‘Everybody Draw Mohammed Day’ Could Be Making A Comeback, But Should It?

“Everybody Draw Mohammed Day” was created in 2010 by Seattle-based cartoonist Molly Norris as a response to threats against South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone for doing an episode in which the Islamic figurehead was to be depicted — a big faux pas for Islamic extremists.

Comedy Central ultimately chickened out on airing the episode, much to the anger of Parker and Stone, and that led to a movement that was to be repeated every May 20.

The Internet has since let that go, but following on the heels of a deadly terrorist attack on the satire newspaper Charlie Hebdo, many online publications and social media users are getting back in on the action.

The efforts have been spearheaded by Reason Magazine and the TIL subreddit, which dredged up the forgotten holiday on Wednesday, catapulting it to the front page of Reddit.

As part of “Everybody Draw Mohammed Day,” everyone, no matter their artistic ability, is encouraged to draw their own version of Mohammed and share it with friends on websites and social media channels.

In case you have trouble getting started, Reason has made it somewhat easy for you.

Since the Charlie Hebdo attacks were reportedly motivated by the weekly publication drawing cartoons that depicted the “prophet Muhammad” in a silly and caricatured manner, the idea is to inundate those responsible for the Paris shootings and those who would sympathize with them with protest characterizations.

Commenters on reddit were all for it, and have already gotten busy producing their own creations. Here are two that can be shared. The rest are pretty NSFW.

Many felt organizing an ongoing “Everybody Draw Mohammed Day” and shuffling the date to January 7 each year to commemorate the Charlie Hebdo attacks would be fitting. But some were in disagreement.

“I really don’t like this idea at all… There are a lot of Muslims in the world who are perfectly normal and peaceful people. I don’t personally believe that it is wrong to depict Mohommad, but they do and they find it offensive. [sic]”

“Wouldn’t this be generally offensive to ALL muslims? Like I understand we need to find a way to stop the few bloody jack***es that have to ruin it for all of us, but this is seriously a complete d**k move that targets all Muslims and not just the few extremist f**ks. [sic]”

“I used to be a fan of Everybody Draw Mohammed Day, but then I realized that I wasn’t really standing up to extremists at all. I was just being a d**k to the lovely muslims who are near and dear to me… If I believed that manifestations such as this one would have any real effect, I’d be all for it. Until then, let’s look for ways to decry the terrorists that don’t p**s equally on those who disapprove of these images peacefully. [sic]”

What do you think, readers? Is it time to bring back “Everybody Draw Mohammed Day,” or is it too offensive to peace-loving Muslims?