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.

[JustaCowgirl]

Yet another round. This time they're going after churches too.

[MedicalMess]

We have pried open the soft underbelly of the beast!

Don't stop now!

DRAW MORE CARTOONS!!!

Then the world will begin to see this trash for the Nazis that they are.

DRAW MORE CARTOONS!!!

ALL ARTISTS TO THEIR PALLETTES!

[relictele]

Ah, the religion of peace is at it again.

Here are two plane tickets for Ted Rall & Garry Trudeau to go over and help the Mooselems with their 'Freedom of the Press' tour.

[Fruitbat]

Agreed! Let's get this Satan out in the full view of the public.

[tkathy]

Maybe it's time for some brave young warriors:

Every time one of our soldiers dies, or indeed, any one in the world is butchered in the name of islam, a Koran is publically burned and an effigy of Mohammad is burned.

[finnman69]

Intolerance?

Smoke billowed today from the Danish Consulate in downtown Beirut, Lebanon, where hundreds of demonstrators protested a Danish newspaper's publication of cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed. Islamic anger over the depictions of the Mohammed is boiling over into violence around the world.

England Protesters chant slogans outside the French embassy in London denouncing cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed.

Iraq Sunni Muslims burn Danish products in a bonfire Friday in Baghdad in protest of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed first published in a Danish newspaper and then in other European publications.

West Bank Members of Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades burn the Danish flag near Ramallah in protest of European newspapers that published cartoons depicting Mohammed. Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades is a military offshoot of the former Palestinian ruling Fatah Party.

Thousands of angry demonstrators storm the Danish embassy in Damascus, Syria, on Saturday

[Brilliant]

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




And you can understand why Muhammad had the foresight to forbid depictions of himself.

[Rossputin]

For thos of you who are interested, see my view on the Muslim Cartoon Uprising...essentially that it's a good thing for Europe, and it's about time. Also, as far as offensive cartoons go, Muslims can dish it out but they can't take it.

http://rossputin.com/blog/index.php/a/2006/02/05/abhorrent_muslim_behavior_is_welcome_wa

[Beth528]

[Brilliant]

"Muslim clerics were seen trying to stop the protesters."

That's an interesting line. It might just be the media's bias, or it might be that the clerics sense things are getting out of their control.

[dmw]

The "fruits" of a peace loving religion...

[headsonpikes]

"Protestors."

Only if they employ SAMs and vehicle-mounted machine guns are they to be called "militants".

Short of their actual use of nuclear weapons, they are never to be called "terrorists".

All according to the MSM.

[kstewskis]

If we think that our "leaders" in the West are still intending to appease these monsters with milk and cookies to get them to settle down, then we need to consider them as the enemy too.

The Moose-limbs are declaring war on the West, but hide behind the cowardly curtain called "protest."

Go Denmark.

[JustaCowgirl]

Lebanese Islamists chant slogans after burning the Danish consulate in Beirut February 5, 2006. Angry demonstrators set the Danish consulate in Beirut ablaze on Sunday and the violent turn in protests over publication of cartoons of Prophet Mohammad drew condemnation from European capitals and moderate Muslims. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir

[JustaCowgirl]

Go Denmark.

Amen. And the rest of the West needs to stand behind them.

[MedicalMess]

MORE CARTOONS HERE:

http://retecool.com/comments.php?id=13539_0_1_0_C


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

[KJC1]

LOL!
All of this is so NOT funny, so that cartoon was a welcome laugh in all this. [still laughing!]

[Andy from Beaverton]

[R. Scott]

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.

It would be a safe assumption that if anyone was in the building at the time their lives were in danger. Instead of firing tear gas, what if they used deadly force - and killed a few dozen rioters? How many would want to join the next riot?
There would be a few hard core wishing to die for the cause – but I doubt there would be the huge crowds.

[SandRat]

Guess this is what it is all about after all.