Cartoon Creates Controversy in Chapel Hill
By Alex Cabe

Muslim students are angry after The Daily Tar Heel published a cartoon Thursday that featured a drawing of Muhammad, the founder of Islam. Muslim Students Association President Uzma Khan explains why Muslims find the cartoon offensive.

“We do not support any type of idolatry,” Khan said, “and in actually drawing or depicting the prophet, it could lead to idolatry just because the prophet is revered in our religion.”

The day the cartoon was published, the MSA called an emergency meeting to decide what to do about it. They wrote a letter calling the cartoon sensationalist and bigoted, and many members called for the resignation of editors at the DTH.

Editor-in-chief Ryan Tuck says he stands by the paper’s decision to publish the cartoon.

“The point of a newspaper is, however, to get people to talk, to challenge beliefs, to get people to sit up and notice something that maybe they don’t want to,” Tuck said. “Maybe something they want to ignore.”

The MSA planned a protest for this Wednesday, but some students couldn’t wait. They held an impromptu rally in the Pit on Friday. Students held signs and chanted “DTH, respect religion!”

Some students at the protest say they believe the paper was biased against Islam. “For some reason they keep attacking Muslims,” said junior Marium Chaudhry. “Last semester it was Jillian Bandes, this semester it’s the cartoon. Why is it that we’re the only minority that’s always picked on?”

It’s been four days since the cartoon was published, but it appears the controversy is far from over.