Face it! We don't refrain from offending Muslims because we're politically correct, but because we fear for our lives. Catholics and other Christians are fair game because they won't bomb our buildings or issue death threats.
If that twit from the Parks Department had offended Arabs the way he did Poles in his alumni newsletter, Central Park would have been burned to the ground by now.

The Opus cartoon itself does not make much sense. The woman's Hijab or head cover appears to be very unconventional and from the state of H.I., the flower might represent that "Fatima" is married or engaged, because of the "pua" flower above her left ear, if over the right ear she would be "free."
 The reason Muslims were upset over the Prophet Muhammeds cartoons last year is becaue Muslims believe it is an important part of their faith that All Prophets must be revered and are above any type of ridicule. ( Abraham, Moses, Noah, Jesus etc)The mother of Jesus, Mary, also is highly revered and should never have a negative term applied against her.
 The reverence of Prophets, this is why there was outrage last year over the prophets cartoon; this cartoon with the H.I. Hijab may be considered just "jabbing" at Islamic cover not much more than that. Definitely not as grievous a concern as putting down a Prophet.
The offensive statement I see is "God Willing" or (InshaAllah, in Arabic) in reply from the cartoon character Fatima as to if she would not be offering anything else. This is inferring somewhat( inadvertantly) that Muslim women may be more than ladies, or that the charcter was inquiring into this possible unacceptable behaviour from her.
A Seattle Muslim

How ignorant Christians are when it comes to Islam.  Respect should always be shown to the Prophets.  Images of the Prophets are forbidden.  Making fun of the people is OK just pay the proper respect to the Prophet.  Everyone else is fair game.

I think everyone is really missing the point of this cartoon. It had nothing to do with Islam. This is just a play on that character. If you read it closely you'll find that she has no real sense of direction and "Radical Islam" as she calls it is just another in a long line of things that she has gotten into. She knows nothing of Islam. Look at how the artist drew the outfit she is wearing. She doesn't know what she is doing and that's why the guy is so frustrated.

No Christian editor (no matter the denomination) would be allowed to pull a cartoon or article because he deemed it to be offensive to his belief system.   This cartoon has a history of being an equal opportunity offender.  I find it humorous. Both characters are confused about what it means to be Muslim, as are many Americans.  The girl friend character is confused as to what she should believe.  As are many Americans.  Heaven help us next week when she tries Scientology.  Those are the only taboo humor targets in America today.

Christina, I'd add Jews to your list of 'fair game' (along with Catholics and other Christians) indeed if you come across any comics about Jews, it most likely was written by one, and Jews in the audience are most likely the loudest laughers. Its a little secret that we Jews know that the younger religions seem to have missed, though its right there in the earliest part of the holy scripts we all share. Paraphrase..."God created the world with a word" I guess It's always been obvious to us, that word with a punchline.

"Face it! We don't refrain from offending Muslims because we're politically correct, but because we fear for our lives. Catholics and other Christians are fair game because they won't bomb our buildings or issue death threats."

Seriously. That says it all. It's called humour, people, and the world is a much nicer place with it.

It is not up to all of you to make sure that you don't offend me, it's up to me to make sure that I take it well.

Our culture uses humor to approach life's difficult situations. The Arabic and Muslim cultures do too, unless you're an extremist. (Plug the word Christian in the previous sentence and it still holds true.)

The fact that everyone is missing the point of the strip humors me greatly. OK. The strip is NOT "attacking Muslims." The character's name is "Lola Granola," a flighty, confused spoof of many Americans that affect any religious practice that is different from the one they grew up with (these people are on display daily here where I live).  She IS NOT saying that she would like engage in sex, quite the opposite. She is using the stereotype of the chaste Muslim woman to say, specifically, that she will NOT be having sex with Steve (a character known for his shallow sexual focus). There. It is explained, and like all jokes that have to be explained, is no longer even funny.

I wish they would have talk about what they promised.  Why are Christians fair game, but not Muslims or any other religion?  TV news mags and regular mags have stories all the time about 'was Jesus who he claimed to be" "was Mary married", etc.  Why do they never do 'investigative' reports on who Muhammad was and the Muslim religion.  Only do they mock and criticize the Christians.  If they had any brains they would realize, thats a lot of viewers to lose....

I think if you let the muslims silence us it wont be be long before we are silenced for good. Keep taking away our right to freedom of the press or right to free speech then we will end up like iraq with no freedom!!!

To Steve Guillory from Lafayette, LA.  It is people who call others ignorant may be the ignorant ones.

I am truly shocked about the number of people saying that a cartoon such as this one is offensive and it ridicule Islam.  How??.  I am an Arab and don’t see anything offensive in this cartoon. There are much more offensive things getting published in Arabic/Muslim papers and programs all over the world and we are trying to supress free speach in the most free of nations.

The only thing I do not like about the cartoon is the way it brands all women who cover their faces as fundamentalists which is totally not true. The boyfriend directly jumps to the conclusion that his girlfriend has embraced radical Islam when he sees her face cover. Some women grow up in societies where women cover their faces and even if the men wanted them to uncover their faces, the women would be the ones opposing. These men and women in these societies in general are peaceful people who have nothing to do with radical Islam or fundamentalism. Being an Islamic terrorist is not the norm. It is the exception. Wearing the face cover might be the only thing that many Muslim women have in common with radical Muslim women which is no more a commonality than having hands or heads or feet which are thing that we all have in common.

Every one of these newspaper editors who chose to NOT carry the strip are SPINELESS! As others have pointed out, this is not the same as a cartoon depicting Mohammed; although, don't be surprised when (if they even agree to talk about it) most of these jellyfish editors cite the reaction to the Danish cartoons as the reason for their wimpishness. In fact, Breathed's own editor at the Washington Post Writers Group -- from where his strip is syndicated -- said: "I don't necessarily think it's poking fun [at Islam], but the question with Muslims is, are they taking it seriously?" So, there's nothing wrong with the intent, just the potential reaction? If there's nothing wrong with the intent, the responsibility for any reaction is that of the person(s) who are reacting.

"Pat" wrote: "No Christian editor ... would be allowed to pull a cartoon or article ... offensive to his belief system."

Yes he would. Usually, owners don't overrule their editors; they either support their decisions or they fire them. So feel free to blame both the editors AND the owners in this case; they're equally guilty of playing the "let's be sensitive and politically correct" wussy game.

"Don from Tennessee" wrote: "Keep taking away our right to freedom of the press or right to free speech then we will end up like Iraq with no freedom."

This sounds like a revival of the Don Imus argument ("Don from Tennessee" . . . hmmm. Could it be?); and, as with the Imus case, no outside agency limited the freedom of the press to print these Opus strips -- it was an INTERNAL decision. These newspapers have the right to edit their content; in this case they made a STUPID decision, but it is a choice they are allowed to make. This is NOT a free speech issue either. First of all, most of the papers that carry Opus -- approximately 175 out of 200 -- continued to carry it (although not mine, and believe me, they're going to hear about it), and secondly . . . oh, go read the Constitution already.

Who gives a damn about what Muslims or any other group thinks about limiting the American right of free expression? Let them go back to their own countries where they would be behaeaded for daring to question anything. Muslims in the U.S. should be speaking out against  the intolerance and criminal behavior of Muslim terrorists but they are silent about that and instead try to force us to live by their ridiculous and barbaric beliefs.

"How ignorant Christians are when it comes to Islam.  Respect should always be shown to the Prophets.  Images of the Prophets are forbidden.  Making fun of the people is OK just pay the proper respect to the Prophet.  Everyone else is fair game."

Please do not tell me who I can and cannot ridicule.  No religion should dictate how those who do not follow that religion should act. This is not a Muslim, Jewish or Christian world.  I can assure you, STEVE, that if a Christian or a Jew were telling you or your woman that you couldn't adhere to some Muslim tradition you would be outraged.  People like Steve are an enemy of freedom and should be treated as such.

"If you let the muslims silence us..."  Could you be more dramatic???  And offensive??

Why is it the that christians in this country is so quick to condemn muslim for not speaking out against radical muslims.  When slavery, reconstruction and the overthrow of a nation of american Indian's took place where were you christians.  I don't remember reading about christian freeing, beating back mobs, surrounding teepes to keep these groups of people from radical christians. The christians that did help these group of people did it undercover not speaking out about it.

Barbara A, please take a history course. Abolitionists were Christians. People who fought for the rights of Indians, sometimes to their extreme (hanging) detriment, were Christians. People who argued for abolition in the newspapers, and the Congress, and in the streets were Christians. Nothing undercover about it. Read, understand, speak.

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