Mick Hartley

It’s the Times quote of the day, from their columnist Ben Macintyre:

The cartoon showing the Prophet wearing a bomb turban is not only offensive but unsubtle, badly drawn and not very funny.

Remember those old arguments about how “The Satanic Verses” was a badly written book which didn’t deserve to be defended?

So did the Times publish the cartoons?

This newspaper has had anguish of its own over whether to reproduce the pictures at the centre of this saga. At one level, their appearance might be seen as an appropriate response to the fanatics who have demanded their prohibition and could help the reader to understand both their character and the impact that they might have on believers. But to duplicate these cartoons several months after they were originally printed also has an element of exhibitionism to it. To present them in front of the public for debate is not a value-neutral exercise. The offence destined to be caused to moderate Muslims should not be discounted.

On balance, we have chosen not to publish the cartoons…

No – to “present them in front of the public for debate” is indeed not a value-neutral exercise. It would have been an affirmation of the rights of free speech in the face of the crudest intimidation, and an act of solidarity with those newspapers in Europe which have, in marked contrast to the Times and the rest of the British press (as far as I’m aware), shown at least some degree of courage.