My playwright friend Wajahat Ali writes about the Jihad Jane case, in the broader context of why the various cartoon depictions of the Prophet SAW are such a provocation to muslims. Wajahat affirms, but also puts into context, the imperative of free artistic expression, invoking his own experience writing a play about muslim characters:

As a Muslim-American writer, I know firsthand that creating thought-provoking art about Islam and Muslims can be a thankless task. If one’s fictional Muslim characters are not avatars of perfection or they happen to speak critically about certain Islamic customs, then the Muslim artist risks being convicted as a godless instigator by a vocal minority. However, in my experience the overwhelming majority of Muslim audience members embrace these uncomfortable, yet necessary, artistic depictions of religiosity provided the characters and images are complex, honest, and crafted respectfully, instead of being reduced to vile stereotypes purely for the sake of sensationalism.

(…) As an artist who relishes creative freedom, I resist calls that advocate artistic censorship or pander to political correctness. However, art – whether it be through words or images – has never existed within an isolated vacuum, and generally draws upon and animates the existing cultural context of the day.

Art can be used as a loaded cultural and political weapon to incite animosity amidst an already hostile climate dominated by foolish controversies-or it can be used wisely and bravely as a common language to bridge the divides.

Given that there are indeed extremists out there who have a vested interest in perpetuating animosity and hate between muslims and non-muslims, its even more important that we recruit artists to the cause of bridging these divides.

I think any artist who wants to use the Prophet as a subject for their art should be encouraged – but they should also read Wajahat’s article so they understand the cultural sensitivity of that topic to muslims. Whether that informs their artistic choices or not is of course solely up to them.

I for one would welcome artistic depictions of the Prophet if they were respectful and attempted to honestly explore the symbolism of the Prophet to the muslim (and/or on-muslim world). Creating a tolerance for such art in the muslim world hinges on such experiments being made – but if we begin with provocation instead of respecct, then we never will get anywhere.

It takes courage to create Art, especially on a topic as sensitive as the Prophet. A coward, however, might just draw cartoons.