The city-state is majority ethnic Chinese but has a sizeable Muslim minority, and has strict laws to curb hate speech and actions promoting ill-will between religious or racial groups.<\/p>\n
The book, Red Lines: Political Cartoons and the Struggle Against Censorship is banned from distribution in Singapore, the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) said on Monday.<\/p>\n
It has been deemed objectionable because it contains reproductions of cartoons published by French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo, which led to violence and protests overseas, the regulator added.<\/p>\n
The offensive Charlie Hebdo cartoons first appeared in 2006 and have been widely labelled as irresponsible, reckless and racist, it said in a statement.<\/p>\n
Red Lines is by Cherian George, a Singaporean media professor now based in Hong Kong, and Sonny Liew, an award-winning Singaporean cartoonist.<\/p>\n
Published in August, it features interviews with censored cartoonists around the world and explores censorship in graphic form.<\/p>\n
In response to the ban, George said the authors did not agree with how Charlie Hebdo used cartoons that promoted anti-Muslim attitudes in Europe.<\/p>\n
We showed a small number of them as examples of hate speech, he said in a statement to AFP. The intention was to educate readers about how some cartoons can harm vulnerable minorities in the West.<\/p>\n
He said they knew some countries, like Singapore, would not accept the images and were prepared to edit the book for these markets, but the city-state choseto ban the book instead of letting them make the changes.<\/p>\n
According to the IMDA, the book also contained denigratory references to Hinduism and Christianity.<\/p>\n
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Anyone convicted of importing, selling, distributing, making or reproducing an objectionable publication faces a fine of up to 5,000 Singaporean dollars (US$3,700), imprisonment of up to a year, or both.<\/p>\n
The French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo first joined some other European titles in publishing cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed in 2006.<\/p>\n
In 2015 a massacre at its office killed 12 people, after it reprinted some of the controversial images.<\/p>\n
A French teacher was beheaded by an extremist last year after showing his class Charlie Hebdos cartoons of the Prophet.<\/p>\n
After French President Emmanuel Macron defended the right to publish cartoons, angry protests erupted in Asia and the Middle East. \/ AFP<\/p>\n
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\nBook on censorship banned in Singapore - The Independent<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"