Cox & Forkum: Opus Akbar

New item: Washington Post, Other Newspapers Won’t Run ‘Opus’ Cartoon Mocking Radical Islam.

A popular comic strip that poked fun at the Rev. Jerry Falwell without incident one week ago was deemed too controversial to run over the weekend because this time it took a humorous swipe at Muslim fundamentalists.

The Washington Post and several other newspapers around the country did not run Sunday’s installment of Berkeley Breathed’s “Opus,” in which the spiritual fad-seeking character Lola Granola appears in a headscarf and explains to her boyfriend, Steve, why she wants to become a radical Islamist.

The installment did not appear in the Post’s print version, but it ran on WashingtonPost.com and Salon.com. The same will hold true for the upcoming Sept. 2 strip, which is a continuation of the plotline.

The Jerry Falwell comic strip is here.

The Wahington Post and other American newspapers have NO problems with political satire on the comic pages if it involves the Christian RIGHT but are afraid when it involves Islam.

Remember the FLAP over the Muhammed Caricatures from Denmark last year?

The August 26th Opus strip about fundamental Islam is here.

The Washington Post Writers Group syndicates “Opus,” and the Post is the cartoon’s home newspaper. The syndicate sent out an alert about the two strips in question, according to Writers Group comics editor Amy Lago.

There was also considerable alarm over the strip at the highest echelons of The Washington Post Co., according to the sources.

Lago said she flagged some of the syndicate’s newspaper clients for two reasons: because of the possibility that the jokes about Islam would be misconstrued and because of the sexual innuendo in the punchline.

“The strip came in and I knew we would have to send out an alert to all the newspapers,” Lago said. “I do that fairly regularly with materials that might pose issues for local areas. … We knew that because it was a sex joke, it could raise issues. And there is another client that has issues with any Muslim depiction whatsoever.”

Sounds like a DOUBLE STANDARD to Flap.

Today’s Opus strip is here.

Is the Washington Post afraid of offending the Muslims? Or afraid of a backhanded sex joke?

Oh PLEASE………

The Wapo will publish America’s national security secrets without hesitation and have done so on numerous occasions.

Maybe Wapo editors are afraid the Islamic fundamentalists might burn their building down? Or kidnap and behead their reporters?

Is there any WONDER why the American newspaper industry is dying a “SLOW DEATH?”

Freedom of speech – NOT found at the Washington Post.

Technorati Tags: Cox & Forkum, Opus, Washington Post, Muhammed Caricatures, JderryFalwell