Posted on 04/12/2006 10:28:00 AM PDT by mucho muchacho
JAKARTA (Reuters) - About 300 hardline Indonesian Muslims vandalized a building housing the office of Playboy magazine on Wednesday in a protest against its publication in the world's most populous Muslim nation.
Clad in white shirts and skull caps the protesters threw rocks at the front lobby, breaking the windows of the building in the south of Jakarta several days after the magazine hit news-stands for the first time.
Shouting "Allahu Akbar" (God is Greatest), the protesters also ripped apart several copies of the Indonesian Playboy, which unlike the U.S. original does not show any nudity.
Despite being a much tamer version, the magazine sold out very quickly, partly thanks to controversy surrounding its publication and protests from some Muslim groups.
Apart from Playboy, Indonesia already had its own versions of men's magazines Maxim and FHM, as well as homegrown publications, which feature color pictures of women in minimal clothing.
Members of the hardline Muslim group that organized the demonstration, the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), are known for taking laws into their own hands, for example by attacking bars selling alcohol during the Muslim fasting period, and massage parlors.
Dozens of police were on the scene when the militants carried out the attack but did not make any arrests.
South Jakarta police chief Wiliardi Wizard told Reuters he would question the leader of the group in relation to the incident and detain the perpetrators.
"If they can hand over the perpetrators then that's good. Otherwise we'll have to hunt them," he said.
They are offended by full facial nudity, which must somehow be worse than a naked woman in a veil.
I hate to say it - but maybe Playboy would be a good thing in some of these countries.
It may help take some men's thoughts away from goats and little boys.
Welcome to Free Republic. An interesting story - we can compromise our Western media standards and still not satisfy.
BTW, I didn't know Burkas had crotches. ps the people who read at work would probably prefer commentary with words like "crotches" be in the body of the comment rather than added to the title.
Ah yes, I just love to sit back and enjoy my non-nudity Playboy while I knock back a few non-alcholic beers.
Ooops... my bad. I am "working" from home today and forgot to be workplace sensitive :\
I don't have that issue at my job but I know others do...
This part was interesting
>>Dozens of police were on the scene when the militants carried out the attack but did not make any arrests.<<
Isn't that a helluva commentary on how much power these people have.
A friendly reminder: playboys with nudity will make you go blind! :P
Here is the problem for conservatives,as I see it.
Playboy has been instrumental in perpetuating the whole liberal permissiveness that has helped destroy the traditional American family for the past forty years.Heffner has held benefits at his mansion for many liberal causes.
So,while I despise Islamic fundamentalist fascism,I sort of see their point in protesting.They don't want to see their daughters parading around like little sluts and acting like shameless whores.
Of course,Islam goes the complete opposite route and treats their women like chattel so on this issue I can only say-a plague on both the Playboy amorality AND Muslim bigotry.
Musta been the cartoons!
I think this article and how it's been presented are a perfect example of the problem with how we look at the Islamic world. In a nation of 300 million people, 300 radicals came out to protest, and yet people on this thread already seem to have the impression that Indonesia as a nation is outraged by this. It's similar to the Danish cartoon thing in a way, where the number of protestors generally could be counted in the hundreds, and yet the world regarded it as international outrage.
Totalitarian leaders always find tools like this to parade around and have them go beserk, in order to give the impression that the people of their nations really feel this way. Another good example is the "The Arab Street" outrage in the run-up to the Iraq war. Notice that the "Arab Street" dissapeared shortly after. It's all media hype.
Yes I certainly don’t feel sorry for Playboy given the magazines constant and relentless attack on Bush, the WOT and Iraq.
I won’t buy a copy but if someone else does, I’ll sneak a peak at the pics.
I wish you were right, but you're not.
Where is this massive western-friendly moderate muslim horde you seem to refer to? You know... the ones acting as an intellectual counter their radical elements? Where again?
Even Stevie Wonder could see that coming.
"Where is this massive western-friendly moderate muslim horde you seem to refer to?"
Well, as I pointed out in the original post, Indonesia is a nation of almost 300 million people. 300 protested and you take them to speak for the entire nation. How about the other 299,999,700?
As for "western-friendly", I didn't necessarily mean that the remainder are western freindly (although millions are), and as for "moderate muslim" I refer you back to the majority of the remaining 299,999,700 and would also point out that many (if not most) are in fact secular, and that far more than 300 have actually bought the new Playboy Indonesia and probably more than 300 work for the publication.
Oh, then I guess Islam writ large presents no problem whatsoever to the west. Do tell...
Just another example of their fascist ways.
Fascism is also typified by totalitarian attempts to impose state control over all aspects of life: political, social, cultural, and economic. The fascist state regulates and controls (as opposed to nationalizing) the means of production. Fascism exalts the nation, state, or race as superior to the individuals, institutions, or groups composing it. Fascism uses explicit populist rhetoric; calls for a heroic mass effort to restore past greatness; and demands loyalty to a single leader, often to the point of a cult of personality.
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