Free Republic

This is the young Danish Islamic scholar who distributed booklets of photocopied cartoons to Muslim leaders in the Mideast, sparking a firestorm of anger around the world DOUG SAUNDERS COPENHAGEN -- In late December, a young Danish man flew to Beirut. In his suitcase was a package of spiral-bound booklets in green covers, neatly compiled using a colour photocopier. Their contents consisted mainly of cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed. He was unlikely to have stood out. A short man of 31 who could have passed for half that age, he had a feminine voice and soft hands and was somewhat...

The editorial staff of the New York independent weekly NY Press have quit their jobs en masse after the paper's PTB decided that they were not going to publish the Danish cartoons which sparked the Global Cartoon Riots. Editor Harry Siegel, e-mailed the publishers on behalf of the staff, writing in part: New York Press, like so many other publications, has suborned its own professed principles. For all the talk of freedom of speech, only the New York Sun locally and two other papers nationally have mustered the minimal courage needed to print simple and not especially offensive editorial cartoons...

An interesting development in the cartoon war. Sandmonkey points out that Al Fagr newpaper in Cairo published the cartoons in October 2005 - and there were no riots.

Not long ago, as I was strolling through the sprawling bazaars of the holy city of Qom in Iran—a city often referred to as "the Vatican of Shiism"—I came across a cramped, catacomblike shop that sold religious trinkets to tourists. Hanging in the shop's window was a poster depicting what looked like a beautiful young girl with large, bright eyes and a cherubic face lit up by some unseen source of light. The girl wore a loose headdress, like a turban she had carelessly let unravel, from which peeked thick strands of lush, black hair. She looked skyward, her rosy...

Radio France-Inter reports that a senior french government minister tried to influence the judges who were going to rule on an injunction to prevent the publication of the controversial cartoons by the weekly satirical magazine Charlie-Hebdo.The injunction application was dismissed on technical grounds.

Nearly half of those polled say they have become more skeptical about Islam as a religion after the global uproar around the Mohammed caricatures. The result comes from a survey carried out by InFact for Norway's best-selling newspaper VG. According to the survey, which was carried out on Tuesday, 47.8 percent of those asked said they were more skeptical about Islam, while 36.7 percent their opinion of the religion had not been affected by the caricature controversy. A small group of 6.5 percent said they were less skeptical about Islam after the turmoil. At the same time, 30.8 percent say...

Back in 1739, England declared war against Spain in what was initially known as the War of Jenkin’s Ear, which involved the alleged Spanish mistreatment of English sailors and featured British seaman Robert Jenkins’ display of his severed ear before an astonished and quickly aroused Parliament.

Did a 1997 U.S. Supreme Court rejection of a petition from domestic Muslims to remove a then 66-year-old depiction of the Prophet Muhammad from its Washington, DC courtroom pave the way for Muslim violent protest over the Jyllands-Posten cartoons? Riots broke out half way around the world in 1997 when Chief Justice William Rehnquist refused to remove the portion of a marble frieze representing the Prophet Muhammad.

President Bush called Wednesday for an end to violence triggered by drawings of the Prophet Muhammad but also said press freedom should be exercised with sensitivity. "We reject violence as a way to express discontent with what may be printed in a free press," Bush said. "I call upon the governments around the world to stop the violence, to be respectful, to protect property, protect the lives of innocent diplomats who are serving their countries overseas," the president said. Bush also said that Americans believe in a free press, and added, "With freedom comes the responsibility to be thoughtful about...

The editorial staff of the alternative weekly New York Press walked out today, en masse, after the paper's publishers backed down from printing the Danish cartoons that have become the center of a global free-speech fight. Editor-in-Chief Harry Siegel emails, on behalf of the editorial staff: New York Press, like so many other publications, has suborned its own professed principles. For all the talk of freedom of speech, only the New York Sun locally and two other papers nationally have mustered the minimal courage needed to print simple and not especially offensive editorial cartoons that have been used as a...

The chief rabbi of Copenhagen has criticised as “stupid” the decision of Danish newspaper Jylands Posten to publish the now infamous cartoon of Muslim prophet Muhammed. Muslims around the world have held violent demonstrations outside Danish embassies over the last week to protest the image, which reportedly featured Muhammed wearing a turban made out of a bomb. Scenes of angry mobs in cities from London to Riyadh burning Danish flags have shocked politicians and community members alike. Chief Rabbi Bent Lexner, who has made efforts to improve the relationships between Jews and Moslems in Denmark in recent years, said although...

Danish peacekeeping forces' offices and cars were stormed with rocks by Hevron Arabs, who tried to set them alight. The forces had moved to Tel Aviv because of anti-Mohammed cartoon-related threats. A mob of 300 Arabs in Hevron attacked and burnt the Danish and Norwegian peace-keeping headquarters this morning. Cars and other property belonging to the observers were also targeted. PA police fired in the air, but the rioting did not quiet down. Israeli forces are standing by, ready to intervene if necessary. Jewish residents of Hevron viewed the violence with irony, as the peacekeeping force has long been perceived...

The widespread prohibition in the Islamic world against depicting the Prophet Muhammad springs from concern that even well-intentioned images could lead to idolatry or show disrespect for a figure Islam considers the model of human perfection. Still, Islam's holy book does not forbid such depiction, most clerics agree. Instead, the unwillingness to show Muhammad's image stems from sayings of the prophet and custom that has grown up over centuries, reaching the status of Islamic law in many Muslims' minds. The outrage sparked by caricatures of the prophet published in European papers is the result of this devotion for Muhammad. "Out...

Tuesday, February 7, 2006 FROM WND'S JERUSALEM BUREAUIranian fingerprints on cartoon-rage riots?Lebanese leader accuses Tehran of plotting torchings with Syria Posted: February 7, 20062:10 p.m. Eastern By Aaron Klein © 2006 WorldNetDaily.com The ongoing riots throughout the Middle East and the burnings this past weekend of Danish government offices in Damascus and Beirut in protest of newspaper cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad bear the fingerprints of "Iranian and Syrian plotting," Lebanese leader Walid Jumblatt charged during an exclusive interview. He warned Syria and Iran might use the cartoon riots as a pretense to attack American and European troops in Iraq. "It...

By Kevin D. Korenthal MichNews.com Feb 7, 2006 Radical Islamic leaders are coming to realize that efforts to Islamatize Europe and the rest of the world are failing and that Europe is figuring out that no life, not even that which is sensitive to the Jihadists’ cause, is sacred. So it’s time for plan “B”. Plan “B” involves creating (what the media is incorrectly calling) a “row” with which to create the cover for more intimidation and violence which is the Islamic way. If Muslims were really interested in stopping the cartoons from appearing, they would be using shame, not...

We are in the midst of an Intifada designed to remake Europe in a manner more in line with the creed of its religious Muslim minority. Placing respect for Islam above freedom of the press would be one such change. Using state power to limit freedom of speech would be another. Europe has three options. It can agree to accommodate Muslim demands, disengage from the Middle East, or join the American struggle to democratize the Middle East. Let me outline briefly the meaning of each choice.