Posted on 02/03/2006 3:24:43 PM PST by Cornpone
MILITANTS threatened to kidnap or murder Western citizens as anger over the publication of caricatures of Mohammed spread around the Muslim world.
Diplomats, journalists and aid workers fled Gaza and the West Bank yesterday as Palestinian gunmen searched hotels for citizens of countries where newspapers had printed the images, warning they were now targets.
As Western governments tried to calm tensions ahead of Friday prayers in mosques across the Middle East, protesters burst into the building housing the Danish embassy in Jakarta and burned the Danish flag to show anger over the publication of the cartoons by a Danish newspaper.
The simmering row turned into a diplomatic crisis this week when the cartoons were reprinted in a Christian magazine in Norway.
The Muslim reaction prompted newspapers in France, Germany, Spain, Switzerland and Hungary to publish cartoons in defence of freedom of speech.
The European Union, the main financial supporter of the Palestinian Authority, stepped up security at its offices in Gaza after gunmen fired into the air outside and scrawled graffiti saying the offices were "closed until an apology is sent to Muslims".
A leaflet handed out by the Islamic Jihad and Fatah groups condemned the "vile" images and warned "infidels" that Muslims "are ready to become martyrs" and that "European provocations have placed offices and churches under fire".
Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, head of the hardline Hezbollah movement, said: "I am sure there are millions of Muslims who are ready to give their lives to defend our prophet's honour."
He said people would not have dared to insult Islam if novelist Salman Rushdie, the subject of a fatwa for his novel The Satanic Verses, had been executed.
France and Denmark issued warnings to their citizens against travel in Muslim areas, and Denmark and Norway closed their Palestinian offices after receiving death threats.
A European Commission spokeswoman said: "Colleagues working in the region are there to improve the lot of Palestinian people, and those who make the threats should bear that in mind. We oppose all use of violence."
In Pakistan, 400 Muslim students chanted "death to Denmark" and "death to France". The demonstrators burned Danish and French flags and an effigy of Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen.
The head of Pakistan's main alliance of Islamic parties, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, said: "We have called for countrywide protests on Friday."
Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moeller said sermons could fuel tensions. "Now countries such as France, Germany and Austria have published the drawings, this could stir things up."
Leaders of Islamic nations stepped up criticism about the publication of the cartoons.
A spokesman for Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak warned of repercussions over "insults against the noble prophet".
President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan said: "Any insult to the holy prophet, peace be upon him, is an insult to more than a billion Muslims and an act like this must never be allowed to be repeated."
As a boycott of Danish produce spread around the Middle East, Arla Foods, the country's largest exporter to the region, announced it was laying off 125 workers.
European Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson stepped back from his threat to take legal action against any government that supported the boycott. He said he could not go to the World Trade Organisation if it was "a spontaneous consumer boycott or one that is privately organised".
Denmark launched a diplomatic counter-offensive, and Mr Rasmussen summoned his country's enoys to Copenhagen.
"We are talking about an issue with fundamental significance to how democracies work," he said.
And Carsten Juste, editor-in-chief of Jyllands-Posten, which originally published the 12 cartoons, said he would not have done so had he known "the lives of Danish soldiers and civilians would be threatened".
my point,exactly
Don’t blame you. It is particularly dangerous for our leaders to say these things. If they don’t say it, who will? I would also like to hear church leadership come out and condemn rather than justify what is going on in the Islamic world.
The Durex ad is gonna drive the muzzies apesh!t.
We have 130,000 troops in Iraq and have a lot of things we are working on in the region. The DoS saying this keeps things going a little more smoothly in Iraq and keeps us above this incident. My emotions agree with the people who want the DoS and Bush to vocally support the Danes, but they are doing the smart thing.
I do disagree with the language used by DoS. It was quite inappropriate and embarrassing. I feel they should have just said something like "we don't share those views of Islam," or something to that effect, rather than attacking the Danes right to free speech. It should also have condemned the violence and threats directed at the Danes since they are much more egregious than any cartoon could possibly be. The Islamic world may want to take part in a moment of self reflection and ask themselves why the world views them in this way.
Well, these diplomats, journalist and aid workers are islam-whores. When sleeping with dogs, expect to get your head hacked off.
Whether you're there to help them or not.
This is from the Medieval Sourcebook at Fordham Univ website.
Gregory VII barely missed the honor of having begun the crusading movement. His plan is clear from the following letter. ... Gregory was unable to carry out his plans because he became involved in the struggle with Henry IV.
Gregory, bishop, servant of the servants of God, to all who are willing to defend the Christian faith, greeting and apostolic benediction.
We hereby inform you that the bearer of this letter, on his recent return from across the sea [from Palestine], came to Rome to visit us. He repeated what we had heard from many others, that a pagan race had overcome the Christians and with horrible cruelty had devastated everything almost to the walls of Constantinople, and were now governing the conquered lands with tyrannical violence, and that they had slain many thousands of Christians as if they were but sheep. If we love God and wish to be recognized as Christians, we should be filled with grief at the misfortune of this great empire [the Greek] and the murder of so many Christians. But simply to grieve is not our whole duty. The example of our Redeemer and the bond of fraternal love demand that we should lay down our lives to liberate them. "Because he has laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren," [1 John 3:16]. Know, therefore, that we are trusting in the mercy of God and in the power of his might and that we are striving in all possible ways and making preparations to render aid to the Christian empire [the Greek] as quickly as possible. Therefore we beseech you by the faith in which you are united through Christ in the adoption of the sons of God, and by the authority of St. Peter, prince of apostles, we admonish you that you be moved to proper compassion by the wounds and blood of your brethren and the danger of the aforesaid empire and that, for the sake of Christ, you undertake the difficult task of bearing aid to your brethren [the Greeks]. Send messengers to us at once inform us of what God may inspire you to do in this matter.
Thought you might like to see this. Considering the treatment of Christians by Muslims, I would say not much has changed.
Oh, come on! GWB (PBUH) can only handle so much at once.
As soon as he finishes building and manning the Southern Border Wall, he'll be able to turn attention and resources to minor annoyances such as this.
There ws no reason for any other comment than yours. However,watch his ratings fall. The TRUE conservatives had to bail him out on Harriet Meyers. Just as we get him out of that mess he comes up with a State of the Union Address that I foung hollow, empty & as some lib/congresscritter said - Do we really need these any more. (Can't believe that I would side with a lib) That's how bad this "Two-Party Cartel" is. How many years does it take to see GW standing up for other every religion but putting the Christians on the back burner? That's the Bubba triangulation & the way this cartel operates becasue they know you won't abandon either of these two hypocritical factions in the cartel. I feel many conservatives will not vote in the midterm elections. Get a Zell Miller or this country will bleed to death by a thousands cuts.
This is just so much *cult* and evil.
I would say to the jihad vermin: "Ask not for whom the bell tolls. It tolls for thee!" Mekhtoub! (It is written)
What a nice religion. I insult you and you kill anyone who shares my nationality. Stupid religion, stupid people.
Sorry, I meant to say it is dangerous for our leaders to say things like "Islam is a noble religion". It lulls the populace into a sense that what we face are simply a handful of fanatics, when in fact it is much much bigger than that.
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