Parker: Americans must not be cowed by Muslim objections to cartoons

By Kathleen Parker

When H.L. Mencken said that Puritanism was “the haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy,” he was barely grazing the iceberg of the titanic fundamentalism to come.

Yes, those pesky, humor-challenged jihadists are at it again.

A group of radical Muslims, whose promises to sacrifice their souls can't be kept soon enough, apparently won't be satisfied until happy people everywhere are dead.

In yet another sequel in the series, another cartoonist fatwa has been issued.

Stifling yawns would be a natural response at this juncture of outrage fatigue, except that an American woman's life is at stake. Molly Norris doodled, and now she must die, says American-Yemeni Islamic cleric Anwar al-Aulaqi, or Wacky-Doodle (WD) for short.

You may recall that Norris, once a relatively unknown Seattle cartoonist, was first threatened a few months ago by some bloggers on an obscure website, Revolution Muslim, for attempting to draw the prophet Mohammad.

More recently, she has been named to an execution list on Inspire, a new online English-language al-Qaida magazine, which aims to recruit American Muslims for jihad.

Drawing or creating any likeness of the prophet, you may also recall, is against the rules among certain fundamentalists, though not all Muslims agree that such a prohibition exists. But even if it did, there would be no reason for a non-Muslim cartoonist to censor herself. Our laws guarantee the right to free expression, no matter the vehicle. End of story.

We may not always like what the First Amendment permits, but we've agreed as a nation that the short-term aggravation of personal offense is the tithe we pay for freedom.

The Norris cartoon that drew such fire was a childlike illustration - a poster calling for an “Everybody Draw Mohammed Day” that showed various household contents (a spool of thread, a teacup, a cherry, a domino and a doggie purse), all claiming to be the prophet.

At the time, Norris said that she was only trying to poke fun at Viacom and Comedy Central for their decision to censor a “South Park” episode showing the prophet in a bear suit.

Although Norris quickly removed the cartoon from her website, sympathizers created a site inviting any and all to draw the prophet. At this point, things really did become childish as Islamophobes could legitimize their own radical tendencies under the guise of humor and the umbrella of constitutional protection.

Nobody ever said that free speech isn't messy.

As weary as we may be of “Jihadist vs. Cartoonist” reruns, we simply can't surrender the principle. There may be a strong argument for avoiding Muhammad cartoons in the interest of denying al-Qaida a propaganda tool, but let's be clear about our purposes. Taking a higher road is not to capitulate to the enemy but to seek a better vantage point.

Irreverence is a tough sell in a culture steeped in reverence, but perhaps we can advance the case for non-violent protest through example. To that end, and in support of Norris and others, 19 Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonists have signed a petition condemning threats and attacks against cartoonists. The petition is posted on the Cartoonists Rights Network International website (http://cartoon

istrights.com).

It hasn't nearly enough signatures.

n Comments: kathleenparker@washpost.com