Alpin is one satirical cartoon supplement of the Daily Prothom Alo, which claims to be the most popular Bangla Newspaper in Bangladesh. In the 6th page of its 431th issue a cartoon titled ‘name’ was published (on Monday, September 17, 2007) which created much controversy in Bangladesh.
So what was in that cartoon? The controversy is not in the picture, rather in the text. The Bangla blogosphere took on this issue right from the beginning.
The text of the cartoon is a conversation between a boy and an aged person. Blogger Sudharam Sadhu posts the texts [bn] in his blog:
* Boy, what is your name?
– My name is Babu.
* It is customary to mention Muhammed before the name.* What is your father's name?
– Muhammed Abu* What's this in your lap?
– Muhammed cat
This appears to satire the culture of the use of Muhammed in Muslim names and nothing to disgrace the prophet itself.
However the Islamist political parties thought otherwise. The Daily Naya Diganta reports [bn]that Khelafot Andolon had protested aginst this at Baitul Mokarram Mosque in Dhaka by burning copies of Prothom Alo. Its Ameer, Maulana Shah Ahmadullah Ashraf stated:
(that) the cartoon indicates disgrace of the Muslim prophet by naming a cat ‘Muhammed’. Similar to the Danish Cartoon incident prophet Muhammed has been defamed in Muslim majority Bangladesh. He says Muslims use Muhammed in their names to pay the respect to the prophet. He demanded Prothom Alo to seek apology to the nation otherwise they demanded the Government to take strong action against Prothom Alo.”
No doubt this has instigated many people to react strongly against this newspaper. Check the comments section of the Daily Amar Desh report to get an idea about the outrage. You will also laugh at some stupid comments and I wonder how this newspaper approved them-probably they have a personal vendetta against Prothom Alo.
Prothom Alo gave in to all this and published an apology today [bn]:
We apologize and are extremely sorry:
…inadvertently an unedited, unapproved and unacceptable cartoon titled ‘name’ was published…we are withdrawing the cartoon…and taking actions against the persons responsible for this.
Wow! Note the emphasis, they just don't want to face this and blame somebody else! They have removed the Monday's publications from their archives. What an escapist move!
Arif Jebtik slams [bn]Prothom Alo editor Matiur Rahman for his actions of suspending the editor of Alpin for his rescue:
I have seen the real character of the intelects of this country who cries out for Freedom of expression, freedom of speech and such popular tags in Matiur Rahman's actions.
However the Bangla Blogosphere is divided over this issue. Hasib comments [bn] on Sudharam's post:
This is an innocent cartoon. It is evident that the target is not the prophet himself. The retarded ones should read the texts again.
Tirondaz says [bn]:
The protests against these cartoons show the opportunist intentions of the political Islam. I have no support for these kinds of protests.
While Ummu Abdullah says [bn]:
Prothom Alo apologized, so the issue is over. The apology indicates they are also in doubt. This victory is for Bangladeshis. I welcome the protests.
Ziner Badshah comments [bn] in the above post:
In our parts of the world people add Muhammed to their names to respect the prophet…there is nothing religious about it…even if it is it does not add any value to anyone…but defaming this culture is like the same as destroying the Bamian heritage in Afghanistan by the Talibans.
And what a reaction was from the Caretaker Government! BDNews24.com reports that the Government has banned the debated issue of Alpin and more worryingly [bn] detained Arifur Rahman, the creator of the cartoon. The press and information department gave notification that the cartoon hurt the feeling of the citizens.
Kowsheek Ahmed is outraged [bn] by this action of the Government:
“Arifur Rahman achieved many awards for his cartoon. This time for a innocuous cartoon he was made victim of self proclaimed defenders of religious feelings. Now a days satire cartoonists are prone to these kinds of attacks. But this is happening in this dire time when we are crying that we are being more tolerant, claiming all piece of the world is embedded in this religion. The Alpin issue has been banned and the editor was suspended.
How strange are our realizations. After the 22nd August revolution the Government has become so narrow in their views that a mere cat has instilled fear in them.”
For more hot buzz on this issue please read the Bangla Blogging platforms “Bandh Bhanger Awaaj” and “Sachalayatan” [bn].
37 comments
Sometimes I am thinking: What is the impact of this cartoon to Islam? Does it really defame Muhammad’s name? Prophet itself pardoned a lot of enemies without seeking apology but his followers can’t. How much people can learn from his lifestyle?
This goes on to show that the present government is indeed a fundamentalist supported and dependent one. They have so far been blind to fundamentalist extremist activities and the ones who backed them up. They went as far as saying that “May be Jamaat did not do corruption.” Is this the picture of democracy in our country? No thought control eh?
My father is a freedom fighter…but i wanna get the hell out of this country becoz i wanna live as a human being. I wanna excercise the rights i have by virtue of being a human being. In this country, i’ll get killed if i say that some thing is wrong in a religion. I dont even see any chance of a change…how can one change the mind set of population??
The cartoon incident shows how much boot-licking some editors do to stay alive…to what extent we hav surrendered to the most abjects of mysticism…to what extent we are fundamentalistic…
Once again…i am disappointed, and ashamed that i cant do anything to change this country the way my father did.
To the general Moin (who’s the real president behind the ‘borka’ president)…may be u shud take a look around and watch what happens to military rulers that shake hands with religious leaders…
To all bangalees and/or bangladeshis, plz dont let this country plunge into darkness…millions of sons and daughters bled for it…dont kill the dreams…
I just can’t imagine that we have lost our sense of humor. There are lots of jokes about Mulla’s in our country. Similar jokes were published in Islami Chatro Shibir’s Magazine “Alor Shondane”, they named Kodu as Mohammed Kodu. How come no one says anything about it? The person is 20 years old. If your Iman is so weak that you can’t even tolerate that? I think you all need to learn your religion better. Don’t be Muslim just because you are born in a Muslim family. Be a Muslim by teach you faith better and stronger. There are lots of jokes in Saudi about the way we name our child. If they joke about it, simply see it at misunderstand between the cultures. Be a human not a animal. Bunch of people replied in this article are stupid enough to show, how weak is their faith and showing off their anger to prove they are better Muslim than other. You all bunch stupid. Iqra… learn in the name of Allah. None of you follows the path of our Prophet Mohammed (PBH) but you go crazy for his name, such an idiot. People like you gave bad name to our religion where Islam is religion of peace. And your believer act the opposite of what you religion teaches you. Learn Islam properly. What our Mullah & Maoulana teaches about Islam is not true Islam. They use it for their bread and butter, they our people are so weak that they can easily manipulate you and make you weak to gain own personal benefit. So, learn before you act. If true Islam comes to Bangladesh, those Mullah & Maulana, Pir & Dorbesh will be first to be wiped out as we have seen it in Saudi Arabia by Imam Wahaba. Purify yourself and then your society and the nation.
hi,
thanks for posting the text and the aftermath. Anybody who has read and absorbed “1984” would see the amazing part about the newspaper even removing the issue from its archives- this event never happened. At the same time as religious feelings are offended, cartoons and humour are the last bastion of legitimate criticism. If even this is not tolerated by the so-called keepers of morality, I really shed tears for “sonar bangla”!
d_c
Further to Fiate’s comment (#20): Yes, you have seen this joke before. The following entry was posted on the South Asian chatgroup “SouthAsiaContact@yahoogroups.com” in response to the Prothom Alo controversy. (Note: This
very active and wide-ranging chatgroup has carried several thoughtful commentaries on the Prothom Alo controversy.)
The hypocrisy of the Mullahs
A joke published in Islami Chatra Shibirs Magazine
November 1998 Edition Page 87
Under Children¢s Voices
Courtesy of Somewhere in Blog
http://images.somewhereinblog.net/phpThumb/phpThumb.php?src=../bba/images/sujonmcblog_1190217050_2-kk2.gif&w=0
http://images.somewhereinblog.net/phpThumb/phpThumb.php?src=../bba/images/sujonmcblog_1190216928_1-kk1.gif&w=0
From: Robin Khundkar
Given the furore raised by the Mullahs about the Muhammad Biral (Cat) joke and the subsequent arrest of the cartoonist by the bangladesh Govt and abject grovelling by the Prothom Alo (leading Bengali newspaper) Management by apologizing in writing and sacking the Magazine sub-editor responsible for publishing the joke!
It is interesting to see that the Mullahs and their student arm themselves published a similar joke a few years ago in one of their publications. []
Teacher: Kalu what is your father’s name?
The Boy Kalu: Sadek
Teacher: You impertinent boy! You should say Mohammed before a name.
A few days later
Teacher: Kalu what has your mother cooked at home for dinner today?
Boy: Mohammed Kodu (Pumpkin)
Sent in by Muhammad Masud
MMEC Madrassa, Feni
Makes you wonder why people cant take it a little easy in their lives..making a mountain of a mole hill seems to have become the global refrain.
It also must be said that that’s the problem with humor..no telling when it is going to cross the offensive limits. I am not muslim..but i would guess it is a big deal to call a cat as mohammad. I felt bad when they started printing ganesh on flip flops. But that didnt mean i went out burning stuff. Just my personal opinion.
Here is a good video about Free Speech and Muslims in the UK.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcDEj3go1gw