[Vision2020] Rage at Drawings Spreads in Muslim World

[Pat Kraut]

Somehow Islamic extremists have the idea that they can control the entire
world with as much violence as it takes and they do not care who they kill
or hurt. And once again if the UN and the world does not take care of Iran
and Korea someone will have to.


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "J Ford" <privatejf32 at hotmail.com>
To: <vision2020 at moscow.com>
Sent: Thursday, February 02, 2006 4:52 PM
Subject: [Vision2020] Rage at Drawings Spreads in Muslim World


I believe this is what Mr. Nisbet has been discussing:


Rage at Drawings Spreads in Muslim World

By IBRAHIM BARZAK

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) - Armed militants angered by a cartoon drawing of
the Prophet Muhammad published in European newspapers surrounded EU offices
in Gaza on Thursday and threatened to kidnap foreigners as outrage over the
caricatures spread across the Islamic world.

More than 300 students demonstrated in Pakistan, chanting ``Death to
France!'' and ``Death to Denmark!'' - two of the countries where newspapers
published the drawings. Other protests were held in Syria and Lebanon.

Officials in Afghanistan, Iran and Indonesia condemned the publication. In
Paris, the daily France Soir fired its managing editor after it ran the
caricatures Wednesday.

A Jordanian newspaper took the bold step of running some of the drawings,
saying it wanted to show its readers how offensive the cartoons were but
also urging the world's Muslims to ``be reasonable.'' Hours later, the
owners of the weekly, Shihan, said they had fired its editor and withdrawn
the issue from sale, and the government threatened legal action.

Foreign journalists, diplomats and aid workers began leaving Gaza as gunmen
there threatened to kidnap citizens of France, Norway, Denmark and Germany
unless those governments apologize for the cartoon.

Gunmen in the West Bank city of Nablus entered four hotels to search for
foreigners to abduct and warned their owners not to host guests from several
European countries. Gunmen said they were also searching apartments in
Nablus for Europeans.

Militants in Gaza said they would shut down media offices from France,
Norway, Denmark and Germany, singling out the French news agency Agence
France-Presse.

``Any citizens of these countries, who are present in Gaza, will put
themselves in danger,'' a Fatah-affiliated gunman said outside the EU
Commission's office in Gaza, flanked by two masked men holding rifles.

If the European governments don't apologize by Thursday evening, ``any
visitor of these countries will be targeted,'' he said.

The furor over the drawings, which first ran in the Danish paper
Jyllands-Posten in September, cuts to the question of which is more sacred
in the Western world - freedom of expression or respect for religious
beliefs. The cartoons include an image of Muhammad wearing a turban shaped
as a bomb with a burning fuse.

Islamic law, based on clerics' interpretation of the Quran and the sayings
of the prophet, absolutely forbids depictions, even positive ones, of the
Prophet Muhammad in order to prevent idolatry.

The drawings have prompted boycotts of Danish goods, bomb threats and
demonstrations against Danish facilities.

The Danish newspaper defended its decision to publish the caricatures,
citing freedom of expression, but apologized to Muslims for causing offense.

France Soir and several other European papers reprinted the drawings in
solidarity with the Danish daily. Jyllands-Posten also had put some of the
drawings briefly on its Web site, and the images still can be found
elsewhere on the Internet.

The Israeli newspaper Maariv published a tiny version of the Muhammad-bomb
caricature Thursday, on page 16.

Foreign journalists were pulling out of Gaza on Thursday, and foreign media
organizations were canceling plans to send more people in.

Norway suspended operations at its office in the West Bank town of Ram after
receiving threats connected to publication of the cartoons by the Norwegian
Christian newspaper Magazinet.

``There were threats from two Palestinian groups, the Popular Resistance
Committees and the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, against Danish, French and
Norwegian diplomats,'' Norwegian Foreign Ministry spokesman Rune Bjaastad
said.

Jan Pirouz Poulsen, the Danish representative office's deputy head, said
there were six Danes in Gaza and about 20 in the West Bank, and that all had
been urged to leave.

Raif Holmboe, the head of Denmark's representative office in the West Bank
town of Ramallah, said the office would be closed Friday and no decision has
been made whether to reopen Monday. Holmboe said shots were fired at the
Ramallah office earlier this week while the building was empty. No one was
hurt.

Palestinian security officials said they would try to protect foreigners in
Gaza, but police have largely been unable to do so in the past, with 19
foreigners kidnapped - and released unharmed - in recent months, mostly by
Fatah gunmen.

Emma Udwin, a European Union spokeswoman in Brussels, said security measures
have been taken in light of the threats.

Outgoing Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia condemned the caricatures,
saying they ``provoke all Muslims everywhere in the world.'' He asked gunmen
not to attack foreigners, ``but we warn that emotions may flare in this very
sensitive issues.''

Sami Abu Zuhri, a spokesman for the Islamic militant Hamas also demanded an
apology from European countries. However, he said foreigners in Gaza must
not be harmed.

Thursday's events began when a dozen gunmen with ties to Fatah approached
the office of the EU Commission in Gaza. Three jumped on the outer wall and
the rest took up positions at the entrance. The group demanded the apologies
and urged Palestinians to boycott the products of Norway, Denmark, France
and Germany.

A leaflet signed by a Fatah militia and the militant Islamic Jihad group
said the EU office and churches in Gaza could come under attack and urged
French citizens to leave Gaza. The gunmen left after about 45 minutes.
Palestinian employees of the EU Commission had not come to work Thursday,
and foreigners working at the office are based outside Gaza, and only visit
from time to time.

In Multan, Pakistan, more than 300 Islamic students chanted ``Death to
Denmark!'' and ``Death to France!'' and burned flags of both countries near
an Islamic school.

Iraqi Islamic leaders called for demonstrations from Baghdad to the southern
city of Basra following prayer services Friday.

Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai condemned the images, calling the
publication an ``insult ... to more than 1 billion Muslims.''

Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman Yuri Thamrin said that while his
country upholds free expression, ``such freedom cannot be used as a pretext
to insult a religion.'' The Indonesian newspaper Rakyat Merdeka put the
Muhammad-bomb caricature on its Web site to illustrate its story about the
uproar but covered his eyes with a red banner to avoid making the image
``vulgar,'' a caption said.

Iran summoned Austrian Ambassador Stigel Bauer, representing the European
Union, to protest the publication, the Islamic Republic News Agency
reported. Bauer expressed ``sorrow'' and promised to convey Iran's protest
to his government and other EU countries, IRNA said.

The Jordanian newspaper Shihan reprinted three of the caricatures to show
readers ``the extent of the Danish offense.'' Next to the drawings, the
weekly said: ``This is how the Danish newspaper portrayed Prophet Muhammad,
may God's blessing and peace be upon him.''

Later, its owner, the Arab Publishers Co., fired editor Jihad al-Momani,
saying he had caused a ``shock to the firm and those responsible for it,''
the official Petra news agency reported. It said the issue was withdrawn
from the market and opened an investigation to determine if other staff were
involved. A spokesman for the publisher confirmed the report.

Government spokesman Nasser Judeh said Shihan committed a ``big mistake'' by
reprinting the drawings.

``The government strongly denounces this issues, which it considers
extremely harmful, and demands an immediate apology from the newspaper,''
Judeh said. He said the state is reviewing ``all options, especially legal
action'' against Shihan.

Al-Momani declined comment. Earlier, he had told The Associated Press he
decided to run the cartoons to ``display to the public the extent of the
Danish offense and condemn it in the strongest terms.''

``But their publication is not meant in any way to promote such blasphemy,''
al-Momani added.

An editorial signed by al-Momani and titled ``Muslims of the world, be
reasonable,'' noted that the Danish paper had apologized, ``but for some
reason, nobody in the Muslim world wants to hear the apology.''

The director of media rights group Reporters Without Borders, Robert Menard,
called for calm. ``We need to figure out how to reconcile freedom of
expression and respect of faith,'' he said.

Vebjoern Selbekk, editor of Norway's Magazinet, said he had received
thousands of hate e-mails, including 20 death threats, since printing the
drawings and was under police protection.

J  :]

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