Protests Over Prophet Muhammad Cartoons Published in European Newspapers Escalate

[krsna]

Protests Over Muhammad Cartoons Escalate

 

By IBRAHIM BARZAK

 

Protests Over Prophet Muhammad Cartoons Published in European Newspapers Escalate in Arab World

 

The Associated Press

 

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Outrage over caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad escalated in the Arab and Islamic world Thursday, with Palestinian gunmen briefly kidnapping a German citizen and protesters in Pakistan chanting "death to France" and "death to Denmark."

 

Palestinian militants surrounded European Union headquarters in Gaza, and gunmen burst into several hotels and apartments in the West Bank in search of foreigners to take hostage.

 

The protests spread to Indonesia on Friday, with Islamic hardliners barging into a building housing the Danish Embassy and burning the European country's flag. The Indonesian government had earlier condemned the drawings, as did Afghanistan.

 

In Iraq, Islamic leaders urged worshippers to stage demonstrations following weekly prayer services Friday. Iran summoned the Austrian ambassador, whose country holds the EU presidency.

 

The issue opened divisions among European Union governments. Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik said EU leaders have a responsibility to "clearly condemn" insults to any religion. But French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy said he preferred "an excess of caricature to an excess of censorship."

 

Sarkozy joined journalists in rallying around the editorial director of France Soir, who was fired by the newspaper's Egyptian owner. France Soir and several other newspapers across Europe reprinted the caricatures this week in a show of support for freedom of expression.

 

The cartoons were first published in September in a Danish newspaper, touching off anger among Muslims who knew about it. The issue reignited last week after Saudi Arabia recalled its ambassador to Denmark.

 

The Danish newspaper, Jyllands-Posten, had asked 40 cartoonists to draw images of the prophet. The purpose, its chief editor said, was "to examine whether people would succumb to self-censorship, as we have seen in other cases when it comes to Muslim issues."

 

Islamic law, based on clerics' interpretation of the Quran and the sayings of the prophet, forbids depictions of the Prophet Muhammad and other major religious figures even positive ones to prevent idolatry. Shiite Muslim clerics differ in that they allow images of their greatest saint, Ali, the prophet's son-in-law, though not Muhammad.

 

Critics say the drawings were particularly insulting because some appeared to ridicule Muhammad. One cartoon showed the prophet wearing a turban shaped as a bomb.

 

France's Grand Rabbi Joseph Sitruk said he shared Muslim anger.

 

"We gain nothing by lowering religions, humiliating them and making caricatures of them. It's a lack of honesty and respect," he said. He said freedom of expression "is not a right without limits."

 

In the Arab world, a Jordanian newspaper, Shihan, took the bold step Thursday of running some of the drawings, saying it wanted to show its readers how offensive the cartoons were but also urging the world's Muslims to "be reasonable." Its editorial noted that Jyllands-Posten had apologized, "but for some reason, nobody in the Muslim world wants to hear the apology."

 

About 70 hardline Muslims threw eggs at the building housing the Danish Embassy in Indonesia, pushed their way past security guards and briefly milled in the lobby. They then tore down the Danish flag from outside the building and set it on fire. The protesters also briefly stopped outside an Indonesian newspaper that ran one of the cartoons on its Web site Thursday to illustrate a story on the uproar.

 

The outrage Thursday was most tangible in the Palestinian territories, where Norway and Denmark closed diplomatic offices after masked gunmen threatened to kidnap foreigners in Gaza.

 

Palestinian gunmen in the West Bank searched several hotels, and a German citizen was briefly kidnapped by gunmen from a hotel in the city of Nablus. Palestinian police freed the German, a teacher, after less than an hour.

 

Foreign reporters either pulled out of Gaza on Thursday or canceled plans to go to the coastal strip.

 

Palestinian security officials said they would try to protect foreigners in Gaza. Nineteen foreigners have been kidnapped in Gaza in recent months; all were freed unharmed.

 

The protests in the Palestinian territories came a week after the Islamic militant group Hamas defeated the ruling Fatah Party in parliamentary elections.

 

In one unusual twist, Mahmoud Zahar, a Hamas leader, visited a Gaza church Thursday and promised protection to Christians after Fatah gunmen threatened to target churches as part of their protests. Zahar offered to dispatch gunmen from Hamas' military wing, the Izzedine al Qassam Brigades, to guard the church.

 

"You are our brothers," Zahar told Father Manuel Musallam of the Holy Family Church.

 

In Gaza City, a dozen gunmen linked to Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas' defeated Fatah Party surrounded the EU Commission's local office.

 

One of the militants, flanked by two masked men with assault rifles, said the governments of Germany, France, Norway and Denmark must apologize for the cartoons by Thursday evening. If no apology is issued, the gunmen said they would target citizens of the four countries and shut down media offices, including the French news agency.

 

"Any citizens of these countries, who are present in Gaza, will put themselves in danger," the gunman said.

 

About 10 armed Palestinians gathered later at the French cultural center in Gaza City and warned of a "tough response" to any further disparagement of Muhammad.

 

Only a few dozen foreigners from the targeted countries were in Gaza on Thursday. Many others pulled out in recent months, following a spate of abductions of foreigners by Fatah-linked gunmen.

 

Danish and French members of an international observer team at the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt stayed away from Gaza on Thursday, and instead worked from the group's headquarters in the Israeli town of Ashkelon, said a spokesman, Julio de La Guardia.

 

Gunhild Forselv, spokeswoman for the international mission in the West Bank town of Hebron, said she was in touch with community leaders and was not concerned for the safety of the 72-member observer force, which includes 21 Norwegians and 11 Danes. "We don't feel threatened," she said.

 

The EU's election observers were winding down operations, as planned, said Mathias Eick, who is German. He said the Gaza office had been closed and that 49 observers were in Ramallah. "There were security risks even before the election and nothing has changed," he said.

 

Norway closed its representative office in the West Bank to the public because of the threats, but said the 23-member staff remained on the job.

 

The Danish Foreign Ministry in Copenhagen said all Danes, except for two diplomats, have left the West Bank and Gaza in recent days. The Danish representative office in the West Bank was to be closed Friday because of the threats, a diplomat said.

 

In Nablus, gunmen from the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, a violent Fatah offshoot, went to four hotels and told staff they must not host Europeans from the targeted countries. The gunmen said they searched two apartments for foreigners to kidnap, but didn't find any. Foreigners now have three days to leave town, the gunmen said in an impromptu news conference after their fruitless search.

 

 

Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

 

2006 ABC News Internet Ventures

 

[Kulapavana]

try to publish a racist or an anti-semitic cartoon in the US press and see what happens...

[Guest guest]

Spanish Newspaper Prints Muhammad Cartoon Also two Italian Newspapers!

 

Spain’s leading newspaper El Pais joined other European dailies by publishing a front-page cartoon of Prophet Muhammad today.

 

The cartoon, originally published by French daily Le Monde, depicts the head of the Prophet Muhammad made up of lines which say “I must not draw Mohammad” in French.

 

Many Muslims consider it blasphemous to illustrate Muhammad in any manner, to prevent idolatry.

 

El Pais did not comment on the decision to publish the cartoon on its front page, which was accompanying front-page news about the angry reaction among Muslims over the republication of the cartoons that already riled the Muslim world when a Danish newspaper ran them in September.

 

The drawings have divided opinion within Europe and the Middle East, where they have prompted boycotts of Danish goods, bomb threats and demonstrations against Danish facilities.

 

Two Italian Newspapers Print Muhammad Caricatures

 

Two right-wing newspapers in Italy today published the 12 caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad that are inflaming the Muslim world.

 

The drawings appeared on the front pages of the Libero daily under the headline “Muhammad rules here”.

 

La Padania, mouthpiece of the Northern League government party, printed three of the drawings on its front page and the rest inside.

 

It carried a headline that said: “Islam has already obtained the head of one (newspaper) editor … No one is going to fire me!”

 

“It is not a challenge, a provocation, but the defence of freedom,” La Padania’s front-page editorial said.

 

Today’s publication was the first time Italian newspapers printed all of the drawings. During the past week, newspapers have printed some of the cartoons as part of their coverage of the controversy.

[Guest guest]

* Muslims fly commercial airliners into buildings in New York City. No Muslim outrage.

 

* Muslim officials block the exit where school girls are trying to escape a burning building because their faces were exposed. No Muslim outrage.

 

* Muslims cut off the heads of three teenaged girls on their way to school in Indonesia. A Christian school. No Muslim outrage.

 

* Muslims murder teachers trying to teach Muslim children in Iraq. No Muslim outrage.

 

* Muslims murder over 80 tourists with car bombs outside cafes and hotels in Egypt. No Muslim outrage.

 

* A Muslim attacks a missionary children's school in India. Kills six. No Muslim outrage.

 

* Muslims slaughter hundreds of children and teachers in Beslan, Russia. Muslims shoot children in the back. No Muslim outrage.

 

* Let's go way back. Muslims kidnap and kill athletes at the Munich Summer Olympics. No Muslim outrage.

 

* Muslims fire rocket-propelled grenades into schools full of children in Israel. No Muslim outrage.

 

* Muslims murder more than 50 commuters in attacks on London subways and busses. Over 700 are injured. No Muslim outrage.

 

* Muslims massacre dozens of innocents at a Passover Seder. No Muslim outrage.

 

* Muslims murder innocent vacationers in Bali. No Muslim outrage.

 

* Muslim newspapers publish anti-Semitic cartoons. No Muslim outrage

 

* Muslims are involved, on one side or the other, in almost every one of the 125+ shooting wars around the world. No Muslim outrage.

 

* Muslims beat the charred bodies of Western civilians with their shoes, then hang them from a bridge. No Muslim outrage.

 

* Newspapers in Denmark and Norway publish cartoons depicting Mohammed. Muslims are outraged.

 

Dead children. Dead tourists. Dead teachers. Dead doctors and nurses. Death, destruction and mayhem around the world at the hands of Muslims .. no Muslim outrage ... but publish a cartoon depicting Mohammed with a bomb in his turban and all hell breaks loose.

 

Come on, is this really about cartoons? They're rampaging and burning flags. They're looking for Europeans to kidnap. They're threatening innkeepers and generally raising holy Muslim hell not because of any outrage over a cartoon. They're outraged because it is part of the Islamic jihadist culture to be outraged. You don't really need a reason. You just need an excuse. Wandering around, destroying property, murdering children, firing guns into the air and feigning outrage over the slightest perceived insult is to a jihadist what tailgating is to a Steeler's fan.

 

<center><font size=4>

<a href="http://bvml.org/webmaster/koranquotes.html" target="_blank">Quotes from the Koran

 

[in case you hadn't seen it before...]</a></font></center>

 

[Guest guest]

I agree the cartoons are in bad taste - but maybe - just maybe - all this reaction from some Muslims is going to make westerners think that they are indeed extremists - at times Muslims are quite hypocritical - just see how muslims talk about Krishna - for a clue...

 

YS,

 

BDM

[Guest guest]

This is why Tony Blair's proposed law is good - it should not be tolerated by the law when people “ridicule, insult, or abuse” other religions.

 

They are not helping society – really – do we need people saying anything and everything - in today's age of quarrel world?

 

BDM

 

 

[Pankaja_Dasa]

 

The mode of ignorance.

 

I don't know why they are more in ignorance then say i.e western people [non-religious[?], I think thier leaders misintrepretate thier scriptures, like I saw this so-called Muslim on Tv saying Qu'ran says something about killing, and you become martered. The other person asked what about the Muslim girl who died in the Bus [London Bombings] he said their family will get 'blood money[?]. And she is martered. So for thier own cause they willing to kill fellow Muslims. ? I don't think that is mentioned in the Qu'ran [?]. If it is then I am sure there is somebody who will find it! Remember Islam is about Peace. [how you intrepreatet that is your own business!]. I think most of them are speculating for want of trying to follow praying 5 times a day [which means about 1.30 Hrs]. Who knows.. If thier was an ideal Muslim then..

[Guest guest]

 

Muslims constantly kidnapped non-Muslims last years, why this cartoon is offending?

[Guest guest]

[Guest guest]

The symbols displayed are in fact just bodily designations and as long we remain on the bodily platform of identification the fighting will go on.

 

A compilation by Bhakta Paul:

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/prabhupada/articles1/not_hindu.htm

"You may call the Vedas Hindu, but "Hindu" is a foreign name. WE ARE NOT HINDUS. (Sri Isopanisad Introduction)

 

Simply we are teaching that “Become God conscious.” God is neither Hindu nor Muslim nor Christian. He’s God. And WE ARE ALSO NOT HINDU or Muslim or Christian. This is our bodily designation. We are all pure, part and parcel of the Supreme." (BG Lecture NY 23/11/66)

 

"So this is the warm invitation of Krishna Consciousness. It has nothing to do with black or white, young or old, or believe me, Christian or Jew or Hindu or anything like that. We consider these to be as much a part of false ego—Christian, Hindu, Jew—as we do black, white, young, old, man or woman. Because they were delegated to this body—I'm born in a Christian family, I call myself a Christian; I'm born in a Hindu family, I call myself a Hindu—so because of this body I'm a Hindu, because of this body I'm a Jew, and if I was born a million years ago would I be a Hindu, Christian or Jew? No. But I'd still be a servant, I'd still have my consciousness. See? Suppose you're born a hundred thousand years from now? Are you going to be a Christian or a Hindu or a Jew? No. But you'll still have your consciousness, you'll still have to serve, and you'll still want to be happy."

(VISNUJANA SWAMI - Festival Address Oregon 1/6/75)

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Denmark is a small country that has always tried to keep an objective and fair spirit in international conflicts, even when taking sides, not shying away from criticizing allies when it is due. In the Persian Gulf War of 1991, this was done by sending out the Corvette Olfert Fischer in a strictly support-only role; The operation was aptly named “FARAWAY”, and started a new era in Danish defense politics.

 

This trend recently culminated in Danish troops being stationed in Iraq during the 2003 invasion by the coalition forces. As a result of this objectivity and sense of fairness, Denmark has not been a major target of criticism by any nation or terrorist group. Until now.

 

The Danes were once described as a people who “wear a silk glove over an iron fist.” While we tread lightly and try not to offend anyone, any direct attack on our way of life is met with much opposition from civilians and officials alike.

 

A unique political climate has been cultured in Denmark, based around both democracy and the right to free speech, but also founded in the belief that all people should be as equal as possible, even financially. This has created a one-of-a-kind blend between classical liberal and socialist values, which has served Denmark well for most of the last century.

 

With the need for a larger work force during the 1970’s, Denmark invited immigrant workers to move into the country. This worked well and the (mainly Turkish) workers integrated well into Danish society. Following this positive experience for both sides, many immigrants and refugees came here during the next 3 decades, mainly from the areas around the Middle East. Today a substantial portion of Danish society is made up of these people and their descendants, and a cultural saturation limit seems to have been reached.

 

With national tension mounting because of a steadily growing cultural schism between multi-generation Danes and more recent residents with a Muslim background, rovocations and more extreme political views have become harder to ignore.

 

Several isolated incidents have provoked a less tolerant public attitude toward the growing Muslim community. Most notably, a series of gang rapes, by young Muslim men against young women of both Danish and Middle Eastern descent, but also unrest in the second largest Danish city, Aarhus, directly prior to and during the recent riots in France.

 

The Aarhus violence resulted in several local businesses being vandalized, and the local police being warned to stay away from the young men’s turf.

 

There is no doubt in many Danish people’s minds, that some kind of clash is inevitable, and the growing frequency of troubling events breaking out seem to support this notion. This is mostly evident in the youngest immigrant population; Statistics from the Copenhagen Police Department show that 82% of youths under the age of 18 appearing before a judge are from immigrant families.

 

In September 2005, Jyllands Posten decided to publish 12 caricatures of the Muslim Prophet Muhammed, as a response to criticism of depictions of the Prophet in a book about his life. Several of the artists presented in that book did not want their names published along with it, for fear of retribution. The thinking behind Jyllands Posten’s bold move, was to show support for the artists and to make a statement about free speech.

 

Since then a small delegation of Muslim religious leaders who reside in Denmark have been on a tour of various Muslim states in order to bring attention to this fairly straightforward case. Unfortunately they did not stop at the facts.

 

Disinformation was fabricated in order to characterize the Danish population and government as fiercely anti-Muslim. Several new drawings were added likening Muhammed to a pig, as well as statements to the effect that Danish citizens were under the impression that the Prophet was a violent pedophile.

 

Suddenly a display of free speech had turned into blasphemous slander, which naturally enraged all of the Muslim world. Throughout all of this, several of the religious leaders responsible for the disinformation, had been feeding sweet words of reason to the Danish press with one hand and more disinformation to the Arab press with the other.

 

This has further outraged the Danish population, and with it, most of Europe, invoking many newspapers to print the caricatures or versions of them in protest. Even Muslim residents in Denmark felt like targets of unfair attention for what a small handful of men had done. In general most Danes seem to take comfort in the fact that news media and private citizens of other countries sympathize with us in this situation.

 

As of yesterday, February 3rd 2006, Abu Laban, one of the imams in the infamous disinformation delegation, spoke out in his weekly prayer meeting to hundreds of Muslims and representatives of the press, about calming the waters and working in unison to reach a mutually beneficial goal. A statement that is bound to be met with skepticism, considering his track record. Only time will truly tell if this turnaround is as sincere as the words indicated. In the meantime the Danish government will be looking into deportation and/or denial of reentrance for some of the imams in the delegation. Also further restrictions on immigration are possible within the near future.

 

Finally, rumors of new terrorist attacks being planned are reaching the news, and in light of recent events, many Danes have more than a passing fear that these will be brought against us. Paradoxically we are oddly distanced from the possibility at the same time, since this kind of threat has never before been a serious consideration.

 

It seems the gloves will be coming off.

[Guest guest]

...with some muslim leaders calling for executions [for a cartoon!] - how sad for them like the newly elected - <big>Hamass</big> - and their recent sick comments - yes they are still just so sad - with 'that' position they must accept then that they too are so deserving of a slap from material nature now aren't they - when they insult other faiths etc., etc., etc., - so very sad - yup be wary of 11th hour changes of heart indeed...?

[gHari]

 

If Islam had never ridiculed Krsna and Christ, then I might have some compassion for them here. As it is, they are only fools, poseurs, in my mind.

 

What Islam needs is Allah. May she find Him.

 

[Kulapavana]

Source: Guardian

Published: February 6, 2006 Author: Gwladys Fouché and agencies

Danish paper rejected Jesus cartoons

 

Gwladys Fouché and agencies

Monday February 6, 2006

 

 

Jyllands-Posten, the Danish newspaper that first published the cartoons of the prophet Muhammad that have caused a storm of protest throughout the Islamic world, refused to run drawings lampooning Jesus Christ, it has emerged today.

The Danish daily turned down the cartoons of Christ three years ago, on the grounds that they could be offensive to readers and were not funny.

 

In April 2003, Danish illustrator Christoffer Zieler submitted a series of unsolicited cartoons dealing with the resurrection of Christ to Jyllands-Posten.

 

Zieler received an email back from the paper's Sunday editor, Jens Kaiser, which said: "I don't think Jyllands-Posten's readers will enjoy the drawings. As a matter of fact, I think that they will provoke an outcry. Therefore, I will not use them."

 

[krsna]

 

 

Paolo Bassi,

 

2006/02/24

 

The modern political and legal right to speak and write on any subject was not simply granted by benevolent European rulers – it was won over centuries by mass struggle and the sacrifice of courageous men and women who dared to challenge the power of their rulers. The United States Constitution and French Revolution enshrined free speech into law because it is the one right without which every other becomes meaningless. However, this most fundamental of freedoms is also the most fragile, being the first target of totalitarian regimes and tin-pot dictators everywhere. Would the Nazis have retained power in the 1930s had they not first silenced the German people? Today, could the mullahs rule in Iran or the petro-dollar princes in Arabia if unfettered freedom of speech existed? If history has taught us anything, it is that rights won over decades and centuries can be swept away in a few days. The rights that complacent pluralistic societies take for granted can be destroyed by a small, determined, belligerent minority through claiming victim-hood and then by violence and intimidation. Free speech may well be guaranteed by the law in Holland but the shocking, ritualistic murder of film-maker Theo Van Gogh in 2004 by an Islamist will have caused at least some writers to think of their own safety before risking offense -- and that is bad enough. If such self-censorship based on fear becomes the norm, the notion of free speech becomes a farce and democracy simply becomes as exercise in appeasement.

 

An international dispute of surreal proportions and violence has arisen over the publication in September 2005 of cartoons in the Jyllands Posten, a Danish paper, of Mohammad, the founder of Islam. The cartoons themselves are not particularly intelligent, interesting or linked to any important story. It is also quite possible the cartoons were intended to offend, since the same paper refused to print anti-Christian cartoons a few years earlier. This is a legitimate criticism of the Jyllands Posten, but its right to choose what it prints is inviolable – even if it appears arbitrary or selective. The cartoons initially triggered some peaceful protests, but no more. The Danish government did not intervene at first, regarding the cartoons as a purely private matter protected by free speech. The situation then lay dormant for a few months until Muslim clerics from Denmark took the cartoons, along with some additions and embellishments of their own, to various Arab countries and re-ignited Muslim anger – this time in the streets. In Damascus, Muslim mobs attacked and burnt the Danish and Norwegian embassies. What is surprising is that the Damascus protesters were allowed such a free hand in a country as authoritarian as Syria, which brooks no internal disorder. The same thing happened a few days later in Beirut, where the protestors also attacked local Christians and their churches. The most tragic event was in Nigeria, where innocent Christians with no connection to the cartoons whatsoever were killed and their churches burned down by enraged Muslims. In return, innocent Muslims were killed in Nigeria's Christian dominated areas. The cartoon protests have been erupting with such regularity and violence, that even Muslim governments are becoming embarrassed. The notion that all the riots and deaths have been caused by genuine spontaneous anger over the cartoons of Mohammad simply does not pass the straight face test.

 

One of the main misunderstandings that the cartoons have revealed is the belief, real or convenient, that the actions of a private newspaper in Denmark are those of the Danish government, its people and the West in general. This belief maybe a cultural one, since little appears in Arab newspapers that their governments disapprove of. The protestors have ignored repeated apologies by the Danish Government – an apology for something out of its hands. Naturally, Danish businesses in Muslim countries have also been punished. One can only imagine the outrage if a European nation expelled Muslims in retaliation for the videotaped execution of their hostages by Islamists. In the most bizarre response to the Mohammad cartoons – perhaps taking its cue from the Iranian President's call for Israel to be wiped off the map – an Iranian paper claimed to be testing free speech by inviting its readers to send in cartoons about the Jewish holocaust. It is not readily clear whose free speech they are testing, since in Iran most papers are heavily censored. What is disturbing is that this newspaper equated the most horrible crime in human history – documented, filmed and litigated beyond doubt – with satirical cartoons about the founder of Islam. Exactly how does one draw cartoons about 10 million dead Jews, Gypsies, Slavs and other 'less than Aryan" victims? It is too grotesque to even think about.

 

Finally lessons can be drawn from the protests against Salman Rushdie. The fear and passivity shown by western governments in the face of the death sentence on Rushdie only fueled the power of radical Islam in Europe. The shameful Rushdie affair must never be repeated. Europe must now unite, draw a line in the sand – no more retreat on human rights, no more appeasement. If we are free to criticize or mock other faiths, no exception must be made for Islam. With the valid exception of laws prohibiting incitement to racial or religious violence, the fear of offense, no matter how sincerely felt, must never be the standard by which we measure free speech. Europe cannot, Europe must not, lose this battle.

 

[krsna]

Jarek:

 

Q07: One of the main principles of the democratic western world is the freedom of religion. Muslims, like any other religious group, should have the right to protest against mockery of their faith, to defend themselves against insult.

 

Ali Sina:

 

Right and responsibility go hand in hand. You can’t give rights to those who are not responsible. If you want to let your canary out of the cage, the first thing you would do is to kick your cat out of the house. This does not mean you don't love your cat, but he has no right to stay in the house because he can’t act responsibly. It would be foolish to wait until he kills the canary and then punish him. You already know the cat can't be trusted. The problem with Muslims is that they too can’t be trusted and can't act responsibly.

 

Christianity, Judaism and all other religions have been attacked and vilified for centuries. Someone even put a crucifix in a bottle of urine and called it art. Another person pained the picture of Marry using elephant dung for coloring. Unlike these innocent Danish cartoons, those were deliberate and grotesque insults. They were intended to offend and the Christians were offended. They even protested. Yet no buildings were torched, no one was shot, no stones were thrown, no flags were burnt, no street marches were organized and no carnage took place. The Christians protested with civility by writing articles. But look want happens when Muslims protest! It is sheer savagery. The bottom line is that those who can’t be responsible, should not have rights. Muslims who protest in non-Muslim countries, burn cars and threaten with holocausts and nine elevens must be rounded up and sent to where their parents came from. Human rights are for those who can behave like humans. If you can’t act responsibly you relinquish that right.

 

Is driving a right? You are entitled to a driving license if you can abide by the traffic laws and drive responsibly. If your driving endangers the lives of others, that license will be taken away from you. So rights and responsibilities are inseparable. If you can’t respect the rights of others, if by your belief and conduct you endanger the lives of other people, you are not entitled to any right.

 

If a person becomes a danger to a society, he should not live in that society. We don’t let psychopaths loose because they are dangerous to others. A bear and a deer are both wild animals. We allow the deer to roam in our backyard but we do not give the same right to the bear. It is because the bear is dangerous. Neither the bear nor the deer have rights. We humans give them rights. Taking in account our own security, we give to some animals some rights and deny the same to other animals.

 

Fanatical Muslims can be very dangerous to the society. 9/11, 3/11, 7/7 or countless other terrorist attacks on innocent civilians across the world show that we are dealing with a very dangerous clique. These people (and I use that term loosely) should not have rights. They should be kicked out of the country or locked up in concentration camps and treated as dangerous. A Persian proverb says, “Compassion to the wolf is cruelty to the lamb”.

 

In nutshell, stop apologizing! Become tough and threatening. You'll be surprised to see how soon these " valiant" jihadis will head back to their Pandora box.

 

[krsna]

 

 

 

 

By Barbara J. Stock

 

2006/02/25

 

It should be obvious to even the most unobservant among us that the choreographed reaction to the Danish editorial cartoons has been a very methodical and well-thought-out plan by intellectual Islamic leaders.

 

The world-wide “outrage” expressed by Muslims was not spontaneous. Had the rage been expressed over five months ago, when the editorials were first published an argument could have been made that the anger was genuine. Instead, the indignation has evolved into a policy-changing event that has exposed a higher level of Islam: The world government of Islam. Some of the leaders within Islam have stepped out from behind the curtain and shown their faces.

 

Everyone is familiar with the military branch of Islam. There are the more infamous groups such as al Qaeda, Hamas, and Hezbollah and some lesser known branches like the Islamic Martyr’s Brigade. Consider those groups the Islamic army and marines. Islam has a very robust recruiting operation that promises what no money can buy: 72 virgins and endless paradise awaits all martyrs. Of course, there is no real verification that this “Islam Wants You!” slogan is actual fact, but that doesn’t seem to deter young men from signing on the dotted line.

 

With Hamas now in charge of the Israeli problem, the powers-that-be within Islam have been able to turn their attention to the world at large.

 

As with any entity, there must be someone in charge. There must be someone calling the shots and approving the plans. The world now knows who a few of those people are. Osama bin Laden is probably not one of them.

 

Bin Laden is a general but is kept on a short leash by those above him because Bin Laden has no real understanding of how the Western mind works. He is the preverbal bull-in-a-china-shop. Bin Laden is useful at times but unpredictable. He is a good recruiter but a poor diplomat. Few of Islam’s far-reaching plans can be accomplished by brute force. Indeed, the leaders of Islam know that man for man on the battlefield their usually under-equipped and uneducated forces don’t stand a chance against an American soldier or Marine. So, the political machine within Islam has swung into motion.

 

In Pakistan, it is Qazi Hussain Ahmed, the leader of the large radical terrorist group Mutahida Majlis-e-Amal. Ahmed is working to overthrow Musharraf and replace him with a strict Islamic government. Islamic leaders in Pakistan are using the cartoons as an excuse to weaken the leadership of the secular, pro-American president. The over-throw of Musharraf would also have the added bonus of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal falling into the hands of Islamic terrorists. One well placed bullet would make Islam’s dream come true. In the blink of an eye, Islam would be a nuclear power.

 

Palestinian immigrant to Denmark, Imam Ahmad Abu Laban, is one man who can be identified as part of the hierarchy of Islam. Laban is the Islamic who took the Danish cartoons to a meeting of powerful Islamic leaders in Saudi Arabia and, feeling those published cartoons might not be sufficient to enrage the average Muslim, made up a few of his own. These fake cartoons were quickly identified by the West, but to the average uneducated Muslim on the street, the accusation of fraud leveled against a powerful imam was just another outrage. After all, the average Muslim believes that Muslims don’t lie.

 

Another powerful Islamic leader is the Saudi Sheikh Yussef Al-Qaradawi, the founder of the global Islamic organization called “The Islamic Brotherhood.” Al-Qaradawi is a strong advocate of strict Islamic law and tells his followers that killing American troops in Iraq will be rewarded, homosexuals should be hung, and husbands should beat their wives. He also teaches that “martyrdom” for Islam is the duty of every Muslim.

 

But this Islamic government is not new. In 2003, a group of 225 Islamist clerics, scholars, and businessmen, including Laban and Al-Qaradawi, met in Saudi Arabia to plan the future actions of Islam and to network the supporters of global jihad against the evil “crusading” West. Islam needed direction and leadership and this group was there to provide just that.

 

Certainly, not all the plans can be roadside bombs and stupid young men willing to blow themselves up. Political plans must be made. Changes in the West must come from within. The world is now witness to some of those plans.