(Undisclosed location, USA. Feb 7, 06) -- In support of the 12 Danish cartoonists whose families are now living in hiding under the threat of death from Islamic radicals, laughyourheadoff.org is announcing the Asma b'Marwan Poetry Prize as part of its ongoing International Islamic Cartoon Contest.

"We're launching this literary contest to bring attention to the plight of Danish cartoonists who live in hiding for fear for their lives because they exercised their freedom of expression, and we’re calling for poets and artists to speak out for intellectual freedom," said Charles Martel, the contest's organizer.

"Most people don't realize that Mohammed ordered the murder of a poet who poked fun at him and then sanctioned the stabbing of Asma b'Marwan because she dared to criticize such crimes with her own poetry," said Martel.

"Just like Mohammed praised the assassin who butchered Asma one night while her 5 children watched, there are fanatical Muslims who agree with the call for death against the 12 Danish cartoonist because of so-called "blasphemy" against their prophet,” he said.

The contest announcement with entry details can be found at.

The poetry contest follows the declaration last week of the Manifesto Against Terror, which was signed by well-known European artists and intellectuals, some of whom are also in hiding because of Islamic death threats. The Manifesto, which is gaining signers worldwide, declared:

"We reject ‘cultural relativism’, which consists in accepting that men and women of Muslim culture should be deprived of the right to equality, freedom and secular values in the name of respect for cultures and traditions. We refuse to renounce our critical spirit out of fear of being accused of "Islamophobia", an unfortunate concept which confuses criticism of Islam as a religion with stigmatisation of its believers.'

It was Dutch Parliamentarian, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, who gave laughyourheadoff.org the idea of a poetry contest, said Martel, when she applauded the group for the ongoing Islamic Cartoon Contest.

"We are hoping to get some excellent quality poetry, just as we have received some controversial and quality cartoons, but if newspapers keep self-censoring news of this contest we can't get the word out," he said.

There are already nearly 40 entries from Holland and Europe.

"In the current context of self-censorship and of growing Islamic threats around the globe,” points out Martel, “The Islamic traditions about the murder of the poet Asma b' Marwan are very, very troubling.”

It is said that "the day after Bint Marwan was killed the men of B. Khatma became Muslims because they feared for their lives."

"It is very possible that the future of our press and artistic freedoms are at stake in this cultural battle of Tours," said Martel. "Unless we speak freely and fight back against Islamofascist intolerance now we all may wake up some decade to see an Arabic-speaking Europe run by people who think Adolf Hitler was the good guy in World War II."

Newspapers and websites in several European nations and in Russia have actually been shut down and silenced by government authorities recently because they exercised their liberty to print the caricatures of Mohammed, and a half-dozen journalists or editors in the Middle East face prison or worse for daring to show their reading public one or more of the images.

A recent poll in Norway showed that 70% of the journalists would NOT have printed the cartoons because they feared for their lives, and there have been numerous examples of US editors choosing not to run the cartoons because they either feared a violent reaction or the stigma of being "insensitive" to Islamic concerns.

"When the hell is the free press in the West going to start being sensitive to the threats against our liberty that Islamofascist ideology poses?” says Martel. “By the silence of self-censorship the press is cooperating with the placement of its own muzzle.”

“Our own cartoon entrants might be in jail in Europe because they have dared to portray the Koran, or Islam, in a critical light,” he pointed out, referring to the cartoon of Koranic toilet paper that someone submitted to laughyourheadoff.org.

“How many Americans have been told by their local editors that a German man was sentenced to jail because he dared to put some sarcastic images of the Koran on toilet paper?” he asked. “We cannot let free speech be criminalized as “hate speech” by nervous or power-hungry elites."

"Just like in Mohammed’s day, poetry can be a very effective political weapon and it is one we can peacefully weild to defend our liberties.”  said Martel.

 END

Other Related Contests:

http://www.muhammad-cartoon.com/