On Friday, June 26, 2009 I received a take down notice from a police group in Mumbai, India. I reproduce the email in full here:
O.W.No.1680/Sr.PI/CCIC/09
Office of the
Sr. Inspector of Police
Cyber Crime Investigation Cell
Crime Branch,CID, Mumbai
Date :- 26/06/09
To,
Website Administator,
Musing mind.comSubject :- Block / delete suspected links about muslim communities.
Dear Sir,
This office is enquiring a complaint wherein cartoon articles on alhaa and islamic religious personalities for eg. Mohammed and wife aisha are created and posted. They are making insulting remarks against muslim prophet and other personalities of muslim communities. You are requested to delete/remove block below mentioned suspected and malicious link and articles on your websites.
http://musing-minds.com/%5B…%5D/2008/02/jyllands-posten-mohammed.jpg
Regards,
(Mukund Pawar)
Police Inspector
Cyber Crime Investigation Cell
Crime Branch, CID, Mumbai.
This is exactly what I received, with all spelling, grammatical, and capitalization mistakes intact. The only change I made was in the url for the image. Entering it as given in the email was returning a 404 error anyway so I have replaced part of the url with […].
The email was sent from officer at cybercellmumbai dot com. That site states that it is the Cyber Crime Investigation Cell, C.I.D., Mumbai.
The picture that is so offensive is this one:
from this post in February 2008: No Surrender. The image was linked to Human Events’ article Muhammed Cartoon Gallery of 2/2/2006 where all the full size cartoons can be found.
Needless to say I am not going to take this down. I contacted a few people about it and was advised to report it to the Chilling Effects website, which I did. I was told that perhaps the worst case scenario of not complying with the request would be that I could never travel to India. The other worst case scenario was that I would become the next Salman Rushdie. I really doubt that one since others, far more prominent than I, have published these images as well.
I do hope I won’t have to go into hiding.
I’d like to know if anyone else received one of these notices. Please let me know, either in comments or by email to kimsch at this domain.
Thanks Howie for the link!
Founding Bloggers linked. Thanks!
Kyros from Report on Arrakis linked. Thanks!
Hello Kimsch…I’m here by way of Howie, and here’s my Moral Support for you, as an original member of the Band of the Banned!
Thanks Macker! I tried to leave a message at your place, but wasn’t allowed to!
KimschL send me an e-mail and i’ll sign you up. I’ve disabled my registration protocol, no thanks to the Russians.
Don’t give in to these childish thugs.
http://www.zazzle.com/blast_uh_me_tshirt-235145840478845145
Keep up the good fight, Kimsch.
You’d think they would know better after the terrorist attacks on Mumbai last November, don’t you think?
Declare a fatwah on them. Tell them you’ll post the cartoons weekly just for their enjoyment. 🙂
ah the useless Mumabi police under Muslim Mumbai police chief …
we see this drama every day in india… !! just ignore those idiots.. they just bark, don’t bite !!
O ye of the freedoms is freedom to sketch out a messenger and a prophet of God and declare it in the fields Is this the freedom and respect for human rights Are you offending Muslims and insulting the prophets of freedoms.
u can’t display the great messenger mohammed in this picture
GOD will punishment u in your life and in your last day in this life u will dead in bad and So bad situation
and the hill will be waitting u !
great messenger Mohammed is the greatest person in the world and that what the big Mind said So u don’t has a right to display the greatest person in this invalid picture
YOU R WRONG
Yes Njoud! I’m waiting for the day that’s the day fo gudgement
Canada, Everybody draw mohammed day +1
“Cyber Crime Investigation Cell”, that is straight out of a science fiction novel.
If one is not a muslim, one is not bound by muslim law, even if one is a muslim, but lives in a country not governed by muslim law, one isn’t.
Don’t give in to these thugs because once you do you virtually place yourself under Sharia law.
Respect and strength to you Musing Minds.
Everyday should be EDMD.
Here’s one for EDMD+1:
*~@);~)>