COMM 100 Field Project #5 August Dombrow

10 Apr 09

On 30 September 2005 the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten published several cartoons of the Islamic prophet Mohammad, initiating a controversy with consequences reaching far beyond the tiny papers audience. The cartoons, which transgress against a Muslim tenet prohibiting depictions (or idolatry) of the prophet, provoked a global response ranging from peaceful demonstrations to assassination attempts further polarizing already fragmented segments of society. Organizations and individuals on both sides leapt into action and attempted to frame the debate in favorable terms. Separate PR camps clashed, catching many in between, and the controversy rapidly turned into a race to produce the most politically expedient press releases. The Danish government was one such party caught in the aftermath, pressured by various international groups demanding atonement for what they perceived to be institutionalized xenophobia, racism, or anti-Islamic tendencies. On the other side of the debate, supporters framed the question as one of free speech and self-censorship a certain hypersensitivity to the Islamic faith. The paper itself apologized to offended Muslims while attempting to clarify their intent in a pair of open letters published to their web site. Still others maintained that, by satirizing the religion, Danish society was actually being more inclusive of the Muslim community. Internet played a crucial role as most major news outlets refused to reproduce the offending cartoons, fearing reprisal (fiscal and physical). Without this international exposure, the incident would have likely remained geographically isolated, but widespread and instant access to the source material exacerbated the issue. Additional channels of modern communications technology enabled disgruntled populations to organize and execute protests on an international scale. It remains difficult to gauge the full impact of the controversy. The BBC attributed a loss of 134 million Euros due to the ensuing Muslim boycott of Danish goods (9 Sept 06). Conversely, exports to Western societies increased as consumers purchased Danish goods as a show of solidarity. The Jyllands-Posten arguably did everything right from a public relations point of view, but the situation was well beyond their control at

that point amplified by preexisting tensions that contributed to Denmarks worst international relations incident since the Second World War (Times Online, 15 Feb 06).