Te Radar: Taking the mickey's a non-negotiable core tradition

One of the best cartoons I have seen recently was first published in, of all places, a Danish newspaper. It depicted several tattered and smouldering men, apparently of Arab descent, trudging up to heaven and being greeted by a bearded man who could well be Muhammad, who is hollering at them to "stop, stop, we ran out of virgins".

This cartoon, and several others published alongside it, each of which depicted some facet of Islamic belief, appear to have upset some people, some of whom, clearly frothy-mouthed with indignation, displayed the calm and rational sense of righteousness for which Islam is becoming synonymous, by calling for those responsible to be slaughtered.

Indeed, not content with mooting the idea of shooting the messenger, they also suggested stabbing them, bombing them, or beheading them.

Other more rational folk simply called for a ban, or boycott, of all Danish exports, whatever they are.

It was reported that thousands of Palestinians took to the streets to protest against Denmark. This may have more to do with the fact that the chronically underemployed Palestinians appear to have a love of waltzing down the street protesting anything, and little better to do, other than baffling the Americans by using the much lauded freedom of Democracy to elect a party not bothered by the dichotomy of the bomb and the ballot box.

It is a shame that the same sense of fury is not directed at those who are actually demeaning Islam.

I am rather perplexed why those people who are calling for the cartoonists, their editors, the publishers, and hapless newspaper delivery children to be exterminated aren't offended by those activities that truly denigrate their religion far more than satirisation.

Stoning people to death for consensual sex, so-called honour killings - especially of women who have supposedly brought dishonour on their families by having the audacity to be raped - the beheading of innocent hostages, and suicide bombings, all often conducted in the name of Islam, seem to have escaped the attention of those whose wrath, rather than their funny bone, was tickled by the Danish lampooners.

Perhaps the best summation of the controversy was published in Germany's Die Welt magazine. "There is no right to be shielded from satire in the West," it said. "Christianity has been the object of ruthless criticism ... Being able to make fun of the holiest things is a non-negotiable core tradition in our culture."

Given the stereotype of the humourless German, the irony of this statement is possibly lost.

Ironic, too, that the controversy continues even as many commentators here beat their clammy hands against their breasts at Dapper Don's statement during his Orewa speech that we should query the nature of immigrants' social and cultural mores.

Still, not all Islamic fundamentalists lack a sense of humour. Al-Qaeda's number two, Ayman al-Zawahiri, has called on President George W. Bush to convert to Islam, whereupon his sins will be forgiven.