[Editorial] 'Failed Satire' and Freedom of the Press

Satire is wit-filled criticism against misconduct, contradictions, falsehood, and irrationalities. Together with the wit one finds sneer, and when that laughter is about revealing reality it is in the context of good humor, but the character of that laughter is more antagonistic. Most of it is about teasing, ridicule, and sarcasm. Satire is a form that seeks to take issue with problems in society and it is an expression of a desire for change.

It is in this sense that a Danish newspaper's cartoon lampooning the Islamic prophet Mohammed was a failed piece of satire. It was not accompanied by wit that hits the nail on the head or encouraged piercing laughter. Most of all, it is unclear what reality it was trying to reveal. All it contained was sharp thorns. Those thorns have pierced the chest of the Islamic world and set ablaze a conflict between Western Europe and Islam.

The comic's motivation was probably not to have disrespected Mohammed or label all believers in Islam terrorists. By the looks of it, drawing Mohammed's turban as a bomb was probably done to symbolize Islamist fundamentalists. That, however, it itself based in the erred belief assumption that fundamentalist Islam equals terrorism. That would appear to share something with U.S. president George W. Bush, who portrays fundamentalist Muslims as terrorists as he uses terms like "Islamic fascism."

Even the most sacred of subjects can be subjects of satire, as asserted by the Western media. It is of course correct in principle that freedom of the press must not be restricted. But it is still sad to see a cartoon that does not adequately meet the conditions for satire to be threatening world peace.

The Hankyoreh, 6 February 2006.

[Translations by Seoul Selection]