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Welcome

Good day, everyone. As you may know, BostonMA (talk · contribs) filed a request for mediation here regarding a dispute over adding this particular image to the article. I took the case. As DocEss (talk · contribs) pointed out on the case page, I expect that the result of this mediation will logically apply to any depiction of Muhammad considered for inclusion in the article.

What you should know about me
  • I'm unbiased - I don't edit Islam-related articles or have a vested interest in the outcome of this mediation.
  • I am an administrator, which doesn't mean anything about my mediation style except that I can easily protect the article if edit warring occurs.
My ground rules
Agreed?

Let's start by having every involved party sign below that they are on board this train. Then we'll get started!

New List of Participants

I changed this question to a list because of BostonMA's comment below. Please sign below if you plan to participate in this mediation.

* Liberal Classic 05:14, 16 February 2007 (UTC)

Comment

  • Comment. I strongly object to this question. I think a fruitful discussion need to focus on content, not on editors. All editors have personal opinions. Asking editors to identify themselves regarding their personal opinions regarding how Wikipedia ought to function will help to focus attention on editors and what they believe rather than on the substance of arguments regarding particular content. I request that the question be withdrawn. I would suggest that the proper way to begin is for editors to list those images of Muhammad that they wish to include in the article, if any. Alternatively, a way to begin might be to ask editors to identify what they hope to get from the mediation. Sincerely --BostonMA talk 13:51, 19 January 2007 (UTC)
    • I would like to wait for others users reply in any of the above (Yes,No ..) and will give my reply after sometime. --- ALM 14:33, 19 January 2007 (UTC)
    • My answer to the question that was removed is no I don't think images of the subject of the article should be excluded, I don't see why the question needed to be removed because that is what we are trying to decide. Regardless of the fact that we are trying to come to agreement of policy interpretation, consensus is still important, so knowing where people stand is also important. You suggest making a list of images for potential inclusion, well shouldn't we check first if the consensus finds the idea of any image acceptable? I believe that was the purpose of the question. HighInBC (Need help? Ask me) 15:09, 19 January 2007 (UTC)
Hi HighInBC. I would like to respond to your question regarding the deleted question in mediation. You may have different expectations of mediation than myself. One of my expectations is that it will help to resolve the conflict. In my opinion, if an editor edits according to the policies and guidelines of Wikipedia, then it is irrelevant whether that individual has the personal opinion Wikipedia ought to be censored. I don't believe Wikipedia ought to be censored, but there is nothing in Wikipedia policy or guidelines that forbids an editor from holding that as a point of view as long as they edit and behave in accordance with Wikipedia policies and guidelines. In my opinion, this issue will never be resolved if we continue to allow the personal opinions of editors, which they are entitled to hold, to be brought into discussions. In other circumstances, making comments such as "you wish to censor Wikipedia" might be considered a personal attack. I don't think mediation should facilitate the practice of "looking at the editor" which we work to oppose in other circumstances by asking individuals to identify themselves as holding unpopular points of view. Sincerely, --BostonMA talk 15:53, 19 January 2007 (UTC)
See my response to Boston here[2]. It is important for everyone to show where they stand. HighInBC (Need help? Ask me) 16:01, 19 January 2007 (UTC)
Now they are adding picture of Muhammad in Kaaba and many other articles[3]. This mediation should address a bigger issue. --- ALM 15:01, 20 January 2007 (UTC)
And as explained on the articles talk page, it has been added because it is relevant to the article, and provides the reader with additional informations. Wikipedia is not censored (see WP:NOT), and images of Muhammad can be used where ever it is appropriate, and add something to the readers understanding of the subject, that the article discuss. -- Karl Meier 18:54, 20 January 2007 (UTC)
From a practical standpoint, I think it's appropriate to at least not insert the images in additional articles until we see where the mediation evolves. - Merzbow 02:51, 21 January 2007 (UTC)
I would presume that the status quo would remain in effect until the mediation is complete. HighInBC (Need help? Ask me) 15:07, 21 January 2007 (UTC)
Did we lost another mediator? Why this mediation is not moving forwards? --- ALM 11:00, 25 January 2007 (UTC)
I don't know. Whoever is generous enough to mediate this for us should first read what has already transpired.Proabivouac 11:04, 25 January 2007 (UTC)
I read the part that was unarchived (archive 5 now). | AndonicO Talk · Sign Here 12:21, 25 January 2007 (UTC)
I think that is good enough. Now what we should do next. Should we start ourselves or should wait for you to give us direction? --- ALM 13:20, 25 January 2007 (UTC)
Hi ALM; From our discussion on my talk page, I visited the library. Of eight biographies of Muhammad, three included pictures: Mohammad, by Tor Andre; Mohammad, by Maxime Rodinson; and Muhammad, by John Glubb. Tom Harrison Talk 13:50, 25 January 2007 (UTC)
Oh really!. Were that historical pictures? Furthermore, if that picture mention that it is Muhammad because it could be an old traditional Arab. Are the picture on the cover. I have now list of 10 books non-with pictures. --- ALM 16:27, 25 January 2007 (UTC)
As I remember, two were somewhat stylized, and one was the picture by Alexander Ross. All were on the front cover. None were labeled "This is the Prophet Muhammad." I'm not sure what you mean by historical pictures. Tom Harrison Talk 21:31, 25 January 2007 (UTC)
I search these books on Amazon but there cover did not had pictures. Can you please provide me online links because if I have to quit mediation on this point (for good) then I want to be really sure? If someone made a person looks like Arab on Muhammad book then its probably be Muhammad but also it could be an Arab from that era. That era means the period the book is about. Alexander Ross picture might be this one because this is the only picture people here are able to find specifying depiction of Muhammad published in a book so far. I will visit University library on Tuesday (I hope), I already had list of 10 books (non with picture so far) but will find all the book in University library and report fact without hiding any thing. By historical I mean something not cartoonist (to make fun), something made with some authenticity, in order to represent him correctly historically... (I hope you can understand the point?) --- ALM 21:45, 25 January 2007 (UTC)
Once again being a Muslim I have to be man of my words hence if we had enough proof then I will stand my words to quit it. --- ALM 21:45, 25 January 2007 (UTC)
I don't think I could easily provide online links. I might be able to scan the cover images, but that would have to wait and might be a copyright problem. Since I just told you the pictures are there, I don't see how much more certain you could be that the pictures are there.
The Ross picture is the same one you mention. The other pictures are somewhat abstract (one more than another) in a style I associate with the sixties. They are not intended to make fun. They are not pictures of people in modern-day dress. I can't say if the dress, or beard style, is accurate for Muhammad's time and place. Their presence tells me the publishers found them suitable for publication on the front cover of a biography of Muhammad.
Tom Harrison Talk 14:21, 26 January 2007 (UTC)
Well I am going to quitting mediation based on Tom reply. I have said that few times that if someone can show 5 books with Muhammad picture than I will quit mediation. That might be a wrong decision but I should stand by my words. Tom provided 3 books with picture and I guess 5 could be provided with search too. Having said that, I still deeply wish that you people do not add picture of Muhammad in that article. I have learned that secularism is a horrible system. Islamic state would be much better than that because it will be based on respecting all religions (unlike secularism which is now against religions). --- ALM 22:09, 27 January 2007 (UTC)
Where secularism doesn't kill people based on religion, islamic states do, and there are numerous terrorist attacks, death penalties for minor things like Apostasy, homosexuality, adultry, theft, criticism of islam, etc. and numerous other things throughout history to prove of that. I don't know how anyone can claim an islamic state is better, unless they are OK with the killing of people for minor issues.--Sefringle 02:29, 28 January 2007 (UTC)
Just to clarify that that view is largly brough on by the press, and, although most middle eastern countries are dangerous, its an exageration. | AndonicO Talk · Sign Here 10:06, 28 January 2007 (UTC)

Explained opinions

Please add your opinion on the matter below, explaining why you take that position. If possible, name a policy or guideline that you believe supports your opinion. | AndonicO Talk · Sign Here 14:59, 25 January 2007 (UTC)

  • I think we shouldn't include a repesentation of Muhammad here or in other articles pertaining to Islam. If it is for purely informative reasons that we include it, has anybody ever depicted Muhammad (or even Jesus for that matter) in a way that conveys their actual historical appearance, or is it some artist's imaginative point of view? It may be that policy and guidelines do permit its inclusion, but I am affraid that doing so would be like criticizing or opposing Islamic values as such. I really wish this wouldn't be a problem to anyone, but in this case I think we would be fueling an already aggravated situation and will endanger alining Wikipedia with one side of the (cultural?) conflict. If this is indeed our purpose, I too will be involuntarily taking part as a contributor to this encyclopedia. Thank you for your attention. Hoverfish Talk 21:38, 27 January 2007 (UTC)


What I see above, is that you have two main concerns. However, keep in mind that any concerns you have, must be looked at from the perspective of *every single article* on the Wikipedia. Therefore:

1) whether or not the pictures of Muhammad are accurate or not

Accuracy has never been possible for articles referencing pre-photographic eras. Artists of varying calibres have painted historical figures since humans could draw or sculpt. None the less, the Wikipeida (and other encyclopedia reference material) do continue to provide images of "best guesses". If you want to keep pictures from this article on the basis above, then the Wikipedia should immediately remove any images that are as uncertain. Likely, we are referring to thousands upon thousands of articles. Since this is not Wikipedia policy, and I sincerely doubt that such a policy would be valid, this tact should be dropped now.

2) concern over offending a specific faith.

It is unfortunate that a specific faith takes objection to a picture of a certain person. However, this is utterly meaningless in this discussion. One could literally find equal objection by differening groups to thousands of Wikipedia articles. None the less, accuracy and robust knowledge in an article, is not something that should be dictated to the whole, by the few. I reference the Scientologists as one, and even articles on political figures. I am sure the GWB would like to have an article free of anything that displeases him, but none the less the Wikipedia strives for NPOV. Also note that pictures of Muhammad are available all over the internet, in libraries, in articles, and will not cease to be dependant upon the stance that Wikipedia takes.

I also include here, my original response to this, from the main Muhammad article:

There is no valid reason for not having a picture in this article. It does not matter what those that practice this religion believe, as this is not an article written solely by such individuals, for such individuals. Further, every article I've ever seen on Wikipedia has an image depicting the person in the article. The only _real_ reason people keep removing this picture, is because of a religious belief... which while fine while practicing their own religion, is not suitable to enforce others to follow.

This is a very slippery slope. If this article must be written to specifically not offend people, or to not present views and images for that same tact, then every other article will be in danger of NPOV. One might consider how badly scientolgists want to change their article, removing valuable information solely because it disagrees with their worldview.

In short, Wikipedia standards and NPOV require an image. I simply don't even see what the discussion is about. I will wait a few hours, and then restore the image. At that point in time, I would assume that no one would revert it, without first discussing the matter here...

Brad Barnett 00:04, 28 January 2007 (UTC)

I think it best to wait for the opinions of others before readding the picture. You can participate in the discussion if you like. | AndonicO Talk · Sign Here 00:22, 28 January 2007 (UTC)
This mediation has been going on for over three months now, since November or earlier. There has been no consensus in that time. This mediation is at a standstill, with no decision rendered either way. I would be happy to wait, if there was some sign of closure, but that won't be happening it seems. So, I will do my best to continually re-add the picture a couple of times per day, until such time as a consensus on way or the other is reached. Brad Barnett 00:57, 28 January 2007 (UTC)
"Words and images that might be considered offensive, profane, or obscene by other Wikipedia readers should be used if and only if their omission would cause the article to be less informative, relevant, or accurate, and no equally suitable alternatives are available. Including information about offensive material is part of Wikipedia's encyclopedic mission; being offensive is not."
The Maome.jpg image is informative about Persian art, and about a certain branch of Muslim art. The image thus belongs in the encyclopedia under those topics. The article in question, however is about Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, and not about Persian art. The images adds no relevant informative content to the Muhammad article. --BostonMA talk 02:01, 28 January 2007 (UTC)
I believe we should include an image of Muhammad. Per Wikipedia:Neutral point of view/FAQ#Religion, opposing islamic values is not a reason to not include something. This image is informative about Muhammad, because it is a picture of Muhammad. This image serves the same purpose here as an image of any other person, past or present, would. It gives people a face or an idea of what somebody had looked like. It need not be completely accurate, because no painting is. An image here is just as valid as an image on the Jesus article would be.--Sefringle 02:19, 28 January 2007 (UTC)

One thing of note. BostonMA has already indicated that his primary motivation is that this image offends Muslims. He has continuously offered other reasons and arguments against this image, when that primary reason failed. His statements above return again to how it might be offensive. Put another way, this image is relevant, it does add content to the article, and whether or not it offends particular faiths has already been deemed an unworthy argumentive tact. Brad Barnett 02:25, 28 January 2007 (UTC)

  • Some remarks in response to Brad Barnett. NPOV requires that all points of view be fairly represented according to the weight that they carry with experts in the field. I fail to see how NPOV would require an image which is basically a work of the imagination of the artist. It is incorrect to state that "Accuracy has never been possible for articles referencing pre-photographic eras." There are many pre-photographic era paintings of individuals which are, if not photographically accurate, at least "more or less accurate". Photographs do not exist of either George Washington or William Shakespeare. Nevertheless, we know that this image is a better representatation of Washington than it is a representation of Shakespeare. Conversely, we also know that between this image and this image, the one that looks most like George Washington is the first. The situation with the Maome.jpg image is quite different. We do not know which of the individuals in the painting looks most like Muhammad, nor do we know whether any of the individuals in the painting is a more reasonable likeness of Muhammad than of Abraham.
The slippery slope argument would make sense if the image in question had some informative content appropriate for the article. If we begin removing information from Wikipedia to avoid offending people, then we truly would be censoring. But we are not removing information from the encyclopedia (the image exists elsewhere in the encyclopedia) and we are not removing content that makes the Muhammad article more informative.
Wikipedia policy does not discriminate on the basis of faith. We aren't trying to avoid offending any one specific faith, or any particular faiths. Wikipedia's mission is to be informative, even if the information is offensive. However, it is not Wikipedia's mission to be offensive unnecessarily. --BostonMA talk 02:31, 28 January 2007 (UTC)

--- You have already stated above that your primary motivation is that this image may offend Muslims. All of your other arguments are tacts taken to find a method around the assertion that offence is not a condition for removal. You are, literally, grasping at straws. You are engaging in cyclictic tactics. One point is argued against, you return to another. That is argued against, you return to the original.

The images we plan to include are images that are known depictions of Muhammad. They are quite literally, as accurate as any other images we have of historical figures. After all, painters and other artists are well known for presenting their works in the "style of the time", as even photographs of celebrities and political figures today are sometimes significantly touched up. Images of Muhammad are based upon legend, older images, and written descriptions.. whatever influenced the artist. SINCE THIS HAS NOT STOPPED SUCH IMAGES FROM APPEARING IN OTHER WIKIPEDIA ARTICLES, THIS TACT OF YOURS IS VOID AND NOT LOGICAL. Again, if you are going to argue a point, MAKE SURE IT WILL APPLY TO ALL WIKIPEDIA ARTICLES!! If your statement above (that only images known to be very accurate) be initiated, there are thousands of articles on thousands of Wikipedia articles that would have to be removed.. including depicitions of villages, scenery, and even renditions of things such as hypothetical dinosaur drawings.

As for point number two of yours, again.. this has been discussed. Other articles about individuals have images, therefore this article should have images. It adds to the article, otherwise you would not see the same on virtually every other well rounded article about individuals in the Wikipedia. If you do not think that images about a person adds to the article, then there are again perhaps millions of images that should be removed from Wikipedia articles... Brad Barnett 02:49, 28 January 2007 (UTC)

I couldn't agree more.--Sefringle 03:14, 28 January 2007 (UTC)

Ok, I drop my tactfulness, or diplomacy, or whatever it is, on the issue. I agree with both the critique on the executions in islamic states given by Sefringle and with the NPOV argument. I know this will create edits wars, frustration, anger, complaints, but so long as someone wants to keep this polemic going on, he is entitled to do so. I will not repeat myself or interfere any further. Hoverfish Talk 09:03, 28 January 2007 (UTC)

Brad Barnett argues that I (BostonMA) am:
"engaging in cyclictic tactics. One point is argued against, you return to another. That is argued against, you return to the original."
The reality is that the WP:Profanity guideline has two criteria that must both apply for an image to be considered inapprorpriate for an article.
  • First, the image must be offensive
  • Second, the image must not be informative with respect to the article.
I have argued both points because it is necessary to consider both points when applying the guideline.
Along the same vein, Brad Barnett has claimed that I:
"have already stated above that your primary motivation is that this image may offend Muslims."
Since there are two standards that must be considered in the WP:Profanity guideline, I have considered both. Neither one is Primary and I have never stated that one was primary, nor do I believe that I have stated any motivations, let alone stated an [alleged] primary motivation.
Brad Barnett further argues that:
"if you are going to argue a point, MAKE SURE IT WILL APPLY TO ALL WIKIPEDIA ARTICLES!! If your statement above (that only images known to be very accurate) be initiated, there are thousands of articles on thousands of Wikipedia articles that would have to be removed.. including depicitions of villages, scenery, and even renditions of things such as hypothetical dinosaur drawings."
Applying the WP:Profanity guideline, in my opinion, results in some images of Muhammad being inappropriate for a Wikipedia article on Muhammad. Brad Barnett expresses the concern that applying this guideline would result in other inaccurate images, of villages, scenery and dinosaurs being removed from Wikipedia article. That truly would be a terrible thing. However, the WP:Profanity guideline would not apply in any of these cases. Again, there are two standards in the WP:Profanity guideline that must be met in order for an image to be deemed inappropriate per that guideline. One standard is that the image must be offensive. That would pretty much exclude images of villages, scenery etc. If an image of a village or of scenery was offensive, say for example by overemphasizing negative aspects of a village, then that image should be replace by a better image. Images of dinosaurs might be offensive to some of those who disbelieve in dinosaurs (or not, I don't know). However, images of dinosaurs are very informative in articles about dinosaurs. So the second standard of WP:Profanity would not be met in this case.
Additionally Brad Barnett alleges that images of Muhammad are accurate. He argues that although the images were not created in the era of Muhammad, they are drawn from previous depictions of Muhammad, either pictoral or oral. Such a claim would require evidence, otherwise it is mere speculation. However, there is a problem for this claim. The various images of Muhammad that have been proposed do not look like one another.
--BostonMA talk 15:07, 28 January 2007 (UTC)

I agree with BostonMA above. All available depictions have no basis and do not resemble each other. They are just artistic imagination of one person or another that would perhaps have a place on a page about that artist, but not on a page about the person depicted. Pictures of dinosaurs have been constructed carefully from evidence provided by fossils and such. I really don't see what evidence there is behind these depiction of Prophet Muhammad. Far from adding any information to the article, they bias the article toward what a particular artist imagined him to be. That coupled with the fact that they are offensive in and of themselves to a lot of people should be enough to exclude them. --Aslamt 18:19, 28 January 2007 (UTC)

But then again, pictures of Jesus don't always resembe one another. See Depictions of Jesus. | AndonicO Talk · Sign Here 22:22, 28 January 2007 (UTC)
And...? --BostonMA talk 22:30, 28 January 2007 (UTC)
I think the point has been made quite clear: an image has to be both uninformative and offensive to be excluded from an article. If there is a depiction of Jesus that is both unauthentic and offensive, by all means it should be removed. The fact of the matter is, these so called depictions of Muhammad do not contain any information about him, because no one knows what he looked like apart from some verbal descriptions. And no offense to any artist, but I don't care what a Persian artist thought he looked like. So it should be quite clear that an image based on nothing does not add to the richness of the article, it only adds someone's POV to it that we don't care about here at wikipedia. The second point about it being offensive, I believe, has already been explained many times. It doesn't matter whether someone finds the fact that Muslims find it offensive to have a picture agreeable or not. I am sure there are people who don't find nude pictures the least bit offensive, but we still don't have them posted all over Jenna Jameson's page. In fact, one could argue that hers is a case where they should be, because that would add useful information to an article about a person who does that for a living (not that I am supporting that argument, but it could be made). --Aslamt 22:58, 28 January 2007 (UTC)
I have already contributed my point of view: that there is no encyclopedic purpose in including purported depictions of Muhammad, simply because there are not any depictions of him. It's been said that no picture is 100% accurate but we have none that are 80% accurate or 50% accurate or even 10% accurate. BostonMA has given good examples of pictures of historical figures, not photos but posed portaits, which can be supposed to look something like their subjects. Another very well known example is the paintings of Henry VIII of England, by which we can see his degeneration from an active young man to a bloated monster. If you think a picture would add information to this article ask yourself what effect it would have if we took a picture intended to be Jesus, labelled it Muhammad, and stuck it in the article? If you think that would be unacceptable, then why exactly? A youngish man of Middle Eastern appearance... (Sorry if this sounds offensive but I'm trying to get a serious across.)Itsmejudith 23:31, 28 January 2007 (UTC)
Actually, this brief description displays many points of consistency with the individual depicted in Image:Maome.jpg (noting that all the heads are depicted out-of-scale,) beyond just being a "man of Middle Eastern appearance." It's unlikely that these are coincidence; instead the artist must have been familiar with the traditional descriptions and depicted him accordingly, and reverently. (Re the robe, intercalation was prohibited in Mecca, 631CE.)
For several reasons, this image cannot be Jesus: he is too old, and is wearing the wrong clothes. The age problem will pop up in every instance, will it not? On top of all this is the fact is that it depicts an event in Muhammad's life, just as most images of Jesus depict events (real or mythical, in both cases) of his life.Proabivouac 00:05, 29 January 2007 (UTC)

Jesus

People are bringing up the Jesus argument. IMHO, the comparing Jesus and Muhammad are a little silly. There is a big difference. Most Christians, indeed most people living in the Western world have probably seen many depictions of Jesus throughout their lives. Many of these are almost definitely extremely inaccurate but that is kind of irrelevant. What is relevant is that the depiction of Jesus is a very significant part of him because many people, especially those who are highly interested in him (i.e. Christians) have seen and can probably imagine him. However the situation is Muhammad is that most Muslims, and indeed most people have never seen a depiction of Muhammad. Most Muslims I presume have no desire to ever see one either or imagine one. An actual depiction of Muhammad is therefore a far less significant part of who Muhammad is. The fact that depictions are rare and frowned upon by most Muslims is perhaps an important issue for the article to cover but IMHO an actual depiction is far less significant to who he is. I'm not going to argue against including a depiction per se since I've never bothered to consider the matter in depth but I do think we need to consider the matter properly and not use analogies and considerations which are IMHO inaccurate. N.B. It's important to remember here that AFAIK what we're here isn't whether to include depictions in wikipedia, I don't think many people are still trying to remove all depictions; rather we're considering whether we should include one in this article Nil Einne 14:45, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

Response

Again, back to the same arguments.

Primarily this time, it is WP:Profanity. The claim is that images of Muhammad will violate this rule, because it triggers BOTH of these conditions:

1) it offends 2) the pictures do not add to the article

At least, this is the argument provided above. However, the true case is that WP:Profanity does _not_ state this. It does state:

"Words and images that would be considered offensive, profane, or obscene by typical Wikipedia readers should be used if and only if their omission would cause the article to be less informative, relevant, or accurate, and no equally suitable alternatives are available."

Let's examine this above, a bit. First, and most important, we hgave "typical Wikipedia readers" above. _TYPICAL_. Whatever you might try to talk this word's meaning into, typical certainly does not indicate a minority of users. Typical would, by its definition in fact, have to indicate a _majority_ of users. So, on that premise alone, the entire WP:Profanity argument is absolutely null and void. It is a non-starter, so if you want to argue that point, you'd best start with explaining how a minority of users equate to the typical user. Naturally the word "typical" is exceptionally important, because for virtually everything you see posted to the Wikipedia, there are going to be words or images that are offensive to someone. So again, you must explain how the WP:Profanity argument equates, in this case, to the TYPICAL Wikipedia user.

You can't, and so again, your entire line of reasoning is null and void. Since I and other have already described why the images also add to the article, there is no other reason to prevent its inclusion... Brad Barnett 16:14, 29 January 2007 (UTC)

The "typical reader" in the WP:Profanity guideline was recently added. I have reverted to the long-standing version. --BostonMA talk 20:14, 29 January 2007 (UTC)

--- Of course. If the rules don't fit, let's make new ones! Yes, I'm half serious here.

BostonMA, the word "typical" has been in the Profanity guideline page for years.. almost since the earliest revision of the page. It was removed in 2006, at which point several people got together, noticed it, discussed it, and decided it was wrong to leave "typical" out.

My comments on the Profanity discussion page:

"Typical" has been in Profanity since 2003/2004. It was a recent edit that greatly changed the spirit of this section, removing "typical".. and making this ruleset entirely too broad. This guideline can not be applied because one person out of millions is offended, or even if a minority out of the majority of users are offended. If so, then this Profanity ruleset will (and is) being used by special interest groups to dictate to the whole, what article content should be. This is unacceptable, reverting to pre BostonMA's change."

With the removal of "typical", effectively the entire Profanity ruleset is a joke. It is too arbitrary, and can be applied literally to every single article. Put another way, without "typical", millions of Wikipedia articles could literally be reduced to skeletons. Certainly, articles about people (again, let's take politicians or celebreties) have many things in them, that are offensive specifically to the individuals discussed, and their friends and families. If we go down this path, everything must be weighed against every single person that an article could possibly offend. Then, those articles would need to be utterly and completely stripped to the complete bare-bones. Brad Barnett 22:25, 29 January 2007 (UTC)

Muhammad naked?

As a thought experiment, let's assume a previously unknown naked painting of Muhammad by a well-known artist is discovered and scanned into Wikipedia. Would you support its inclusion in the Muhammad article, and why (not)? - Merzbow 05:34, 29 January 2007 (UTC)

This image, currently found on God, violates Islamic doctrine far more unambiguously and universally than do depictions of Muhammad, as we have not only a naked prophet (Adam is equally a prophet, the depiction of whom, to the best of my knowledge, is equally prohibited by aniconistic interpretations) but also a depiction of God himself, which would be prohibited under any interpretation at any time. The notability of the artist is, as your comment suggests, a compelling reason for its inclusion; had Michelangelo painted a similar depiction of Muhammad, it would be a crime not to include it.
We might then ask if the image on God (as well as those on Jesus and others whom Muslims consider prophets) is a problem? If so, then this mediation is but the beginning of a very significant change across a great number of religiously-themed articles, obliging us to consider the precedent we set here in light of these. If not, the question poses itself: why should different standards be applied to Muhammad than to these other articles? The answer, I believe, is an ongoing and unadressed collective violation of WP:OWN: to wit that Muhammad belongs to Muslims in some way that God (or Pokemon for that matter) does not.Proabivouac 07:15, 29 January 2007 (UTC)
I've never heard of prophets like Adam falling under the same pictorial taboo in Islam; even if they do, the level of offense is far less, since Muhammad is a far more important figure in Islamic culture. But anyway, the point I'm trying to get you to concede is that there is a line into perceived offensiveness that should not be crossed, and that line is the point where offense trumps relevance. I'm sure that even you wouldn't advocate including the infamous Muhammad cartoons prominently in Muhammad, even though they are arguably far more relevant today to the subject than are some absurd European depictions of Muhammad in Renaissance clothing? So therefore our disagreement is not a disagreement of type, but of degree. My position is just that the line should be moved a bit farther back, which will give up only a small bit of relevance for the much larger benefit of not offending Muslim readers. - Merzbow 19:02, 29 January 2007 (UTC)


Sorry to insert a response here, but I felt it was needed. Please note that not all Muslim readers believe that images of Muhammad are profane. Only certain sects do. Further, it's delusional to think that of those sects that "officially" find it profane, that every Muslim of that sect thinks or finds it to be so. Brad Barnett 23:03, 29 January 2007 (UTC)
Those cartoons are more relevant for an article on criticism of Islam and Muhammad, therefore they wouldn't be included here. Do you have a more historically accurate portrait of Muhammad? Frotz661 20:12, 29 January 2007 (UTC)

--- It is indeed a slippery slope, and a picture should definitely be incuded for these reasons... as well as dozens of others. What I'm wondering is, WHERE ARE THE MEDIATORS, and HOW CAN WE GET THEM HERE FOR A VOTE? Brad Barnett 16:14, 29 January 2007 (UTC)

I understand the reasoning behind "it would be a crime not to include" the picture of God by Michaelangelo. This encyclopedia is, at times, a thing of beauty and we should all drop our natural feelings of ownership towards articles and immerse ourselves in a wider appreciation of creation. Similar feelings of wonderment can be engendered by looking at Islamic calligraphy or at Western art.Itsmejudith 21:15, 29 January 2007 (UTC)
If you seek to please everyone, you end up pleasing no one. Encyclopædias are about explaining what is currently best known as fact or closest to it. They are not meant to be popularity contests or pleasing to all. Shame some discussion here misses this key point. Nonprof. Frinkus 21:06, 5 February 2007 (UTC)
Well, it's more about notability and being representative. Even paperless encyclopedias have limited spaces (in our main articles) and there are far too many 'facts' to include. It's easy to find 'facts' but its' hard to be judicious in which ones to portray. We have thousands of 'fact' images respresenting Muhammad in many forms of calligraphy, miniatures, etc. and we must not include a thousand of such facts but be judicious in choosing the most notable among the bunch. Be it pictures or calligraphy or a combination of the both--it is for you to decide. But, just because pictures add something does not mean that they belong. They must add relatively the most that an addition can add in regards to accurately representing the subject matter. gren グレン 21:28, 5 February 2007 (UTC)
I agree, the image should be relevant, not just adds a tiny bit to an article. Nonprof. Frinkus 06:04, 7 February 2007 (UTC)
The difference is that these depiction of God and Jesus of of strong interest & relevance to a large number of people who are interested in God and Jesus. They are a big part of who Jesus and God is for certain people. There is no similiarity when it comes to Muhammad IMHO as I've explained elsewhere in the mediation. The depictions are not a big part of who Muhammad is. Therefore these are not comparable and bringing up slippery slope arguments is IMHO a little silly. Note that the depiction of other prophets is also frowned upon, one of the reasons shows like Passion of the Christ and that Moses cartoon was banned in some Muslim countries. However given the differences, I think you'd find people who are oppose to including a picture, and people like me who are somewhat leaning against including a picture would strongly oppose any attempts to remove relevant pictures from God and Jesus. Indeed IMHO this whole thing is a bit of a strawman situation Nil Einne 15:00, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

Discussion at Wikipedia Talk:Profanity

A discussion is beginning at Wikipedia Talk:Profanity which may directly impinge upon this mediation. Participants in this mediation may wish to take a look. --BostonMA talk 00:42, 30 January 2007 (UTC)

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