Back in February the Dutch cartoonist Gregorius Nekschot (pseudonym) told Danish TV that he was upset with the fact that more and more people are cowed into silence when dealing with Islam. He insisted that his cartoons – many of them being sexually explicit and taking on Islam - were meant to make people laugh.
”People are afraid, but when you laugh you are not afraid, and if you are not afraid, you are free,” he said.
Well, on Tuesday Nekschot’s freedom was encroached by the Dutch police. He was arrested as a suspect for having published ”cartoons which are discriminating for Muslims and people with dark skin”.
The Brussels Journal quotes a spokeswoman from Xtra, Nekschot’s publisher about the circumstances of the arrest:
”He was arrested with a great show of force, by around 10 policemen.”
Nekschot must be a dangerous man! A cartoonist at large!
Nekschot was a friend of Theo van Gogh who was slained by an angry Muslim on the streets of Amsterdam, November 1 2004. His offense: a documentary about violence against women in Islam that offended the religious sensibilties of the young Muslim.
The Police searched the home of Gregorius Nekschot (which means “shot in the back of his head”) and confiscated evidence, i.e. his computer, backups, usb sticks, cell phone and a number of cartoons. The Dutch minister of justice and Christian Democrat Ernst Hirsch Ballin said that the police had been investigating Nekschot for three years in order to establish his real identity. A Dutch imam and convert, Abdul Jabbar van de Ven had filed a complaint back in 2005 against the anonymous cartoonist, pointing to the insult that Nekschot’s cartoons were causing to Muslims.
”What you draw is worse than what they did in Denmark. Do you realize what can happen to you if your identity gets known?” a police officer told Nekschot according to the newspaper Het Parool.
Yes case illustrates why I am against laws criminalizing racism and ridicule and mocking of religion.
Did Nekschot incite violence?
No, he did not, and if some crazy people get violent in the wake of the publication of his cartoons, of which their is no evidence what so over, it’s their responsibility, not his.
By the way, Adjiedj Bakas, a Dutch expert on future trends, told Danish TV in February that self censorship is a growing trend among comedians and other people in the humor busines, and he predicted that it will be a growing trend in years to come. To him – and to me – this its’t at all about humor.
”It’s not about humor or cartoons. It’s about power, it’s about who will be the boss in Europe in the next century.”
Think about it, as they say.
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6 Comments
Paul Hsieh:This is astounding news. I hadn’t realized how low the Dutch government had sunk. When a government stops protecting as basic and fundamental a right free speech and instead starts *arresting* those who practice it, it’s time to get a new government.
May 18, 2008 - 11:26 am daniel:It is dispiriting to watch the way a society’s own institutions help undermine core values of that society. Fortunately, there will be Dutchmen and Danes whose reaction to this will be to raise their voices instead of quiet them.
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May 19, 2008 - 7:35 pm carol muir:………………..,/¯../
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How disappointing that you print such inappropriate depictions such as daniel’s. This is NOT a suitable comment nor is it responsible free speech. We are angry that this perversion came into our view. Warn us. Flag such tripe.
Why haven’t you shown us the cartoons? That would be your support of free speech? Are you afraid too?
At least we know to stay away from pajamasmedia comments. Thank you, daniel for that much.
Shalom
May 22, 2008 - 8:13 am carol muir:Interesting. My comments are awaiting “moderation” and daniel’s deliberate offense to intelligent sensibilities are in full view. What standard do you use for your “moderation”?
May 22, 2008 - 8:15 am EH:@Carol Muir
May 23, 2008 - 5:12 am Roy:If you can´t take the smell then find you another baker. Simpel as that.
I myself often awaits moderation and have never had the thought that I was under investigation or censorship. Thats what I like about these blogs. I can write what I want and I can offend those I want. You take and you give. But, go back to the mainstream media and be safe. Intelligent, NO. Sensibel YES.
It is humorous that you can have a sense of humor and wit in the Netherlands….as long as you don’t joke with Islam. Anything is ok to kid about or make a sarcastic comment…EXCEPT Islam. It would be curious if I made up a religion…like MOlam, where men walked around women and told them to wear head coverings, treated women like cattle, and talked about killing anti-MOlam folks because they bother me. The creator of my new imaginary MOlam religion? Mosihammi, of course. Luckily in the Netherlands…one can still make up imaginary religions…or have they made that illegal as well?
May 24, 2008 - 9:30 am