bit on our recorded history that extends beyond 3000 BC. As for the freedom of the press history, that has been on-again off-again since the begining of the 1900s when the first papers were printed, we’ve seen that particularly in the 50s through to the present day. Not as free as those in the West of course, but free enough to get the idea across.
Much ado about nothing?
Not much of an issue to Americans we have a better target. See the slide show at [url]http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/images/blbushpictures.htm[/url] or [url]http://www.cagle.com/2000/candidate/gwbush/[/url]
billT
Re: Much ado about nothing?
“Have you read the original post? It was a cleric who issued the threat against the pro-government paper. ”
I read the original post. And in the West this would result in swift action. But we have tradition of free press, and this tradition does not give licence for death threats- we have a very bright line in this regard. Whereas Bahrain does not have a long history of free press [or any history] and in Bahrain a death threat might be seen as a line, but not clear and obvious to them as it would be in the West- where practically “anything goes” other than direct and clear death threat. Whereas in Bahrain something similar a “Piss Christ” could be a very bright line.
I’m not arguing that all values are relative, but they are different taboos in different cultures, e.g., a professor stating the evidence “seems to show” women on average do not make to top of their profession, as often as men- it’s rarer for women, is villified in US with demands of resignations or firing.
So, I think Bahrain should have a bright line in regards to death threats and obviously they aren’t there yet. I would predict that as the other bright lines are somewhat dimmed [more freedom of press] then this idea of a clear line in regards to death threats will become more visible. BUT there will always be differences- I wouldn’t want a world any other way.
Just to be clear; I condemn it. And Bahrain officals should have the courage to do something to curb it.
“As per usual the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights is silent when it comes to death threats from clerics. Any guesses as to how long it will be before they’re shamed into making a statement?”
Passive citizens are not going to get govt officals which act in their behalf. Doing nothing is the *natural* state of bureaucrats. And Bahrain citizens should not need the “Bahrain Centre for Human Rights” to resolve these problems, they could [and obviously Mahmood already has] enter into a dialogue directly with these clerics- privately and/or in public.
Re: Ah, Zionists did it!
you are reading my mind mahmood 🙂
Re(1): Ah, Zionists did it!
[quote]I think “the Zionists”(whatever that means, Israelis, US you name it) are behind very little of what happens in the Middle East. [/quote]
Did Malik really write this? I daresay it’s the first time he’s blamed the problems in the middle-east on the middle-east and not the US.
Much ado about nothing?
I believe this flap is actually more about the process of developing ‘coping skills’ for living in an open society. In the U.S. people may not be aware of their training in these social skills, but we are often told to ‘change the channel’ if something upsets or offends you. And at a more advanced level of skills, people learn to selectively focus, tune some things out, or cultivate a studious disinterest in offensive material. Not all societies have developed the same level of such skills, which accounts for the extreme reaction to the cartoon with death threats. Some people still need to practice these skills.
–button
Much ado about nothing?
Dear Mahmoud,
There was a nice article in U.A.E.’s Al Ittihad about this cartoon…I just can’t find it now…thanks , at least I saw the cartoon!
Bin Kerishan
Re: Much ado about nothing?
How very true Button. The very thing that we need to learn here is just to “let it go” rather than micro analysing everything that we see or hear. we need to give the benefit of the doubt sometimes, and if we don’t agree with something, either discuss it in a rational manner or just forget about it and stop wasting our time and making a national calamity out of it.
We do have a lot of problems, what we need to do is first prioritise them, then get them fixed. Rather than everyone shouting at the top of their lungs to force their pet issue to be the topmost thing that has to consume everything and everyone on the island.
Developing this kind of mentality takes a long time, but it has already started (I hope!)
Re: Much ado about nothing?
A pleasure Bin Kerishan! I though that you might like and appreciate it more than most! 😉