So Yale University
and Yale University Press consulted two dozen authorities, including
diplomats and experts on Islam and counterterrorism, and the
recommendation was unanimous: The book, “The Cartoons That Shook the
World,” should not include the 12 Danish drawings that originally
appeared in September 2005. What’s more, they suggested that the Yale
press also refrain from publishing any other illustrations of the
prophet that were to be included, specifically, a drawing for a
children’s book; an Ottoman print; and a sketch by the 19th-century
artist Gustave Doré of Muhammad being tormented in Hell, an episode
from Dante’s “Inferno” that has been depicted by Botticelli, Blake,
Rodin...

So Yale University
and Yale University Press consulted two dozen authorities, including
diplomats and experts on Islam and counterterrorism, and the
recommendation was unanimous: The book, “The Cartoons That Shook the
World,” should not include the 12 Danish drawings that originally
appeared in September 2005. What’s more, they suggested that the Yale
press also refrain from publishing any other illustrations of the
prophet that were to be included, specifically, a drawing for a
children’s book; an Ottoman print; and a sketch by the 19th-century
artist Gustave Doré of Muhammad being tormented in Hell, an episode
from Dante’s “Inferno” that has been depicted by Botticelli, Blake,
Rodin and Dalí.

The book’s author, Jytte Klausen, a Danish-born
professor of politics at Brandeis University, in Waltham, Mass.,
reluctantly accepted Yale University Press’s decision not to publish
the cartoons. But she was disturbed by the withdrawal of the other
representations of Muhammad. All of those images are widely available,
Ms. Klausen said by telephone, adding that “Muslim friends, leaders and
activists thought that the incident was misunderstood, so the cartoons
needed to be reprinted so we could have a discussion about it.” The
book is due out in November.