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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
Perhaps the "moderates" need a swift kick in the rear end and recognize that we are not going to roll over and die at their feet. Perhaps the "moderates" need to learn that other religions and other people of good will are looking at their religion as an enemy. Right now "moderate muslims" feel no pain. Their fanatic brothers are allowed to commit any kind of outrage imaginable without anyone but the victim suffering any pain. I think starting with the acknowledgment that islam is the problem will begin to end the problem. You say that we can not openly attack their religion right now I say, why not? I will be interested in knowing how you would approach this problem.
Annoy a Jihadist - Mock Muhammed!
"Its teachings are violent and 7th century in its concept. It needs to be crushed, utterly destroyed ..."
Whoa nelly. Let's acknowledge that the first statement is true in many respects. The last thing we want and which the jihadists do want is a war against a whole religion of 1 billion adherents ... this is what the jihadists are hoping for.
The "religion of peace" cr*p is a way to acknolwedge that most muslims have *not* signed up for this violence and jihadist extremism. I think the strategy is right - as the romans put it: DIVIDE AND CONQUER. Splitting jihadists from normal, educated muslims is step one.
That being said, printing some tame cartoons and other non-provocations is sure proving the point of how irrational the muslim mobs can be.
MinuteGal is right. Bush is not attacking the religion, its adherents, or its prophet. Bush is going after islamo-fascist terrorists - the right focus.
If you want the eternal condemnation of the world, going off half-cocked and saying nonsense like ... "Wipe them off the face of the earth! " .... will earn it. how is that any different than the extremist muslim mentality against the Jews? Any different from what that vile Iranian PM said, just with different targets?
If you really want to defeat Mohammedan religion, quit saying vile things like wishing whole populations killed. Stick to 2 basic points:
1. It's a false, phony and violent religion that should be rejected everywhere.
2. If any muslim becomes johnny Jihadists or terrorists and attack us, *then* we respond and justifiably kill or capture them.
And prescription for violence against muslim civilians of any form is both morally wrong and strategically disastrous.
I think you had better go back and check who you are sending your post to. At no time have I said "wipe them off the face of the earth."
You had a bracelet too. That's neat. You may appreciate the page I did for Fred.
http://moonpie.home.att.net/fred.htm
Here's Bruce:
OMG, there are radicals in Indonesia! It must be because they are Muslim, not because they live in shacks and eat dirt.
It's time to start issuing embassy guards miniguns for battlement wall mounts.
Not just Roaman .... Islam needs to be viewed as Carthage was. And then treated just like Carthage.
Oh I'm sure the Muslims will embrace that idiotic logic. Go talk to some of them and I'm sure they will just drop their faith with that Mr. Rogers logic. Gosh its worked so well for Israel hasn't it? If I need to grow up with my logic, you need to wake up with yours!
Was the embassy destroyed?
I believe Bruce and Fred were truely fine men. It is really sad to have lost them.
Both are still MIA. We still have hope.
God Bless.
He has to say that out of diplomatic and political necessity. Don't think for a second that he beleives it.
No, actually I think that President Bush is literally & truly a multi-culturalist appeaser, who in his heart believes there is no difference between Muslims & Christians in their excercise of their religious beliefs. President Bush is on record for having stated that in his mind, all roads lead to heaven, including for Christians & Muslims alike.
He does believe it, otherwise he wouldn't say this crap as often as he does. Or else he is just a coward who is afraid to stand up and tell off the politically correct thought police!
Sounds like good squishy, soft, non-Biblical, human reasoning!
And just exactly would we lose if it would go to hell in a handbasket?
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