By: Dave Astor An ad featuring a Muhammad drawing didn't make the cut in a publication that will be distributed at the National Cartoonists Society gathering in Chicago this Memorial Day weekend.
The Reuben Journal -- published yearly for the annual NCS Reuben Award gala -- includes ads submitted by syndicates and cartoonists. One cartoonist, self-syndicated "Making It" creator Keith Robinson, told E&P that his submission alluded to the Danish cartoon controversy.
In the ad, Robinson drew a Muhammad cartoon -- an act that caused protests and rioting when Danish cartoonists did it. "Draw the Prophet. You could have an exciting career as a cartoonist!," was Robinson's droll text accompanying the Muhammad picture.
But the NCS didn't want a Muhammad cartoon in its publication, and a compromise was reached. Instead, Robinson took out an ad noting that his original submission was turned down. "So if you want to see the cartoon," the ad says, "you'll have to check it out on my Web site: www.makingit.com/hell_no. In the meantime, congratulations to all the nominees, especially to all those who take home the awards." (A number of Reuben Journal ads congratulate the finalists for various NCS prizes.)
Robinson, who has done "Making It" since 1985, explained on his
blog why he submitted the ad with the Muhammad cartoon. He wrote: "First, newspapers are killing cartoons. Comic strips have been reduced in size. New strips rarely get a chance. Local editorial cartoonists are practically extinct. This lack of support may make people think newspaper cartoons are irrelevant. But the controversy over the Danish cartoons of the prophet Muhammad reminds the world that cartoons can be a powerful method of communication. We shouldn't ignore it.
"Second, protestors are using the threat of violence to keep cartoons from being printed. We shouldn't give in.
"Third, there is no historical tradition that a drawing of Muhammad is in and of itself offensive. While some Muslims do not make or show images of Mohammed because of the biblical laws against graven images, there is a long history of portraits of Muhammad in Islamic art. ... Why don't the media talk more about this? Perhaps because not talking about it gives them a convenient rationalization -- religious tolerance -- for not showing the offending Danish cartoons. The real reason: fear."
Robinson joked that, with the Muhammad cartoon on his Web site, "I just may have someone else start my car for a while."
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