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VOLUME 3: The Wikipedia Muhammad Cartoons Debate
New addition to the Iraq Museum International book follows the most recent war of ideas waged among the editors of Wikipedia, the world's largest Internet encyclopedia, over how best to illustrate the Muhammad cartoons controversy.
(I-Newswire) - "The Wikipedia Muhammad Cartoons Debate: A War of Ideas" is now a 3-volume reference work published by Iraq Museum International - www.BaghdadMuseum.org - that shows how Wikipedia, the world's largest online encyclopedia, reached the decision to permanently display and make freely available copies of 12 satirical drawings of Muhammad first published by the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten. Today, the publisher released Volume 3, capturing the unfolding editorial arguments of the past several days at Wikipedia as the Muhammad cartoons controversy heats up around the world.
A timeline of recent events serving as a backdrop to the debate is provided below.
Note: These publications do not contain reproductions of the cartoons.
The original edition of "The Wikipedia Muhammad Cartoons Debate: A War Of Ideas" assembled a 700-page transcript of the heated online discussions among the users of Wikipedia, the world's largest Internet encyclopedia, as they edited articles dealing with the notorious satirical drawings of Muhammad first published in Denmark. Volume 3 extends the transcript another 5 days with an additional 337 pages of revisions and added text, including 3 new archives.
According to editor John Simmons, "This transcript reveals the mechanics of the clash of civilizations."
The entire 3-volume reference work can be downloaded at www.BaghdadMuseum.org and is released as part of the Iraq Museum International feature series, "Mesopotamia Yesterday, Iraq Today."
These volumes contain material authored and/or copyrighted by Wikipedia contributors. Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify the 3-volume original edition and the updates under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license is included, along with a list of the URLs to all of the Wikipedia source pages, in the section entitled "GNU Free Documentation License" at the end of each publication.
The following is a timeline of the Muhammad cartoons controversy since the publication of the first edition of "The Wikipedia Muhammad Cartoons Debate" on February 10, 2006:
February 10
* Ahmad Abu Laban, Islamisk Trossamfund leader, strikes a different tune in his Friday prayer. He calls Denmark a nice and tolerant country and calls for the violence to stop. He also openly challenged Islam critic Ayaan Hirsi Ali.
* The editor of the Norwegian christian newspaper Magazinet, Vebjørn Selbekk, apologizes for the reactions and consequences the publishing of the paintings has caused. The Norwegian muslim community accepted his apology, and considered the issue closed.
* At a demonstration in Nairobi, one demonstrator dies in a stampede.
* Reuters: "Kenyan police opened fire at hundreds of people [ ... ], wounding at least one."
* Spiegel Online ( from AP ): Molotov-cocktails thrown at French embassy in Tehran.
* Muslims hold the biggest rallies in Asia yet.
* In Macedonia both newspapers Vreme and Vest print the 12 cartoons.
* The Danish ambassadors and diplomatic staff in Iran, Syria, and Indonesia leave after receiving threats.
February 11
* Naser Khader Muslim member of Danish parliament and one of the founding members of Moderate Muslims has asked the Minister of Religion in Denmark to investigate Abu Laban words in the Friday prayer in the mosque at Dortheavej in Copenhagen where Abu Laban described Ayaan Hirsi Ali as a rat in a hole.
* Euronews shows one of the cartoons in a newstrailer, which was originally from a TV programme from Switzerland.
February 12
* The Irish president Mary McAleese condemned the drawings and concluded "Muslims have every right to feel angry."
February 13
* The Iranian ambassador in Berlin is asking the German daily Tagesspiegel to apologize for and "take all steps necessary for retribution of this immoral act", because they published a cartoon about soccer, that has "caused outrage and horror in Iran and worldwide". The cartoon accompanied an article ( 10 Feb 2006 ) that argued against the idea that it may be a necessary to have the German army support the police force in securing the soccer world championship 2006 in Germany. The cartoon depicts a soccer team ( Iranian, say the amassadors ) in a soccer arena, wearing suicide bomber belts, watched over by German army personnel. Caption: "That's why it's absolutely necessary to have the army around." The cartoonist has received three death threats.
* EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana meets with the Organization of the Islamic Conference's ( IOC )Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu to defuse the crisis. Ihsanoglu called upon the EU Parliament to pass legislation to combat Islamophobia: "People in the Muslim world are starting to feel this is a new 9/11 against them".
* A leading Iranian newspaper launches a competition asking people to submit cartoons about the Holocaust. The Hamshahri daily says the competition is to test the boundaries of free speech for Westerners. The move is seen as retaliation for the publication in a Danish paper of images satirising the Prophet Muhammad.
* Australian cartoonist, Michael Leunig, becomes the victim of a hoax involving the cartoon competition Iranian newspaper, Hamshahri.
February 14
* In South America both Peru's RPP Noticias en Chile's 24 Horas print the Danish cartoons.
* Finland's National Bureau of Investigation decides to conduct a preliminary investigation into the matter of Suomen Sisu and others publishing the cartoons. Finnish penal code has a same kind of section on the sanctity of religion as the Danish law.
* In Pakistan, over 1,000 rioters vandalize many western business establishments and torched the provincial assembly building. At least two people were killed.
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