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"In (the West) it is considered freedom of speech if they insult Islam and Muslims," Mohammed al-Shaibani, a columnist, wrote in Kuwait's Al-Qabas daily Monday. "But such freedom becomes racism and a breach of human rights and anti-Semitism if Arabs and Muslims criticize their religion and religious laws."

Outrage Builds in Mideast Over Cartoons

By DONNA ABU-NASR, Associated Press Writer Mon Jan 30, 4:39 PM ET

BEIRUT, Lebanon - From the burning of its flag to a boycott of its brands of butter and cookies, Denmark is feeling Islamic outrage over newspaper cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.
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Angered by the drawings, masked Palestinian gunmen briefly took over a
European Union office in Gaza on Monday. Islamists in Bahrain urged street demonstrations, while
Syria called for the offenders to be punished. A Saudi company paid thousands of dollars for an ad thanking a business that snubbed Danish products.

The anger is reminiscent of the 1989 wrath that followed publication of "The Satanic Verses," the Salman Rushdie novel that radicals said insulted Islam.
Iran's Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a death sentence against the British writer.

The cartoons originally were published nearly four months ago in Denmark and reprinted Jan. 10 by the Norwegian evangelical newspaper Magazinet in the name of defending free expression.

The spasm of vilification in newspapers and mosque sermons, by governments, citizens and radicals appears to have spoken to pent up Muslim anger typically reserved for former colonial powers Britain and France, as well as the United States.

"This will be used by regimes who resent Western pressures to reform to say that the West is waging a war against Muslims and doesn't have their best interests at heart," Sulaiman al-Hattlan, a Dubai-based Saudi writer, told The Associated Press.

The Danish paper Jyllands-Posten first published the 12 cartoons Sept. 30. The drawings included one showing Muhammad wearing a turban shaped as a bomb with a lit fuse. Another portrayed him with a bushy gray beard and holding a sword, his eyes covered by a black rectangle. A third pictured a middle-aged prophet standing in the desert with a walking stick, in front of a donkey and a sunset.

Islamic tradition bars any depiction of the prophet, favorable or otherwise.

Saudi Arabia recalled its ambassador to Denmark and initiated a boycott of Danish goods. It was warned Monday by Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson that the European Union would take WTO action if the boycott persisted.

The newspaper issued an apology Monday to the world's Muslims.

The cartoons "were not in violation of Danish law but have undoubtedly offended many Muslims, which we would like to apologize for," the Jyllands-Posten's editor-in-chief Carsten Juste said in a statement posted on the newspaper's Web site.

On Sunday, the newspaper printed a statement in Arabic addressed to Saudis, who had initiated the boycott. It said the drawings were published as part of a Danish dialogue about freedom of expression but were misinterpreted "as if it were a campaign against Muslims in Denmark and in the Islamic world."

Few were swayed by the explanation.

"In (the West) it is considered freedom of speech if they insult Islam and Muslims," Mohammed al-Shaibani, a columnist, wrote in Kuwait's Al-Qabas daily Monday. "But such freedom becomes racism and a breach of human rights and anti-Semitism if Arabs and Muslims criticize their religion and religious laws."

Emirates Justice and Islamic Affairs Minister Mohammed Al Dhaheri called it "cultural terrorism, not freedom of expression," according to the official WAM news agency. "The repercussions of such irresponsible acts will have adverse impact on international relations."

In Tunisia, the head of the Islamic world's counterpart to
UNESCO called the drawings "a form of racism and discrimination that one must counter by all available means."

"It's regrettable to state today, as we are calling for dialogue, that other parties feed animosity and hate and attack sacred symbols of Muslims and of their prophet," said Abdulaziz Othman Altwaijri, president of the Islamic Organization for Education, Science and Culture,

Jordan's largest circulation daily, government-run Al-Rai, said the Danish government must apologize.

In two
West Bank towns Sunday, Palestinians burned Danish flags and demanded an apology. Several Islamist groups, including the Palestinian militant Hamas party and Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, called for a worldwide boycott of Danish products.

The same call in several Persian Gulf countries has resulted in supermarkets clearing shelves of Danish cream cheese, butter and cookies. Kuwait's Al-Jahra Cooperative Society said in an ad in the Al-Rai Al-Aam daily that all Danish products have been removed from its shelves.

In Saudi Arabia, the daily Al-Watan refused to publish an ad from Denmark-based dairy group Arla Foods, which has said the boycott of its products was almost total.

Luai Mutabakani, senior editor at the paper, told the AP the full-page ad, titled "The Danish government respects Islam," did not carry any apology or reprimand the paper.

In
Iraq, thousands denounced the caricatures during Friday prayers.

The Egyptian parliament's Economic Committee refused to discuss a $72.49 million loan from Denmark to Egypt.

President Emile Lahoud of Lebanon condemned the cartoon, saying his country "cannot accept any insult to any religion."

Danish government officials expressed regret for the furor caused by the drawings but refused to become involved, citing freedom of expression. Mindful of the outrage, the government advised its citizens to "show extra vigilance" in the region.

Swedish Foreign Ministry spokesman Claes Jernaeus warned against travel to Gaza and the West Bank.

Martyred wrote:Denmark. The world's kiddie-porn capital.

Martyred wrote:Denmark. The world's kiddie-porn capital.

Nice work, Bushice.

RadioFan wrote:...as if you too, wouldn't be targeted in a New York second.

Martyred wrote:Denmark. The world's kiddie-porn capital.

Nice work, Bushice.

Martyred wrote:

RadioFan wrote:...as if you too, wouldn't be targeted in a New York second.

Targeted? Dude, put down the Tom Clancy and back the fuck away from the Toby Keith CD's.

RadioFan wrote:

Martyred wrote:Denmark. The world's kiddie-porn capital.

I thought that was the Netherlands?

Cuda wrote:

RadioFan wrote:

Martyred wrote:Denmark. The world's kiddie-porn capital.

I thought that was the Netherlands?

Given the huge number of muzzies in the Netherlands, you are probably correct. After all, Mohammad had a 9 year old wife.

mvscal wrote:So he was "taking one for the team" when he boned a nine year old?

mvscal wrote:So he was "taking one for the team" when he boned a nine year old?

Mister Bushice wrote:stop shitting all over these threads and I will.

Jimmy Medalions wrote:Nice. DiegoCoastSooner is sayin' it's no big deal that Mohammad deep-dicked a nine year old.

Outstanding.

DiegoCoastSooner wrote:

Jimmy Medalions wrote:Nice. DiegoCoastSooner is sayin' it's no big deal that Mohammad deep-dicked a nine year old.

Outstanding.

Do you have reading comprehension problems?

DiegoCoastSooner wrote:Mohammad did have a nine year old wife but too much has been played up of this in recent times.

Jimmy Medalions wrote:

DiegoCoastSooner wrote:

Jimmy Medalions wrote:Nice. DiegoCoastSooner is sayin' it's no big deal that Mohammad deep-dicked a nine year old.

Outstanding.

Do you have reading comprehension problems?

Do you have writing comprehension problems?

DiegoCoastSooner wrote:Mohammad did have a nine year old wife but too much has been played up of this in recent times.

Martyred wrote:"Maybe she consented..."

Sincerely, Mohammed Al Toddowen

SunCoastSooner wrote:What part of no one knows if the marriage was ever consumated or not do you not comprehend? Are you going to try and explain all the European Royalty that were marrying their children off between the ages of 7 and 14 during the same time period?

Jimmy Medalions wrote:

SunCoastSooner wrote:What part of no one knows if the marriage was ever consumated or not do you not comprehend? Are you going to try and explain all the European Royalty that were marrying their children off between the ages of 7 and 14 during the same time period?

I'm sure Mo-Jo never hit it. Right.

Dumbfuck.

Dinsdale wrote:

Martyred wrote:"Maybe she consented..."

Sincerely, Mohammed Al Toddowen

OK, that was pretty funny.

SunCoastMuzzieApologist wrote: What part of no one knows if the marriage was ever consumated or not do you not comprehend?

He certainly didn't for atleast three years because he married her when she was six and the fact that he hadn't consumated the marriage almost caused a war between their tribes. The girls father was basically forcing this old man to stick it in his child daughter.

Protests Over Muhammad Drawings Intensify

By IBRAHIM BARZAK, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 13 minutes ago

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Outrage over caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad erupted in a swell of protests across the Muslim world Friday, with demonstrators demanding revenge against Denmark and death for those they accuse of defaming Islam's holiest figure.
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Yes No
Yes No

Yes No


In
Iraq, the leading Shiite cleric denounced the drawings first published in a Danish newspaper in September, one of which depicted the prophet wearing a turban shaped as a bomb. But the cleric also suggested militant Muslims were partly to blame for distorting the image of Islam.

Some European newspapers reprinted the caricatures this week, prompting protests Friday in Britain, Turkey, Lebanon,
Syria, Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia and Palestinian areas. In Sudan, some even urged al-Qaida terrorists to target Denmark.

"Strike, strike, Bin Laden," shouted some in a crowd of about 50,000 who filled a Khartoum square.

The U.S. and British governments criticized publication of the caricatures as offensive to Muslims, raising questions about whether the line between free speech and incitement had been crossed.

The Danish government tried to contain the damage. Foreign Minister Per Stig Moeller called Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and said the Danish government "cannot accept an assault against Islam," according to Abbas' office.

On Monday, Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen said his government could not apologize on behalf of a newspaper, but that he personally "never would have depicted Muhammad, Jesus or any other religious character in a way that could offend other people."

Many Muslims consider the Danish government's reaction inadequate.

Clerics in Palestinian areas called in Friday prayers for a boycott of Danish and European goods and the severing of diplomatic ties. Tens of thousands of incensed Muslims marched through Palestinian cities, burning the Danish flag and calling for vengeance.

"Whoever defames our prophet should be executed," said Ismail Hassan, a tailor who marched in the pouring rain with hundreds of other Muslims in the
West Bank city of Ramallah. "Bin Laden our beloved, Denmark must be blown up," the protesters chanted.

Foreign diplomats, aid workers and journalists began pulling out of Palestinian areas Thursday because of kidnapping threats against some Europeans.

In Iraq, about 4,500 people protested in the southern city of Basra, burning the Danish flag. Some 600 worshippers stomped on Danish flags before burning them outside Baghdad's Abu Hanifa Mosque, Sunni Islam's holiest shrine in Iraq. Demonstrators also burned Danish journalists in effigy and torched boxes of Danish cheese.

Iraq's leading Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, condemned the publications as a "horrific action."

But in remarks posted on his Web site, al-Sistani referred to "misguided and oppressive" segments of the Muslim community whose actions "projected a distorted and dark image of the faith of justice, love and brotherhood."

Islamic law, based on clerics' interpretation of the Quran and the sayings of the prophet, forbids any depictions of the Prophet Muhammad, even positive ones, to prevent idolatry.

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw criticized European media for reprinting the caricatures. While free speech should be respected, Straw said "there is not any obligation to insult or to be gratuitously inflammatory."

The State Department called the drawings "offensive to the beliefs of Muslims" and said the right to freedom of speech must be coupled with press responsibility.

"Inciting religious or ethnic hatred in this manner is not acceptable," State Department press officer Janelle Hironimus said.

In Damascus, Syria, entrances to the Al-Murabit mosque were strewn with Danish, Israeli and American flags so worshippers could trample them as they entered. Banners outside called for a boycott of Danish, European and U.S. products "until Denmark is brought to its knees, regretting this farce of freedom of expression."

Some 1,500 worshippers in Jordan marched in the northeastern city of Zarqa, demanding that Denmark prosecute the cartoonist who drew the caricatures.

Pakistan's parliament unanimously passed a resolution condemning the cartoons as a "vicious, outrageous and provocative campaign."

And in Jakarta, Indonesia, more than 150 Muslims stormed a high-rise building housing the Danish Embassy and tore down and burned the country's flag.

SunCoastSooner wrote:He certainly didn't for atleast three years because he married her when she was six and the fact that he hadn't consumated the marriage almost caused a war between their tribes.

Ignorance must be bliss for you.