In response to the Charlie Hebdo cartoon drawings of the Prophet, Tehran’s House of Cartoons and the Sarcheshmeh Cultural Complex have decided to sponsor a cartoon contest on denying the Holocaust. The contest sets out a series of questions the cartoons should address, such as, “If the West says freedom of speech has no borders, then why don’t they let historians and experts research the Holocaust?” and “Why should the Palestinian people pay for the Holocaust?” The deadline is April 1 because April Fools’ Day “is a day of big lies and the Holocaust is a big lie.” The same groups held a similar contest in 2006 after a Danish daily ran a number of cartoons insulting the Prophet. First prize in this year’s cartoon contest is $12,000.
