Posted on 02/01/2006 4:20:29 AM PST by anguish
| A French newspaper has reproduced a set of caricatures depicting the Prophet Muhammad that have caused outrage in the Muslim world. France Soir said it had published the cartoons to show that "religious dogma" had no place in a secular society. Their original publication in a Danish paper last September has led to boycotts and protests against Denmark in several Arab nations. Islamic tradition bans depictions of the Prophet Muhammad or Allah. Under the headline "Yes, we have the right to caricature God", the paper ran a front page cartoon of Buddhist, Jewish, Muslim and Christian gods floating on a cloud. It shows the Christian deity saying: "Don't complain, Muhammad, we've all been caricatured here." The full set of Danish drawings, some of which depict the Prophet Muhammad as a terrorist, were printed on the inside pages. Bomb threat The paper said it had decided to republish them "because no religious dogma can impose itself on a democratic and secular society". The global controversy the cartoons have provoked "has done nothing to maintain balance and mutual limits in democracy, respect of religious beliefs and freedom of expression", it added. There was no immediate reaction from Muslim leaders in France, which is home to the largest Islamic minority in Europe. The offices of the Danish newspaper that first published the caricatures, Jyllands-Posten, had to be evacuated on Tuesday because of a bomb threat. The paper had apologised a day earlier for causing offence to Muslims, although it maintained it was legal under Danish law to print them. Ministers from 17 Arab countries on Tuesday urged Denmark's government to punish Jyllands-Posten for what they described as an "offence to Islam". Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen welcomed the paper's apology but defended the freedom of the press. The images' publication in Denmark has provoked diplomatic sanctions and threats from Islamic militants across the Muslim world. Thousands of Palestinians demonstrated this week in the Gaza Strip, burning Danish flags and portraits of the Danish prime minister. Saudi Arabia has recalled its ambassador to Denmark, while Libya said it was closing its embassy in Copenhagen and Iraq summoned the Danish envoy to condemn the cartoons. |
Great rant!
Loved the last line!
The last laugh was gotten by the Muslims in the France Soir case.
Twas not government action or terrorism that did them in, but good old private enterprise capitalism.
Turns out that the ultimate owner of France Soir is an Egyptian businessman. He fired the editor.
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