Muslims say Western media hypocritical on cartoons

DUBAI, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Muslims have decried as hypocrites Western dailies which have cited free speech as the reason for printing disrespectful cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad, saying the same newspapers take pains to avoid lampooning Jews.

The caricatures, first published in a Danish daily in September and then reprinted across Europe, have unleashed fury among Muslims who view any portrayal of their Prophet as blasphemous, let alone one showing him as a terrorist.

What is really insulting, some Muslim clerics and politicians say, is that Europeans do not think twice about denigrating Islam but view ridicule of Judaism as anti-Semitic.

"What about freedom of expression when anti-Semitism is involved? Then it is not freedom of expression. Then it is a crime," said Arab League chief Amr Moussa.

"But when Islam is insulted, certain powers ... raise the issue of freedom of expression. Freedom of expression should be one yardstick, not two or three," he said, adding that the Danish cartoons showed European disdain for Arabs and Muslims.

"He's right, the Western media is hypocritical about the cartoons. Most papers won't print them so as not to offend muslims, but they have no such compunctions against offending Christians."

Exactly! In fact, I'll go a step further and say that our media isn't just hypocrites...they are provocateers (sp). While they won't publish these cartoons for fear of further offending Muslims, they had none of these same concerns when they not only published the photos of Abu Graib for months on end...but sued for the release of more to be published.

Just like the flushing-Koran story, the media knew damn well that this would inflame Muslim emotions; of course, those angry emotions would be aimed at Bush and the military, unlike the cartoons, where the media would take the brunt of the criticism for daring to publish them. These people have no problem endangering the lives of those fighting for us...but Heaven forbid that anger be turned towards them were they might feel threatened.

And you simply can't dismiss the media's silence on this...because they know that further outbursts of violence, especially in this country if they print these cartoons, would damage any sympathy they have garnered against Bush and the WOT. The media just can't afford to have Muslims looking bad if it in any way helps the Bush Administration.

I really do have disdain for a totalitarian death cult and I'm not going to apologize for responsible criticism of its most unsavory traits.

(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")

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