 | This article is missing information about current developments relevant to the topic such as the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy. It's a good start but references are sparse and the article treats the topic only up to the late 1990s..(May 2013) |
Political cartoons set first foot in the Middle East in the mid-nineteenth century as the first Ottoman cartoon was published in 1867 in the journal, Istanbul. Following it was the first cartoon in Arab press: Ya'qub Sannu's cartoon published in 1887 in Al-Tankit wa Al-Tabkit (Joking and Censure) newspaper. Until 1925, when Michael Tays launched Kannas al-Shawari (The Road Sweeper), a humorous newspaper in Iraq, most cartoons in the Arab world were printed in Egypt. In 1929, pioneering cartoonist Khalid Kahhala's work emerged as he launched the satirical gazette Al Mudhik al-Mubki (The Weeping Joker) in Syria. Another pioneering cartoonist was Bayram al-Tunisi who started publishing al-Shabab (Youth) in Tunisia in 1932. [1]
The political impact of editorial cartoons has led authorities in the Middle East, on countless occasions, to exert control over the content, medium of expression, and scope of these cartoons. For instance, in order to put a stop to unwanted rumors about a military coup in Turkey in July 1997, an Islamist prime minister, Necmettin Erbakan, demanded an inquiry into the activities of ten intellectuals, among whom was the political cartoonist, Salih Memecan. Another instance is the Egyptian government's silencing of political cartoonist Ahmed Hijazi (cartoonist) in order to mitigate the Syrian government's discomfort. [1]
In 1909, a press law that limited the freedom of the press in the Ottoman Empire was passed. Most of the ninety-two humorous gazettes that were launched during the year of Sultan Abdulhamid's dethronement were censored by the Ottoman military government during World War I then by the Allied Powers occupying Constantinople until the end of the Turkish War of Independence. Ottoman cartoonists were creative in trying to evade censorship- for example, some sent erasable drawings that they could amend after receiving approval. Some newspapers published a blank space where the censored cartoon was supposed to be in protest to the censorship. [1]
Censorship persisted to a certain extent during the period of the nation-states succeeding the Ottoman Empire. In Algeria, the government uses an official distribution and circulation monopoly to censor editorial cartoonists, and in Morocco, caricaturing the King or his ministers is punishable by imprisonment. However, political cartoons still played a significant role in political events. For example, the only visible critique of the Israeli occupation during the Intifada period was the political cartoon, which also prevailed during the Islamic Revolution in Iran. [2]
During the Gulf War, political cartoons were the more independent and reliable alternative to government-controlled Arab television and even Western television in representing the conflict in the Persian Gulf. [1]
In Algeria, the most prominent sources of political cartoons during the Gulf crisis were two weekly cartoon newspapers, the Francophone El-Manchar and the Arabic Es-Sahafa. In 1992, the Algerian government practiced censorship on these newspapers and others by confiscating issues and imposing fines. Algerian political cartoons were unique in that they were largely bilingual, and that served to convey the diametrical opposition of European and Arabic television during the Gulf War. For example, a cartoon published in March 1991 in Sinsar, a weekly newspaper, an Algerian viewer channel-hops between a French-language television program that proclaims the Coalition victory and an Arabic-language Iraqi one that announces Saddam Hussein's supremacy. [2]
In Morocco, many cartoonists used the belly dancer or male homosexual transvestite archetype to stereotype the coalition leadership. President Bush was represented in women's clothing while masculinity was attributed to the American women serving in the armed forces in the Gulf. For example, a cartoon published in March 1991 in Al-Aqrab shows an American female soldier and a Saudi male at her feet, saying: "We thank you, you have sexually excited us, sorry, I mean you have liberated us". [2]
In Tunisia, comic strips were mainly devoted to cultural topics and flourished as such throughout the 1980s until the Gulf War, when some of them adapted to the fast pace of the crisis. Tunis Hébdo, al-Akhbar and al-Shuruq became prominent sources of Gulf crisis cartoons while 'Ali 'Abid remained too polished and elegant to adapt. Examples of such adaptations can be observed in Ta'sila Kurawiyya (Soccer Break or Nap), a comic strip by Tawfiq al-Kuki published in the weekly al-Akhbar and devoted to soccer. This became Ta'sila Khalijiyya (Gulf Break) during the Gulf War. Similarly, the weekly comic strip Hébdrolmadaire (Weekly comics or funnies) published in Tunis Hébdo became Hébdrolmageurre (Weekly war comics or funnies) as it shifted its coverage to the conflict, and the comic strip "Sérieux s'abstenir" of Tunis Hébdo changed its framing to wire, explosives, and the missiles al-Husayn and al-'Abbas. [1]
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions. Traditionally, throughout the 20th and into the 21st century, these have been published in newspapers and magazines, with daily horizontal strips printed in black-and-white in newspapers, while Sunday papers offered longer sequences in special color comics sections. With the advent of the internet, online comic strips began to appear as webcomics.
A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved over time, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of images intended for satire, caricature, or humor; or a motion picture that relies on a sequence of illustrations for its animation. Someone who creates cartoons in the first sense is called a cartoonist, and in the second sense they are usually called an animator.
A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons or comics. Cartoonists differ from comic writers, comic book artists, or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and graphic components of the work as part of their practice. Cartoonists may work in a variety of formats, including booklets, comic strips, comic books, editorial cartoons, graphic novels, manuals, gag cartoons, storyboards, posters, shirts, books, advertisements, greeting cards, magazines, newspapers, webcomics, and video game packaging.
An editorial cartoonist, also known as a political cartoonist, is an artist who draws editorial cartoons that contain some level of political or social commentary. Their cartoons are used to convey and question an aspect of daily news or current affairs in a national or international context. Political cartoonists generally adopt a caricaturist style of drawing, to capture the likeness of a politician or subject. They may also employ humor or satire to ridicule an individual or group, emphasize their point of view or comment on a particular event.
Carlos Latuff is a Brazilian political cartoonist. His work deals with themes such as anti-Western sentiment, anti-capitalism, and opposition to U.S. military intervention. He is best known for his images depicting the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and the Arab Spring events.
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Charlie Hebdo is a French satirical weekly magazine, featuring cartoons, reports, polemics, and jokes. Stridently non-conformist in tone, the publication has been described as anti-racist, sceptical, secular, and within the tradition of left-wing radicalism, publishing articles about the far-right, religion, politics and culture.
Milt Gross was an American cartoonist and animator. His work is noted for its exaggerated cartoon style and Yiddish-inflected English dialogue. He originated the non-sequitur "Banana Oil!" as a phrase deflating pomposity and posing. His character Count Screwloose's admonition, "Iggy, keep an eye on me!", became a national catchphrase. The National Cartoonists Society fund to aid indigent cartoonists and their families for many years was known as the Milt Gross Fund. In 2005, it was absorbed by the Society's Foundation, which continues the charitable work of the Fund.
The Eastern Color Printing Company was a company that published comic books, beginning in 1933. At first, it was only newspaper comic strip reprints, but later on, original material was published. Eastern Color Printing was incorporated in 1928, and soon became successful by printing color newspaper sections for several New England and New York papers. Eastern is most notable for its production of Funnies on Parade and Famous Funnies, two publications that gave birth to the American comic book industry.
The Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy began after the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten published 12 editorial cartoons on 30 September 2005, most of which depicted Muhammad, a principal figure of the religion of Islam. The newspaper announced that this was an attempt to contribute to the debate about criticism of Islam and self-censorship. Muslim groups in Denmark complained, and the issue eventually led to protests around the world, including violence and riots in some Muslim countries.
Georges David Wolinski was a French cartoonist and comics writer. He was killed on 7 January 2015 in a terrorist attack on Charlie Hebdo along with other staff.
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Canadian comics refers to comics and cartooning by citizens of Canada or permanent residents of Canada regardless of residence. Canada has two official languages, and distinct comics cultures have developed in English and French Canada. The English tends to follow American trends, and the French, Franco-Belgian ones, with little crossover between the two cultures. Canadian comics run the gamut of comics forms, including editorial cartooning, comic strips, comic books, graphic novels, and webcomics, and are published in newspapers, magazines, books, and online. They have received attention in international comics communities and have received support from the federal and provincial governments, including grants from the Canada Council for the Arts. There are comics publishers throughout the country, as well as large small press, self-publishing, and minicomics communities.
The media of Bahrain mainly consists of several weekly and daily newspapers, with the Information Affairs Authority controlling Bahrain's state-owned Bahrain Radio and Television Corporation, which broadcasts radio and television services. The media is predominantly in Arabic though English language and Malayalam newspapers are beginning to emerge in the country. The IAA also controls the Bahrain News Agency which monitors, originates and relays national and international news in Arabic and English, usually generating from 90 to 150 stories a day. Bahrain Telecommunication Company, trading as Batelco, is Bahrain's sole Internet service provider. In 2015, there were an estimated 1.29 million internet user, a penetration of 96.4%.
Mahmoud Kahilمحمود كحيل was a Lebanese-born British editorial cartoonist.
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Nadia Khiari is a Tunisian cartoonist, painter, graffiti artist and art teacher. She is best known for her chronicles and cartoon collections about the Arab Springs, particularly for her character 'Willis from Tunis', dubbed the "Cat of the Revolution" in some sources.