Yale Fears Possible Jihad and Censors New Book

by | August 17, 2009 at 7:10 pm

Muhammed-Westergaard2Yale University Press recently announced that it would not publish the twelve caricatures of the prophet Muhammad in “The Cartoons That Shook the World.” The infamous cartoons, first printed in a Danish newspaper, which also got the entire Muslim community’s panties in a twist in 2005 were supposedly banned in the new book  to prevent any more angry reactions and controversy. Written by Brandeis professor Jytte Klausen, the book will also not include any other artistic representations of Muhammad. Solidifying Yale Press’ reputation as the pansiest university publishing house ever, director John Donatich told the NYT:

…[T]he recommendation to withdraw the images, including the historical ones of Muhammad, was ‘overwhelming and unanimous.’ The cartoons are freely available on the Internet and can be accurately described in words… so reprinting them could be interpreted easily as gratuitous.

Not-so-happy with Yale Press trying to cover its own ass, Klausen rebutted:

Muslim friends, leaders and activists thought that the incident was misunderstood, so the cartoons needed to be reprinted so we could have a discussion about it.

But Yale Press probably deserves a little sympathy, what with this being its second brush with touchy Islamic subjects. Expect another Love Conference this year.

 
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  • 1Y2

    Once again, IvyGate is slow on the uptake. This is stale news.

  • 1Y2

    Once again, IvyGate is slow on the uptake. This is stale news.

  • Crimson

    Pussies

  • Crimson

    Pussies

  • Lion

    I agree with Crimson.

  • Lion

    I agree with Crimson.

  • http://ssmag.wordpress.com/ Reason

    Thanks for reporting this. Political correctness run amok.

  • http://ssmag.wordpress.com Reason

    Thanks for reporting this. Political correctness run amok.

  • http://ssmag.wordpress.com/ Reason

    According to Yale logic, violence could result from the showing of the images — and not only that, but it would be those who displayed the images who were directly responsible for that violence. Now the rot has gone a serious degree further into the fabric. Now we have to say that the mayhem we fear is also our fault, if not indeed our direct responsibility. This is the worst sort of masochism, and it involves inverting the honest meaning of our language as well as what might hitherto have been thought of as our concept of moral responsibility.

    Yale’s theory is now that we have a moral imperative to shut up, not just that this is one tolerable option. The next time someone does decide to publish the cartoons, and thugs decide to react by rioting, the publisher can be told, “Even Yale University Press agrees that what you did leaves you with blood on your hands.”

    Is that the message that our leading academic institutions should be sending? Not just that it’s so easy to force Americans into silence, but that the threat of criminal violence is enough to make us morally obligated to be silent?

  • http://ssmag.wordpress.com Reason

    According to Yale logic, violence could result from the showing of the images — and not only that, but it would be those who displayed the images who were directly responsible for that violence. Now the rot has gone a serious degree further into the fabric. Now we have to say that the mayhem we fear is also our fault, if not indeed our direct responsibility. This is the worst sort of masochism, and it involves inverting the honest meaning of our language as well as what might hitherto have been thought of as our concept of moral responsibility.

    Yale’s theory is now that we have a moral imperative to shut up, not just that this is one tolerable option. The next time someone does decide to publish the cartoons, and thugs decide to react by rioting, the publisher can be told, “Even Yale University Press agrees that what you did leaves you with blood on your hands.”

    Is that the message that our leading academic institutions should be sending? Not just that it’s so easy to force Americans into silence, but that the threat of criminal violence is enough to make us morally obligated to be silent?

  • KEGGY

    Cowards. Let’s have the Dartmouth Review publish it — it’d get done in a snap.

  • KEGGY

    Cowards. Let’s have the Dartmouth Review publish it — it’d get done in a snap.

  • @ Reason

    Well said.

  • @ Reason

    Well said.

  • y1

    As I read somewhere else, “do you want to see child pornography in a book about child pornography?”

  • y1

    As I read somewhere else, “do you want to see child pornography in a book about child pornography?”

  • @ y1

    Where’d you read that idiotic quote, Huffington Post?

  • @ y1

    Where’d you read that idiotic quote, Huffington Post?