Y ale University Press‘s publication this November of a book titled The Cartoons That Shook the World will come with an omission that’s hard to ignore: 12 caricatures showingMuhammad that were first published by a Danish newspaper and ignited global protests and riots, leaving 200 people killed.
Both the university and its press consulted two dozen authorities, including diplomats and experts on Islam and counterterrorism, who unanimously recommended that the 12 Danish drawings, which were originally published in September 2005, be omitted. What’s more, they said other illustrations of Muhammad that were set to be included should also be left out of the book. The latter omission has not gone over well with the author, Jytte Klausen, who says she reluctantly accepted the decision not to publish the Danish cartoons “with sadness,” but adds that in withdrawing the other representations of Muhammad, the Yale Press has gone too far.