Everybody Draw Mohammed Day
Everybody Draw Mohammed Day (or Draw Mohammed Day) was a 2010 event in support of artists threatened with violence for drawing representations of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It stemmed from a protest against censorship of the American television show South Park episode "201", led by the show's distributor Comedy Central, in response to death threats that had been made against some of those responsible for two segments broadcast in April 2010. A drawing representing Muhammad was posted on the Internet on April 20, 2010, with a message suggesting that "everybody" create a drawing depicting Muhammad on May 20 in support of free speech.
U.S. cartoonist Molly Norris of Seattle, Washington, created the artwork in reaction to Internet death threats that had been made against animators Trey Parker and Matt Stone for depicting Muhammad in an episode of South Park. Postings on RevolutionMuslim.com (under the pen name Abu Talha al-Amrikee, later identified as Zachary Adam Chesser) had said that Parker and Stone could wind up like Theo van Gogh, a Dutch filmmaker who was stabbed and shot to death.
Norris claimed that if people draw pictures of Muhammad, Islamist terrorists would not be able to murder them all, and threats to do so would become unrealistic. Within a week, Norris' idea became popular on Facebook, was supported by numerous bloggers, and generated coverage on the blog websites of major U.S. newspapers. As the publicity mounted, Norris and the man who created the first Facebook page promoting the May 20 event disassociated themselves from it. Nonetheless, planning for the protest continued with others "taking up the cause". Facebook had an "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day" page, which grew to over 100,000 participants (101,870 members by May 20). A protest page on Facebook against the initiative named "Against 'Everybody Draw Mohammed Day attracted slightly more supporters (106,000 by May 20). Subsequently, Facebook was temporarily blocked by Pakistan; the ban was lifted after Facebook agreed to block the page for users in India and Pakistan.
In the media, Everybody Draw Mohammed Day attracted support from commentators who felt that the campaign represented important issues of freedom of speech, and the need to stand up for this freedom.
History
Background
South Park episodes "200" and "201", broadcast in April 2010, featured a character in a bear costume, about whom various other characters stated was Muhammad. The South Park episode sparked statements from the criminal extremist website Revolution Muslim, which posted a picture of the partially decapitated body of the Dutch filmmaker, Theo van Gogh, with a statement declaring that Parker and Stone could meet a similar fate. The group running the website said it was not threatening Parker and Stone, but it also posted the addresses of Comedy Central's New York office and the California production studio where South Park is made. Comedy Central self-censored the episode when it was broadcast by removing the word "Muhammad" and a speech about intimidation and fear from the South Park episode.
Molly Norris cartoon
Molly Norris drew the original, poster-like cartoon on April 20, 2010, which declared May 20, 2010, to be the first annual "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day". The drawing showed various anthropomorphized objects, including a coffee cup, a cherry, and a box of pasta, each claiming to be the likeness of Muhammad. Norris used an alternative transliteration of "Mohammed" on her poster. Across the top of the illustration, she wrote:
In light of the recent veiled (ha!) threats aimed at the creators of the television show South Park ... by bloggers on Revolution Muslim's website, we hereby deem May 20, 2010, as the first 'Everybody Draw Mohammed Day!' Do your part to both water down the pool of targets and, oh yeah, defend a little something our country is famous for (but maybe not for long? Comedy Central cooperated with terrorists and pulled the episode) the first amendment.
Molly Norris (April 20, 2010)
Molly.Norris.comThe poster included a claim of sponsorship by an organization named "Citizens Against Citizens Against Humor or CACAH (pronounced ca-ca)", which Norris later said was purely fictional. Norris dedicated the cartoon to the creators of South Park, Matt Stone and Trey Parker.
In late April, after she had rejected the idea for the May 20 protest, Norris stated on her website: "This was always a drawing about rights, never MEANT to disrespect religion. Alas – if we don't have rights, we will not be able to practice the religion of our choice. ... None of these little characters ARE the likeness of Mohammed, they are just CLAIMING to be!" She also wrote, "I, the cartoonist, NEVER launched a draw Mohammed day. It is, in this FICTIONAL poster sponsored by this FICTIONAL GROUP", referring to the "Citizens Against Citizens Against Humor" wording in the cartoon. "SATIRE about a CURRENT EVENT, people!!! (That's what do!)"
Early publicity
Norris circulated the cartoon to bloggers based in Seattle, Washington. She sent a copy of her illustration to Dan Savage, who posted it on his blog on April 22. On April 23, she was interviewed by Dave Ross of KIRO, a Seattle radio station. Norris responded to a question, "Are you sure you want to do this?", and said "Yeah, I want to water down the targets ... as a cartoonist, I just felt so much passion about what had happened, I wanted to counter Comedy Central's message about feeling afraid." The motivation for the protest was not simply to defend the South Park creators, but also to support the right to free speech under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. She also said, "it's a cartoonist's job to be non-PC". On her website, Norris stated that the idea was not to disrespect Islam, but to support everybody's freedom of expression.
An "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day" Facebook page was created by Jon Wellington. By the morning of April 26, the page had almost 6,000 confirmed guests. By April 25, someone (whose identity is unknown) had started a "Ban Everybody Draw Muhammad Day" counter-protest page on Facebook, which had 800 confirmed guests.