Story highlights Contest calls for drawings of "crimes committed by the Islamic State"

More than 1,000 cartoons submitted; 270 finalists chosen

Winners to be announced Sunday

(CNN) Political cartoonists from around the world are flying into Iran, not exactly a bastion of free speech, to take part in a competition featuring anti-ISIS cartoons.

Can this be the same country that hosted a competition for cartoons that questioned the Holocaust?

Well, yes, it can.

And believe it or not, it is possible to criticize ISIS -- the barbaric group also known as ISIL and the Islamic State that is aiming to create a caliphate in the Middle East -- without actually making sense. Some of the cartoons submitted as part of the contest, for example, depict ISIS as a puppet whose strings are pulled by none other than the United States and Israel.

The contest called for cartoons showing "crimes committed by the Islamic State." The winners will be selected on Sunday.

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