Muslims Protesting the Publication of Prophet Drawings Set Fire to Danish Embassy in Beirut

AP ^ | 02/05/06 | Zeina Karam

[JustaCowgirl]

02-05-2006 6:11 AM
BEIRUT, Lebanon -- Muslims protesting caricatures of Islam's prophet set fire Sunday to a building housing the Danish Embassy in Lebanon as security forces fired tear gas in an attempt to stop the protesters.

Protestors wave black and green Islamic flags in front of the burning building housing the Danish mission during a protest against publication of caricatures of Islam's revered prophet in European newspapers, in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Feb. 5, 2006. Demonstrators protesting caricatures of Islam's prophet set fire Sunday to a building housing the Danish mission in Beirut. Security forces shot tear gas into the crowd and fired their weapons in the air in a desperate attempt to stop the onslaught. Casualties, fires and damage of public property were reported in the violence, which came a day after protesters in neighboring Syria torched the Danish and Norwegian embassies in Damascus. (AP Photo)

Thousands of protesters took part in the protest but only a small group of Islamic extremists tried to break the security barrier, prompting troops to fire tear gas and water cannons to disperse them, said the official.

Troops also fired bullets into the air and over the protesters' heads. Demonstrators attacked policemen with stones and set fire to several fire engines, witnesses said. Black smoke was seen billowing from the area. They also burned Danish flags.

The violence in Lebanon came a day after thousands of protesters in neighboring Syria set fire to the Danish and Norwegian embassies in the most violent of furious demonstrations by Muslims in Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

Twelve caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad first published in Denmark's Jyllands-Posten in September and reprinted in European media in the past week. One depicted the prophet wearing a turban shaped as a bomb with a burning fuse. The paper said it had asked cartoonists to draw the pictures because the media was practicing self-censorship when it came to Muslim issues.

The drawings have touched a raw nerve in part because Islamic law is interpreted to forbid any depictions of the Prophet Muhammad.

Lebanese Grand Mufti Mohammed Rashid Kabbani denounced the violence, saying there were infiltrators among the protesters trying to "harm the stability of Lebanon." Speaking on Future TV, he appealed for calm and said there were some who were trying to exploit the protests to cause trouble and "distort the image of Islam."

Lebanon's Prime Minister Fuad Saniora also urged calm.

"Those who are committing these acts have nothing to do with Islam or with Lebanon," said Prime Minister Fuad Saniora. "This is absolutely not the way we express our opinions."

Saniora suggested some in Lebanon may have been inspired by what happened in Syria. "It is as if (the Syrian protests) were a lesson to some in Lebanon to do the same," he told Future TV.

The trouble in Lebanon threatened to take a sectarian spin as protesters stoned the nearby St. Maroun Church, one of the city's main Maronite Catholic churches, and private property in Ashrafieh, a Christian area near Beirut's commercial district. Muslim clerics were seen trying to stop the protesters.

The demonstrators also attacked policemen with stones and set fire to several fire engines, witnesses said. Black smoke was seen billowing from the area. They also burned Danish flags.

Justice Minister Charles Rizk, speaking on LBC television, called on those who hold influence with the protesters to help end the upheaval.

"What is the guilt of the citizens of Ashrafieh of caricatures that were published in Denmark? This sabotage should stop," said Rizk, a Christian.

Any tension with sectarian flavor is a sensitive issue in Lebanon, where Muslims and Christian fought a 15-year civil war that ended in 1990.

[backhoe]

Everything I have found about The War of the 12 Cartoons ( links, blogs, quips, quotes, aggravating pictures ) is located here- click the Pic, and scroll backwards:

[tman73]

"Muslim clerics were seen trying to stop the protesters", in english, while demanding fire and carnage in Arabic. TRUTH IN REPORTING;>

[ClaireSolt]

This is starting to look like Hezbollah and is probably sponsored by Iran, like a lot of other trouble has been. Iran is defiant over pressure to stop nuclear program.

[Patrick_k]

Live from Beirut:

http://www.tayyar.org/galleries/thumbnails.php?album=382

[CodeToad]

Savages. It isn't a religion, it is a cult.

[Lady Heron]

LOL! Great find.

[Beth528]

This is what the pathetic Mohammed was like and these stupid people are like animals and would follows some nit-wit leader like this..Mohammed, married a 6 (SIX!!) year old girl and had sex with her when she was 9 (NINE!!) Isn't this paedophilia?

"Narrated Aisha that the prophet married her when she was six years old and he consummated his marriage when she was nine years old." Vol. 7:64

The rest of the story..please read it will open your eyes to what these morons believe..

http://www.africanaquatics.co.za/_christian/_articles/islam&mohammed.htm

[SuperOne]

just a question... why do the danes have embassies in the middle east??? just wondering...

[JustaCowgirl]

just a question... why do the danes have embassies in the middle east??? just wondering...

I suppose for the same reasons the U.S. does. They trade with them, so they maintain diplomatic relations.

[Chgogal]

:)

LOL!

[HitmanLV]

I have heard this, too, but I haven't seen the three additional hyper-offensive cartoons. Until I do, it doesn't pass the BS test.

[HitmanLV]

I have heard this, too, but I haven't seen the three additional hyper-offensive cartoons. Until I do, it doesn't pass the BS test.

[Fruitbat]

The Danish bloggers are having a blast. Check it out.

ROFLMAO!!!!

They sure are! The "Godfather", Durex, and Hitler ones are excellent. The toilet paper and toilet brush ones are classic too.

The politicians may pander and cower, but you're right, I'm not sure "the street" will.

These muslims are so predictable.

[BunnySlippers]

Thanks for the link.

[BunnySlippers]

[KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle]

They're just like us. Really.

Except insane.

[who knows what evil?]

My faves were the pack of "Mohammed Lights" and the Mohammed shoe sole inserts.

There is a chain of pop-culture stores around New England called 'Newbury Comics'. These stores sell a number of 'Jesus' themed items...'Jesus' action figures, ashtrays, shot glasses, lighters...tasteless and blasphemous; but you don't see outraged 'Christians' burning these stores to the ground...praying for the proprietors, perhaps, but no violence.

[Fruitbat]

Yeah, and those poor kids. Never ever having a chance to grow up as intelligent reasoning human beings. They get turned into little devils from day one.

[indcons]

He was reputed to be a repulsive, ugly man....no wonder muslims are loath to depict him in paintings/images.

[george76]