Here we go again

They're still really, really offended:

Danish Muslim preachers sought to soothe Muslim anger on Friday after newspapers reprinted a drawing of the Prophet Mohammad which caused outrage in Islamic countries two years ago.

Danish papers republished one of the drawings of Mohammad on Wednesday in protest against what they said was a plot to murder the cartoonist who drew it.

Mostafa Chendid, an imam at the Islamic part Community, said Danish media had confused freedom of expression with the freedom to insult others.

But he called for all Muslims to "cool down" and "turn "the other cheek," rather than pursue a violence, saying this would harm Islam the same way the cartoons had.

[...]

Several hundred Muslims gathered in central Copenhagen on Friday to protest the publication of the cartoon, shouting "God is great," as they marched.

Thousands of supporters of the Islamist group Hamas protested in the Gaza Strip against the reprinting.

[...]

Dozens of Islamist students burned the Danish flag in southern Pakistan on Thursday, while in Kuwait, several parliamentarians called for a boycott of Danish goods.

Denmark's foreign ministry on Thursday advised Danes to avoid unnecessary travel to Pakistan...

There have also been riots in Copenhagen. Here's the assessment of Chief Inspector Henrik Olesen of the Copenhagen police:

[...]

"We don't know why they're rioting. I think it's because they're bored. Some people say it's because of the cartoons but that's not my opinion," Olesen said...

For a broader perspective, here's an article by Flemming Rose, the culture editor of Jyllands-Posten

Free Speech and Radical Islam

[...]

Every one of the above cases speaks to the same problem: a global battle for the right to free speech. The cases are different, and you can't compare the legal systems in Egypt and Norway, but the justifications for censorship and self-censorship are similar in different parts of the world: Religious feelings and taboos need to be treated with a kind of sensibility and respect that other feelings and ideas cannot command.

This position boils down to a simple rule: If you respect my taboo, I'll respect yours. That was the rule of the game during the Cold War until people like Vaclav Havel, Lech Walesa, Andrei Sakharov and other dissenting voices behind the Iron Curtain insisted on another rule: It is not cultures, religions or political systems that enjoy rights. Human beings enjoy rights, and certain principles like the ones embedded in the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights are universal...

As for one threatened:

Ayaan Hirsi Ali Asks EU Lawmakers for Protection

After spending the last two years in the US and recently requesting French citizenship, Ayaan Hirsi Ali went before a group of 100 EU lawmakers to request assistance in protecting her life from Muslim jihadists who vowed to hunt her down...

Mark C.

Posted by markc at February 15, 2008 06:16 PM