Wakademia Sux

Andrew Bolt:

Yale University, through sheer fear, decides to follow the rulings of the most censorious Muslim fanatics rather than defend the spirit of free inquiry that was once a glory of Western civilisation:

So Yale University and Yale University Press consulted two dozen authorities, including diplomats and experts on Islam and counterterrorism, and the recommendation was unanimous: The book, “The Cartoons That Shook the World,” should not include the 12 Danish drawings that originally appeared in September 2005. What’s more, they suggested that the Yale press also refrain from publishing any other illustrations of the prophet that were to be included, specifically, a drawing for a children’s book; an Ottoman print; and a sketch by the 19th-century artist Gustave Doré of Muhammad being tormented in Hell, an episode from Dante’s “Inferno” that has been depicted by Botticelli, Blake, Rodin and Dalí.

The book’s author, Jytte Klausen, a Danish-born professor of politics at Brandeis University, in Waltham, Mass., reluctantly accepted Yale University Press’s decision not to publish the cartoons. But she was disturbed by the withdrawal of the other representations of Muhammad. All of those images are widely available, Ms. Klausen said by telephone, adding that “Muslim friends, leaders and activists thought that the incident was misunderstood, so the cartoons needed to be reprinted so we could have a discussion about it.”

Update:

Mohammed drawing now a commercial success

Yep. Take this, you bastards!

Considered blasphemous by Muslims, one of the Jyllands-Posten Mohammed cartoons is a hit with collectors

Copenhagen Post

Kurt Westergaard’s controversial drawing of Islamic prophet Mohammed with a bomb in his turban is proving to be big business for printers, art galleries and – not least – Westergaard himself.

Skanderborg’s Galleri Draupner, which will soon be exhibiting several works by Westergaard, indicated it has sold numerous autographed prints of Westergaard’s illustration.

B.T. newspaper reports that the gallery has asked famed auction house Sotheby’s in London to fix a selling price for the original drawing, which Westergaard is considering selling. A top American collector has appraised the illustration’s value at $150,000.

A Baltic-based printing company is also profiting from the work. It has sold 870 copies of the 1,000 copied and sells for $250 each.

The Jyllands-Posten Mohammed drawings were first printed in September 2005. The move touched off numerous violent protests worldwide from offended Muslims and resulted in extensive damage to several Danish embassies.