Posted on 02/19/2006 8:07:38 AM PST by janetjanet998
JAKARTA, Indonesia - Hundreds of Muslims protesting caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad tried to storm the U.S. Embassy on Sunday, smashing the windows of a guard post but failing to push through the gates. Several people were injured.
Pakistani security forces, meanwhile, sealed off the capital of Islamabad to block a planned mass demonstration and fired tear gas and gunshots to chase off protesters. In Turkey, tens of thousands gathered in Istanbul chanting slogans against Denmark, Israel and the United States.
Protests over the cartoons, which first appeared in a Danish newspaper in September and have been republished in other European publications and elsewhere, have swept across the Muslim world, growing into mass outlets for rage against the West in general, and Israel and the United States in particular.
Christians also have become targets. Pakistani Muslims protesting in the southern city of Sukkur ransacked and burned a church Sunday after hearing accusations that a Christian man had burned pages of the Quran, Islam's holy book.
That incident came a day after Muslims protesting in the Nigerian city of Maiduguri attacked Christians and burned 15 churches in a three-hour rampage that killed at least 15 people. Some 30 other people have died during protests over the cartoons that erupted about three weeks ago.
In Jakarta, about 400 people marched to the heavily fortified U.S. mission in the center of the city, behind a banner reading "We are ready to attack the enemies of the Prophet."
Protesters throwing stones and brandishing wooden staves tried to break through the gates. They set fire to U.S. flags and a poster of President Bush and smashed the windows of a guard outpost before dispersing after a few minutes.
The U.S. Embassy called the attacks deplorable, describing them as acts of "thuggery."
A protest organizer said the West, and particularly the United States, is attacking Islam.
"They want to destroy Islam through the issue of terrorism ... and all those things are engineered by the United States," said Maksuni, who only uses one name.
"We are fighting America fiercely this time," he said. "And we also are fighting Denmark."
In Pakistan, where protests last week left five people dead, police put up roadblocks around Islamabad to keep people from entering the capital for a planned mass protest called by a coalition of six hard-line Islamic parties, the Mutahida Majlis-e-Amal — United Action Forum.
Authorities also detained several lawmakers and Islamic leaders during raids in three cities and announced they would arrest anyone joining a gathering of more than five people to prevent the demonstration.
Opposition leader Maulana Fazlur Rahman, a senior figure in the Islamic coalition, was eventually given permission to lead a small rally through a square in the city center. The protesters chanted "God is great!" and "Any friend of America is a traitor."
But when about 100 other protesters tried to reach the square, officers fired tear gas and at least one gunshot to chase them off. More gunshots were heard later in the city, but it wasn't clear who fired them. At least two policemen were injured, one bleeding from the head. Several demonstrators also were hurt.
A crowd of 700 people, some throwing stones at police, tried to march toward Islamabad's heavily guarded diplomatic enclave about 1.3 miles from the square but with blocked by troops in armored personnel carriers.
Police also blocked about 1,500 protesters from reaching Islamabad from the city of Peshawar by putting shipping containers and sandbags on a bridge along a highway leading to the capital, said Mohammed Iqbal, a key member of the religious alliance.
Elsewhere in Pakistan, about 600 people staged a protest in Chaman, a town near the Afghan border, burning Danish flags and an effigy of the Danish prime minister.
Such protests prompted Denmark on Sunday to temporarily recall its ambassador to Pakistan, Bent Wigotski, because it was impossible for him "to perform his job duties during the present circumstances," the Danish Foreign Ministry said in a statement
Dude bombing Muslim land hasn't stopped ANYONE over there.
Look at Iraq. Look at Jordan. Look at Saudi.
As long as the Jews or the infidels are taken out in the process, they could kill 1 Million other Muslims and it wouldn't matter to the Iranians......
I think you may be giving the Iranians more credit than they deserve.
We're talking about the a-bomb though. They don't need to nuke Jerusalem. They just need to blow up a few infidel cities, and watch us run. That's their thought process.
Why do you think they attacked the WTC?
These riots have absolutely NOTHING to do with those cartoons
One cannot disagree but a full front global war seems to be on the horizon ...
That's unfortunately true,yes.
Just think of it as a free chest x-ray for everyone within 20 miles! :~)
I wish we would just level one of these damn devil nations like IRan and teach the puke devil Islam scum what we are all about.
>One cannot disagree but a full front global war seems to be on the horizon ...
The unthinkable question, that must be thought of, is: "Does the West have to destroy the Muslim world as we know it.... before they destroy us?"
The answer is probably yes.
" Darn Carter! Keep telling the world how the U.S. deserves to be hated!! "
Let's not forget Gore, who only recently said the US was mis-treating Saudis, while speaking in Saudi Arbia. With former Presidents and VP's like Carter, Clinton and Gore, we don't need enemies.
This past week the media was all over the bird accident story, but hardly a word spoken about Gore and his hate speech against this country. The muslim news will probably be only to happy to play clips of Gore over and over again, to incite more terrorism and riots.
Not that they need a reason to riot - only another excuse.
" These riots have absolutely NOTHING to do with those cartoons ""
Very true. The whole thing was organized by the Islamic Society of Denmark, complete with fake cartoons.
What a fabulous .gif! Where'd you get that?
Bravo. Great statement.
Calling Islam a religion of peace is as wrong and ridiculous as calling Nazis tolerant, peaceful people.
This is a war, and telling everyone that our sworn enemy is 'peaceful' doesn't do much to help rally others to the cause and win the conflict as quickly as possible. Now that I think about it, it's no surprise that alot of our so called 'allies' aren't interested in helping out when we call the very people we are fighting peaceful. It's time for the president to finally call a spade a spade.
I disagree. How about a leader who tells it like it is? Diplomacy is going to kill us.
True, and they will fight it tooth and nail, even after the M.E. cuts us off. They hate America as much as the muzzies.
I agree with most of what you say. However there is a big problem that I am worried about. If the president is indeed playing a poker game with them there is one very big flaw to his technique: he will only be president until January 2009. After that there is a good chance that the next president will be an appease and surrender at all costs dim, and a very good chance that it will be an appease at all costs RINO. If we don't win this thing decisively within the next couple of years, chances are good that some squishy, poll driven, image obsessed jelly fish will be the next commander-in-chief called on to finish the job. Are you comfortable with that?
He trusts the american people
And he has faith in us to fight like hell not to allow a dim wit dem or a Rino into office.
The president is doing every thing he can to fight this war on terror .. but he also needs our help
"mainly populated with disenchanted unemployed who need something to blame for their miserable life, and signs printed for the Western media's benefit so the MSM can continue to help them with their shared hate-America-first agenda."
Yep.
Yeah, and treason used to be against the law, but hey--let's all just get high, sing kumbaya and envision world peace instead....?
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