I feel so very sorry for Molly Norris. She is the Seattle cartoonist who, tongue in cheek, made a declaration that April 10, 2010 should be known as "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day."
As you may know, Islam does not permit renditions of Mohammed. Worse than putting pressure on her newspaper to fire her for her insensitive comment, she is now on a "hit list" - that's right...a fatwa has been issued by the Yemeni-American cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, the imam who's been indicated as inspiring the Fort Hood, Texas massacre as well as the plot by two New Jersey men to kill U.S. Soldiers. Anwar al-Awlaki singled out Molly Norris as a "prime target," saying "her proper abode is hellfire."
The FBI Special Agent, David Gomez, told reporters that
"We understand the absolute seriousness of a threat from an Al Qaeda...and are attempting to do everything in our power to assist the individuals on that list to effectively protect themselves and change their behavior to make themselves less of a target."
She has been told to "go ghost," meaning moving, changing her name, and wiping away her identity. Her life, as she knows it, is gone, or her life will literally be gone.
Our government is not going to protect her; she's out on her own, a target of religious bigotry and tyranny.
Granted, this was a blatantly offensive comment -- I know something about being offensive without specifically intending to do so - but when an American is put on a hit list by a religious leader of a community that argues it is pro-peace, it makes one wonder if words are meaningful when actions are contrary to those words.
I call on all Muslims around the world to crack down on Muslims killing Muslims, and Muslims killing infidels. This is not civilized and cannot be negotiated with. Only other Muslims can force their brethren to value free speech and opposing opinions, even objectionable ones...especially objectionable ones.
