Cherian George Publishes Religiously Offensive Cartoons In Latest Book “Red Lines”

Cherian George has once again crossed the line by publishing religiously offensive cartoons in this latest book “Red Lines” which he co-authored with Singaporean cartoonist Sonny Liew. What is particularly troubling is the reproduction of Charlie Hebdo’s cartoons of Prophet Muhammad which had caused widespread violence when they were first published in 2006. Ten years after the cartoons were first circulated, reprints of the cartoons in 2015 led to the killing of 12 employees at Charlie Hedbo’s office in France. Most recently in 2020, a French teacher was beheaded by three teenagers for showing his class the caricatures of Prophet Muhammad during a lesson.

Against this violent backdrop, it is irresponsible of Cherian publish these cartoons again, all in the name of academic discussion. In his statement on the book’s website, Cherian said that it was the authors’ intentions to “show, not just tell” when discussing controversies and grey areas in depth. He also mentioned that the book’s main audience is American. If that is the case, then why has he decided to make the book available in Singapore. Is he unaware that what might be considered acceptable for a Western audience might not be acceptable here? Is he also not aware that “show and tell” in this instance is reckless and foolish, given the series of violent events caused by these cartoons. By publishing the images, he has put himself in the same league as those who published the cartoons deliberately to denigrate Islam.

Being Singaporean, Cherian should be well aware of the religious sensitivities of such cartoons in the Singapore context. Singapore is a multi-cultural society where religious harmony has been painstakingly built over many years. It is in fact still a work-in-progress, and hence it is even more important to guard it closely. The images in Cherian’s book are offensive to many Muslims. In fact, content that negatively depicts Islam or any other religion is not acceptable under any circumstance. This is even more so in multi-religious society like Singapore. Being born and bred here, it would be ludicrous for Cherian to claim that he did not know, or that “academic discussion” is a defensible reason for publishing these offensive images.

It is rather baffling that an esteemed academic, as Cherian would have people think he is, would do something as thoughtless as this. Perhaps his decision is profit-driven, as controversy always sells. Or perhaps, he no longer cares even if our social fabric is destroyed as he hides away comfortably in Hong Kong, watching the damage he created unfold while profiteering from the sale of his new book.