Censorship and Sensitivity

Exploring the relationship between Islam and the American Media

Julian Minondo
Multimedia Writing and Rhetoric
Jeffrey Bain Conkin
18/11/2014

The American media, in the past decades, has become a battleground between
radical Islam and Free Speech. Threatened with violence, many American media outlets
have been forced to censor Islamic material deemed crude or blasphemous.
The issue of whether or not Islam is compatible with free speech is complex.
There are a plethora of factors that surround this relationship. In the following paragraphs
we will explore the origins of Islam, the nature of Islamic texts, and two recent instances
of censorship in the American media concerning Islam related material.
The World of Muhammad
Islam originates in the sixth century Arabian Peninsula under the leadership of
Muhammad. The birthplace of this religion differs exponentially from the modern one.
This region was home to a vast, decentralized, polytheistic network of warring tribes and
commercial roads. Muhammad, due to his location along the commercial venues of
Arabia, was exposed to a host of people, ideas, and cultures that flowed through the
region. Muhammads example reflects this complex world.
The prophet Muhammad was a legislator and leader. His teachings wed the
spiritual rhetoric of the Abrahamic faiths with the practical gravitas of law. As previously
stated, the Arabian Peninsula was a political vacuum. Warring tribes bitterly fought over
control of the commercial roads of the region. Muhammads powerful language managed
to subdue and unite these factions with spirituality and the menace of the sword. Due to
the political difficulties of his time, many scholars argue that many of his teachings were
suited to this unique and complex landscape and not consistent with those in modern day.

The Holy Texts

Muhammad was said to have received the word of God from his communications
with the archangel Gabriel. The Qur'an, Hadith and the Sunnah (the holy texts of the
Islamic faith) are munzal.1 The divine nature of these texts means they are immutable.
Therefore any law, commandment, and practice found in this holy text is a direct message
from the one, sovereign God. This differs from the Christian tradition. The writing of
Christian scriptures was seen as a co-authorship, meaning that man wrote and God
inspired. We see evidence of this in the way the Gospels are structured, the gospel
according to
At some point in their history,2 Islam shut the door of interpretation. When
discussing Islam it is crucial to understand that these texts are not up for discussion.
This is tragedy for ecumenical and intercultural dialogue. The orthopractical nature of
Islam renders many anachronistic customs. The world of the dune raiding tribes was,
unlike Islam, not inherited.
The Unspoken taboo
The Muslim mind abhors portraitures of God and the prophets. Muslims believe
that artists, no matter how skillful, cannot capture the ethereal nature of these beings. Any
attempt to do so is seen as disingenuous to their nature and even idolatrous. A mocking
portraiture of God or any prophet is a capital offense. This picture phobia was most likely
triggered as a counter measure to the deep polytheism of sixth century Arabia. Forbidding
images separated Islam from the other religions of the Fertile Crescent.

Descended from God.

The last great scholar who legally rethought Islam was Abi Humad al-Ghazali in the
eleventh century.
1
2

Both Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims condemn visual portraits of Allah (God) and the
prophets. Curiously, the Qur'an does not explicitly prohibit this. A Hadith, however,
states:"Ibn 'Umar reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) having said:
Those who paint pictures would be punished on the Day of Resurrection and it would be
said to them: Breathe soul into what you have created."3 Because of this Islamic art,
unlike other religious art, relies on calligraphy instead of images. 4
The first amendment
The United States constitution states that: Congress shall make no law respecting
an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the
freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and
to petition the government for a redress of grievances.5
Unless youve lived under the heavy hand of an authoritarian regime, you have
yet to appreciate the strength and attractive appeal free speech entails. Ones ability to
voice ones thoughts, opinion, critiques, and artistic expressions is a powerful luxury.
However, freedom of expression is not license. This is an important distinction because
the abuse of this liberty hinders rather than helps. Insensitivity towards other cultures,
people and ideas erodes the fabric of nations, and communities alike.
Free Speech and Islam
The fact is Islam is a part of Western society. Islam, unlike other religions in the
Western sphere, has been rushed into modernity. Islamic culture was not exposed to the

Sahih Muslim vol.3, no.5268

Gordon Rayner Why Muslims regard images of Muhammad as blasphemous, Telegraph, May
2012, accesed on November 15, 2014.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/7669044/Why-Muslims-regard-images-of-Muhammadas-blasphemous.html
5
U.S Constitution. amend. 1, sec. 1, cl. 1.
4

humanism of the renaissances, the scathing pen of the enlightenment, or the bayonet of
nationalistic conflict that shaped the West. They lack the centuries of morning sickness
that birthed these ideals found in modern republicanism.
Many Muslims have reacted aggressively to the lambaste that comes with free
speech. The uninhibited attacks on the Islamic faith, from Danish cartoons to YouTube
comments, have a shell shocking effect. The profaning of the prophets or Allah is an
alien notion.
The examples of Innocence of Islam, and South Parks episode 201 reveal this
tug-of-war that has ensued between what merits censorship and what does not.
Innocence of Islam
Innocence of Islam is a short, amateurish film that portrayed the Prophet
Muhammad as a child of uncertain parentage, a buffoon, a womanizer, a homosexual, a
child molester and a greedy, bloodthirsty thug.6 The unflattering representation of
Muhammad was deemed blasphemous and prompted Ahmad Fouad Ashoush7 to issue a
fatwa8 and call on the Muslim youth in America and Europe to do this duty, which is to
kill the director, the producer and the actors and everyone who helped and promoted the
film."9

David D. Patrick Anger over film fuels Anti-American attacks in Libya and Egypt, New York
Times, September 11, 2012, accessed November 17, 2014.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/12/world/middleeast/anger-over-film-fuels-anti-americanattacks-in-libya-and-egypt.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
7 Radical Egyptian cleric
8 A ruling on a point of Islamic law given by a recognized authority
9Agencies, Fatwa Issued against Innocence of Muslims film producer Telegraph, September
18, 2012, accessed November 17, 2014.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/lebanon/9549664/Fatwa-issued-againstInnocence-of-Muslims-film-producer.html
6

This inflammatory film also sparked fury across the Middle Eastern world. The
video, which was uploaded in July 2012, triggered anti-American attacks and protests
later that year. On September 11th of 2012, Islamic militants attacked the American
consulate killing U.S Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and U.S Foreign Services
officer Sean Smith. Stevens was the first American ambassador to die on duty since 1979.
In Cairo thousands of angry protesters poured into the American embassy enraged over
the video. A spokesman for the Muslim brotherhood, a powerful Sunni Islamist
organization, demanded the United States to apologize and to bring the video down.
The violent backlash of the video across the Middle Eastern nations prompted the
United States government to petition Google to bring the video down. Google was
reluctant to bring down the video because of the irreparable harm it would cause to the
first amendment rights. The video, however, is not available on the YouTube channel.
South Parks episode 201
In 2010 South Park released the episode 201. Episode 201 kicks off with a mob of
angry celebrities demanding that the citizens of South Park bring Muhammad to them.
The celebrities desirous of the sacrosanctity of Muhammad plot to harvest his immunity
to satire and criticism in order to forbid the South Park characters to chastise them
again.10
The South park episode draws from the 2005 Danish cartoon controversy and the
2007 Lars Vik Muhammad drawings in which Muhammad was depicted. Both these
instances unchained global riots, protests, and death threats. The South Park writers, Matt

201 (South Park), Wikipedia, accessed on November 18, 2014,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/201_(South Park)
10

Stone and Trey Parker, satirizes these event by having the characters constantly ask each
other whether or not certain depictions of Muhammad were okay (amongst them, a
stick figure drawing of Muhammad and Muhammad in a bear costume [which turns out
to be Santa Claus]). The episode, though peppered with crudeness, raises questions about
what merits censorship and what does not. Stone and Parker, in order to highlight this
point, ridicule figures of other great religions (Jesus Christ, Krishna, Joseph Smith,
Moses, Laozi and Buddha) and juxtapose it with the rather innocuous presence of
Muhammad.
However prior to the its airing, Comedy Central, fearing a violent reprisal,
aggressively censored the episode. The images and name of Muhammad, and the final
monologues were censored. The American public saw Comedy Centrals actions as lilylivered. Some even claimed that the actions of Comedy Central marked a victory for
radical Islamists and that this enforced censorship put the first amendment in jeopardy.
Globalization, and the new role of the media
The 20th century saw the rise of a more interactive and interconnected world.
Thanks to advances in technology the world has got smaller. Though interconnectivity
promises an exciting platform for humankind it also comes with a dangerous selfcannibalizing effect.
This phenomena has magnified our ability to interact, work, and trade with
cultures that were previously inaccessible. It has also, however, magnified our condition.
In the modern world violence is not a matter of nations but continents. Already, the 20th
century has seen two devastating global conflicts and a myriad of intercontinental
scuffles. We have only traded the sword and musket for the tank and missile.

With the rise of the Internet and the digital age, one must be ever so weary of this
dangerous reality. The current skirmishes with radical Islam echoes the narrative of the
20th century but with heightened stakes.
Now, more than ever, what is said, written, published, and televised matters. In
the twenty-first century, the media's role in conflicts can change the tide in a blink of an
eye. With this unprecedented power an even greater degree of caution and responsibility
must be exercised.
Given the Media's geopolitical importance, it is vital that this entity strive to
stimulate inter cultural, religious, and national dialogue instead of the usual, dangerous,
vitriolic rubbish.

Bibliography;

Adi Robertson, Google fights Innocence of Muslims takedown order in copyright

battle, The Verge, February 28, 2014, accessed November 17, 2014.
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Agencies, Fatwa Issued against Innocence of Muslims film producer Telegraph,

September 18, 2012, accessed November 17, 2014.
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Coll, Steve. "Days of Rage." The New Yorker October 1, 2012: 21. Expanded Academic
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Patrick, David D. Anger over film fuels Anti-American attacks in Libya and Egypt,
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http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/12/world/middleeast/anger-over-film-fuels-antiamerican-attacks-in-libya-and-egypt.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Phillips, Michael. A controversial YouTube Video Haunts Free Speech again The New
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/201_(South_Park)