Norris is the Seattle artist who went into hiding last week, after Anwar al-Awlaki put out a hit on her for playfully mocking Islamic dogma prohibiting the depiction of Mohammed. It’s not like Awlaki threatened to burn some books or drunkenly peed on a rug, but some people think maybe he went a little overboard. (He’s on the run himself, the poor fella.) Now, according to our own Caroline May:
An Islamic publication — in response to news that the Seattle-based cartoonist responsible for “Everybody Draw Mohammed Day” has gone underground due to a fatwa issued calling for her death by an American born cleric living in Yemen — is encouraging American and Canadian Muslims to sign onto a letter in support of free speech…
The American Muslim (TAM), an Islamic publication focused on the “promotion of peace, justice, and reconciliation for all humanity,” wants to make it clear that neither they nor the majority of Muslims support what is happening to Norris.
The letter is here. It tries to draw a parallel between this outrage and “the recent wave of vitriolic anti-Muslim and anti-Islamic sentiment that is being expressed across our nation” — you know, the wave that’s always on the verge of breaking but somehow never does — but at least it condemns death threats against people who hurt some creep’s feelings. It sure would be nice if they could stand up against such intimidation tactics without reminding us, “Hey, we’re victims too!” But at least it’s a start.
P.S. It just occurred to me that I should’ve followed the “Not All” rule in the headline. Every time a Muslim commits an act of terrorism, we’re supposed to remind everyone that not all Muslims are terrorists. Doesn’t that apply to speaking out against terrorism as well? After all, the signatories to this letter are just a small percentage of the Muslim population. I guess it would be mean to point that out…
P.P.S. N SUPPORT OF MOLLY NORRIS: Pulitzer winner draws line against fatwa