As usual, academics got it bass-ackwards. Bruce http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewCulture.asp?Page=/Culture/archive/200609/CUL20060 913a.html Update: UVA Paper Apologizes for Mohammed, Not Jesus By Nathan Burchfiel CNSNews.com Staff Writer September 13, 2006
(CNSNews.com) - The University of Virginia student newspaper that refuses to apologize for cartoons mocking Christian beliefs that it published in August did apologize for a comic it printed in February depicting Buddha, Jesus and Mohammed as judges on a talent show. As Cybercast News Service previously <http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewCulture.asp?Page=/Culture/archive/200609/CUL2006 0907a.html> reported, the Cavalier Daily and its editor-in-chief, Michael Slaven, have come under fire from Catholic groups for publishing three cartoons that some Christians have found offensive. The comics, published August 23 and 24, depicted Jesus crucified on a mathematical graph, showed him calling a woman a "b****" and implied that the Virgin Mary, his mother, received a sexually transmitted disease from the Immaculate Conception. The Catholic League and other Christian groups have demanded an apology from Slaven, who has repeatedly refused. Slaven argued that the newspaper will not censor cartoons that make fun of people for "their own opinions or actions" but will censor cartoons that make fun of "traits or situations they cannot change." The paper did issue an <http://www.cavalierdaily.com/CVArticle.asp?ID=26150&pid=1408> apology on February 28, however, for a cartoon <http://www.cavalierdaily.com/.Archives/2006/02/23/ua-redux.gif> it printed February 23 that depicted Buddha, Jesus and Mohammed as judges on "Pagan Idol," a parody of the popular television talent show "American Idol." Buddha tells the contestant, a sacred cow, that his performance "was terrific." Jesus says the performance was "Not perfect, but I forgive you." In a reference to the then-ongoing controversies <http://www.cnsnews.com/Culture/Archive/200601/CUL20060123a.html> over Dutch newspapers showing depictions of Mohammed, the "Pagan Idol" cartoonist covered the Muslim leader's face as Mohammad is shown telling the contestant, "You will burn in Hell along with everyone watching this show." The newspaper also apologized for a November 2005 cartoon that featured a male character calling the crane "the gayest-looking of all birds." In an e-mail exchange with Cybercast News Service for its original report, Slaven said he couldn't comment on the November apology because it was issued by a different group of editors. The Cavalier Daily, a student-run publication that is independent from the University of Virginia, experiences quick turnover, Slaven said, and the November apology was "made by a completely different group of previous editors." But Slaven acknowledged in that e-mail that the transfer of editorship occurs in January, meaning Slaven was the editor who decided to apologize for the February comic. Slaven declined to comment specifically on the Mohammed cartoon Tuesday, saying only that "a few controversies about comics" led to the creation of the censorship policy in April of this year. The Cavalier Daily printed two letters to the editor about the February cartoon, one from a Muslim <http://www.cavalierdaily.com/CVArticle.asp?ID=26125&pid=1407> student and one from a Catholic <http://www.cavalierdaily.com/CVArticle.asp?ID=26128&pid=1407> student. Both letters were critical of the decision to print the cartoon. Slaven did not say if the April censorship policy would have changed his decision to apologize for the "Pagan Idol" comic had it been published after the policy was made official, adding only that the publication is "sticking by that policy now." Kiera McCaffrey, a spokeswoman for the Catholic League, said the group is still demanding an apology for the most recent cartoons. She said the February apology supports her group's call for an apology regarding the anti-Christian cartoons because "there has to be some sort of continuity at a paper." McCaffrey speculated that the paper wouldn't have apologized for the February cartoon if it had only mocked Jesus. "The only reason Jesus got in there for an apology was because he was alongside Buddha and Mohammed," she said. McCaffrey told Cybercast News Service she would be "stunned" if the paper ran a comic targeting only Muslim beliefs. "I don't think at this point they would run a cartoon mocking Mohammed the way they did," she said, "putting Jesus up on a cross and saying the blessed Mary has [a] venereal disease." She praised the members of the Catholic League and other Christian groups who, over the weekend, sent more than 2,000 letters to the newspaper complaining about the comics. "This is hammering home the point," McCaffrey said, "and they are starting to understand that this is a serious matter and that they have been shown to be hypocrites." [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: osint@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. 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