Muslims Hate Denmark

Flags burned and protesters chanted as outrage spread over the Middle East, with Denmark being the brunt of the storm. Trouble started brewing when Frederik Anders, a 12 year old boy from Copenhagen, posted a photo on his blog of the Egyptian pyramid he built from materials created by the Denmark-based company LEGO.

His blog, "I Love LEGO" was bombarded with messages threatening him with death. Islamic leaders demanded an apology from the Danish government, or predicted more violence.
At a demonstration organized by Hamas, tens of thousands of protesters marched in the streets, some of them chanting: "Those responsible should have their hands cut off."
"We are a religion of peace," said a cleric.
Oops, wrong story. Oh, yes, the satirical cartoons published in the Danish newspaper, Jyllands-Posten. One of the cartoons shows Muhammad as a jihad warrior wearing a turban shaped like a bomb.
I wouldn’t dare publish the cartoons here, in fear of my life. But as a newly self-actualized Jewish blogger, I can publish this lovely "satirical" cartoon from today’s Bahrain’s newspaper, Akhbar al-Khalij, explaining how this Danish situation was really caused BY THE JEWS!

The text reads "The Penetration of Zionism to Denmark." Notice the "Star of David"- shaped cheese and the worms.
That’s it! — this weekend I am boycotting all shish-kabobs!
Update: You can see the "offensive" Danish cartoons here, here, and here.
Update #2: The burning of the Danish Embassy in Syria.

Update #3: Burning the Danish Consulate in Beirut — all because of cartoons…

UPDATE 4: I’ve decided to "publish" the photos as well, in support of the Danish publisher.
No tag for this post.








84 Comments so far
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Oh that is funny, yeah buddy please do boycotting all shishkabab loool
By Yasmiin on 02.03.06 2:56 pm
As an amateur cartoonist, that Danish guy is my new hero! I mean, to think, a silly little doodle enraging millions of morons — I mean, fanatical muslims, sorry… Take that, Doonesbury! Did Charles Schultz ever have to take down Peanuts and hide inside the doghouse, instead of sleeping atop it like Snoopy? Good grief!
(if Mohammed had a bomb in his turban, did it make him look like a blockhead?)
By Michael on 02.03.06 2:59 pm
Given the uproar about the Muslim cartoons, I wanted to invite you to see “Ugly” Jesus… he’s not “Pretty” or “GQ”… http://www.uglyjesus.com Does Jesus care how he was depicted, or even that he was depicted in art?
Sincerely,
Ray Charles Istre
http://www.uglyjesus.com
By Ray Charles Istre on 02.03.06 3:24 pm
Michael — Charles Schultz made a mint mocking psychiatry with the way that that two-faced Lucy would charge for her shitty psychiatric advice. Lucy was also an insult to women by the way she was portrayed as a “feminist bitch” (taking football away from Charlie Brown), a “slut and ho” (throwing herself repeatedly at Schroeder, almost ruining his classical music career), and “emotionally unstable with PMS” (constantly breaking Schroeder’s bust of Beethoven). Why was there no protest by women in the media?
By Neil on 02.03.06 3:26 pm
What about your “Family Circus” post? That was insulting to families everywhere.
By Sophia on 02.03.06 3:33 pm
That Frederick fucking Anders. Again? Tuh.
By Spirit Of Owl on 02.03.06 5:43 pm
Oh yeah, let the cartoons freeeeee!
By Spirit Of Owl on 02.03.06 5:46 pm
This whole situation is downright scary. Mohammed was truly a great man. And Islam is one of the most misunderstood religions in the world.
If nothing else, let this issue be a reason for at least ONE PERSON to read about Islam and to understand what it really means. It’s a lovely philosophy in its true form. But, as with anything that has been pushed to its extreme, it has become wildly disfigured by politics.
I was raised Catholic but identify more with Buddhism than anything. A while back I decided to read on the World’s major religions and realize that we are essentially the same.
What a shame not more people realize this. Bloggers…. your assignment should you choose to accept it: Read about the origins of three religions this weekend. Let’s make the world a better place one person at a time.
Namaste.
~HDJ
By He's Dead, Jim! on 02.03.06 7:47 pm
I would say I am surprised but come on, are any of us surprised by what the Muslims do while chanting the whole while “we are peaceful people”. There now, I thought not.
By Just Lil Ole Daisy Mae on 02.03.06 8:26 pm
Daisy Mae — I really don’t think either of us should include the entire Muslim world in one swoop. Now that I think about it, my title was probably inflammatory, and I apologize for it.
That said, let me turn to my friend, HDJ.
HDJ, this is what you said –
“If nothing else, let this issue be a reason for at least ONE PERSON to read about Islam and to understand what it really means. ”
HDJ, I know you’re a peace-loving person and we need more of you in this world. I really do mean that, especially in a world where there is so much hate. But the first question that comes to my mind in response to your comment is, “Why?” What does that have to do with the situation? We’re not really talking about Mohammed, are we? We’re talking about some members of a group threatening violence for nonsensical reasons in the year 2006. If you were a teacher in the second grade and there was a bratty kid in the room throwing things at others and going into tantrums when he didn’t get his way, making racist and false accusations at the boy in front of him, and threatening others with violence, what would be your response? Would you give a homework assignment to the REST OF THE CLASS requiring them to go home and do a paper on this kid’s family heritage so they can understand him better? Or would you send him to detention?
By Neil on 02.03.06 9:34 pm
I applaud the surprising existence of an intelligent political post. here i was wasting time, reading mostly stupid blogs, when i wandered across a post that made me smile while introducing, if not addressing, some pressing points.
By Aviva on 02.04.06 12:24 am
the part detailing my two cents was deleted. to sum it up, the moslem point would appear more valid were jews, rabbis and other religious figures not depicted so despicably in their media…
yes, depicting the prophet is extremely offensive to moslems. however, it’s impossible to eliminate all offences without eliminating the freedoms of speech and press that we so value in western society.
today a qassam rocket hit a home in kibbutz karmiya, injuring an infant.
the hamas charter calls for the death of israel and all of the jewish people.
and their most pressing concern is a cartoon?
By Aviva on 02.04.06 12:29 am
Aviva, I don’t think we need to turn this discussion into an Israel vs. Palestinian one. For once, Israel really has nothing to do with this, despite what the Bahrainian cartoon says to rev up the hatred (if you really want to see some offensive politcial cartoons, it’s absolutely scary the ones that the Arab media publish about the Jews).
The main issue here is repressive Middle Eastern countries that keep their populace living with religious and political ideologies that are 500 years behind the times. The “Western world” is not perfect. It is a society that created Mozart, but also the Nazis. But many in the Muslim world could learn from the West. The West is not all McDonald’s and pornography. There are some great accomplishments to be proud of, such as democracy, religious freedom, freedom of speech, and freedom of the press.
By Neil on 02.04.06 12:51 am
Hi thanks for the cartoons and an interesting website.
As far as I know not one Muslim has actually left Denmark even though they hate this country so much.
I wonder why?
Could it have something with Denmark’s generosity - social help, free education and health care to everybody?
By Wotm on 02.04.06 3:08 am
By better safe than sorry on 02.04.06 5:15 am
Neil, I’m afraid after reading this you’ll stop eating altogether.
HDJ, why don’t you go hug a tree?
By Tatyana on 02.04.06 5:39 am
What the heck is a “shish-kabob” asks this Southerner.
By TWM on 02.04.06 6:18 am
Hey Neil, when I saw that you linked to the cartoons on my site, I posted all twelve. Maybe we (along with many others) can show how utterly ridiculous this whole thing is.
By My Life is God's Comic Strip on 02.04.06 8:49 am
Tatyana — I’m sure HDJ doesn’t advocate hatred of anybody. I’m certain she is hoping that the Muslim world would be as understanding of us, as we should be of them. Like I said before, we need people like HDJ and John Lennon and Ganhdi in this world, to remind us of idealism.
(By the way, I know other women find it very sexy when a man defends a woman’s honor — so please take note of this, female bloggers)
To be honest, I feel very similar to HDJ myself. But the last thing I want is for people like us actually making public policy. Since I hear stories from teacher-bloggers all the time, I thought I used a pretty good analogy before. A lot of teachers go into the field very idealistic, but they quickly learn that rules need to be established before there is chaos, like what happens when a substitute teacher comes in. Do we really want a large group of people in this world threatening to kill and blow things up because of a stupid CARTOON? I’m not sure you want to “cave in” to that.
TWM — Do you seriously not know what a shish-kabob is? You must be joking. And by the way, just for my own understanding, if I were categorizing you geographically, would I consider Tennessee as being in the same “South” as Georgia and Virginia? As for shish-kabob — here’s someplace to take the wife out to tonight:
Morroco Cafe
786 Echles St
Memphis, TN 38111
Here’s a review:
http://tinyurl.com/cax3e
By Neil on 02.04.06 8:51 am
Check out these “Jew-Loving” Muslim cartoons:
http://tinyurl.com/7wfls
and this:
http://tinyurl.com/8eh4s
or this:
http://www.jcpa.org/phas/phas-21.htm
By Phil on 02.04.06 9:54 am
Here’s where I’m always torn between traditional progressive and conservative values:
Progressives rightly want to “to understand the ‘anger’ of the masses.” There’s a lot of truth to that, but also a bit of condescension. Shouldn’t the ACLU be 100% behind the right of the Danish publisher? They’re always behind the right of Nazis to march through towns? Do we really expect less of the Arab world in terms of social responsibility because they are Muslim? It almost sounds insulting.
Conservative like to emphasize personal responsibility and equal “moral standards.” But we live in very different countries. And we are partly responsible for turning our eyes away from repressive regimes because of oil. Most of those crazy people in the street are being used by religious and political leaders to keep themselves in power. It is a distorted way of thinking that is involved, not a specific people. Look how different most Germans are 60 years after World War 2. But they had to be pushed into changing. And we should be pushing the Arab religious leaders into joining the 21st Century.
By Neil on 02.04.06 10:55 am
Until the Muslim world cleans up the cartoons that their newspapers publish they have no credibility.
This behavior is shameful. I don’t that all Muslims are bad or terrorists, but I also think that they have been way too quiet.
Nonviolent protests are legitimate, but threats of violence over a cartoon are nothing more than infantile actions that should be denounced.
By Jack on 02.04.06 10:56 am
Oh, all I know is it is meat and veggies on a stick? LOL But is a “real” one a special kind of meat with special seasoning? These things I need to know.
While we are all Southerners the people of the various states in the South can be almost as different as they are the same. Heck, the people in north Georgia or Atlanta are different from the ones in south Georgia. What I mean is I can’t really say if I am like the people in Georgia or Virginia. I am probably like some and unlike others.
Not sure I can explain it better than that.
By TWM on 02.04.06 10:56 am
Neil, “doesn’t advocate hatred of anybody” is exactly what pisses me off.
Hating someone who wants to eliminate your entire nation is not only rightful, it’s mandatory if you want to call yourself a moral person. If you don’t know whom to hate, you’re not even considered mentally sound in the court of law since you’re unable to differentiate between Right and Wrong.
I think the current situation reminds us of idealism (how it is the root and cause of it, to be specific) enough, w/o new Gandhi or Lennon surfacing in the near future. Toothless idealists (not in literal sense, I’m sure they use all achievements of Western dentistry to keep their molars in good repair) can go sit on the most fashionable Yoga rug of the moment and keep omming their aria of universal love until them, not someone unknown and his kid in Israel will be blown to pieces by peace-loving muslim.
By Tatyana on 02.04.06 12:41 pm
TWM –
I just give up with categorizing anyone. It’s just too complicated.
By the way, TWM, I guess I should thank you for the tolerance you’ve shown me and your good humor, despite the fact that I’ve repeatedly made fun of JESUS — here and here and here and here and here.
Isn’t that what makes America great? Persecuted for a thousand years, Jews have finally found a home where they can make Jesus jokes and get Christians to put up with it.
Just don’t make any gefilte fish jokes, Christians. Hands off. That’s for Jews alone.
Tonight I’m eating some apple pie.
Tatyana — I’m not sure “hating” is a term I feel comfortable with, but I fear you are right.
By Neil on 02.04.06 12:50 pm
Great post Neil. I really like what you have to say. Thanks for writing it.
By jaime on 02.04.06 2:46 pm
Great post Neil. I’m delighted to see you dip a toe in political waters.
By Doctor Bean on 02.04.06 8:01 pm
Thank you, Dr. Bean. But it was my left toe.
By Neil on 02.04.06 8:06 pm
Wow, Neil, this whole post just proves one thing…not only are you Jewish and sexy, you’re smart too. (can you cook?)
By cruisin-mom on 02.04.06 8:12 pm
I can make shish-kabobs.
By Neil on 02.04.06 8:33 pm
I love Danish cookies…. but they are made in Indonesia.
Good post.
By helen on 02.04.06 10:24 pm
There’s one thing everyone can agree on. Those Danish make excellent cookies! And are danishes Danish?
By Neil on 02.04.06 11:17 pm
No, they are not.
“Danish pastry is in its origin an Austrian (Viennese) bread type which was brought to Denmark by Danish backers who had worked in Vienna…”
http://www.schulstadusa.com/rdp/storyadp/index.php
By Sophia on 02.05.06 12:29 am
you wish this didn’t have anything to do with israel…
“political organization posted anti-Jewish cartoons on its website in response to the cartoons of the prophet Mohammed that appeared in Danish papers last year and offended many Muslims.
The cartoons were posted on the Arab European League’s site on Saturday. It was not working Sunday morning because of exceeded bandwidth. (AP)”
israel shouldn’t be pulled into this but unfortunately we don’t live in a normal world.
and my comment pertained to the priorities of a morality-based moslem world.
they’re rioting over cartoons. perhaps they should worry about many other, more sizable problems before focusing on something of this size.
that’s my opinion and i’m sticking to it. ciao
By Aviva on 02.05.06 5:12 am
What’s a gefilte fish? I know catfish, but I don’t know from gefilte fish.
I don’t mind when people make fun of Jesus or Christianity or Catholicism. Heck, sometimes they beg to be made fun of. It’s when they put baby Jesus in piss that I get annoyed. But the thing is, annoyed is all I get. I don’t break out the AK, make a bomb and start storming embassies.
Oh, and Neil, I appreciate your open-mindedness too, since I am pretty sure you don’t agree with my conservative views much of the time. Of course, if I understand correctly, I got Sophia on my conservative side - he he.
By TWM on 02.05.06 5:36 am
TWM — Once you go out for that Morrocan shish-kabob, the next week you can go to:
Nosh-A-Rye Kosher Deli
36 Bazeberry Rd
Cordova, TN 38018-7754
After that, you’ll be ready to personally solve all problems between Israel and the Arab countries.
By Neil on 02.05.06 5:49 am
Cruising, how strange: I’m Jewish, sexy and can cook (oh definitely can cook) - but nobody finds the combination unusual or rare…you’re first!
Neil, one of my LJournal friends, living in London, posted a roundup in her journal this morning - and she says (translation from Russian)
…”Kipling is a poet contemporary England is ashamed of. But nobody said it better” .
Here’s the link.
One of the commenters rightfully notes that only one person from Times’ interviewees, A.C. Grayling, has the stones to say it as it is:
“Free speech is the fundamental civil liberty. Without it none of the others is possible. I applaud the newspapers in Europe that have shown solidarity with Denmark’s Jyllands-Posten newspaper by reprinting the cartoons, and regard our own Foreign Secretary as pusillanimous in buckling to the artificially inflated hysteria of those who think that feeling offended gives them a licence to censor other people’s freedom to criticise and satirise whomever they wish.”
By Tatyana on 02.05.06 6:20 am
Neil, our kitchen is open to your culinary, cultural self.
You and my hubby can have a cook-off and a bake-off. And I have to tell you, he makes a mean shish-ka-bob, which has more of a Thai flavoring, mixed in with the Middle-Eastern spices.
And may the better man…clean up the kitchen after himself!
By Pearl on 02.05.06 7:37 am
Shish-kabob in the urban kitchen is an abomination. After night of marinating the meat on skewers should be barbequed over hot coals (not flame!) in the outdoors, preferably in the a href=”wood clearing somewhere in the mountains, accompanied in the process by fresh air, lively conversation and lots and lots of red wine.
Speaking of Thai: Pearl, I was just getting my battery of ingredients ready for the piece of eye roast, poked with garlic, marinated in Thai Nong Khai Mountain Sauce and roasted with pomegpanate.
By Tatyana on 02.05.06 8:27 am
http://www.megarelax.ru/cooking/shashlik.html
By Tatyana on 02.05.06 8:28 am
My god. I am searching for something clever to say but am coming up short. It’s fucking awful, incredibly ridiculous, and a frightening (and fiery) symbol of a much larger problem. So I’m going to go with: awful, awful, awful.
By Sandra on 02.05.06 9:53 am
I had something really pithy to say, but after reading all the comments, now I’m too hungry! (off to get a snack - maybe a Belgian waffle?) Great post. Thanks, Neil.
By Wendy on 02.05.06 1:00 pm
I dunno….Jewish star or not, that cheese doesn’t look kosher–mixing milk with worm meat is a no no!
By Elvira Black on 02.05.06 2:45 pm
PS: What’s more offensive: publishing political/satrical cartoons or claiming the Holocaust is a myth?
By Elvira Black on 02.05.06 2:59 pm
Neil! Shush! I’m watching the Super Bowl.
By Spirit Of Owl on 02.05.06 5:21 pm
Spirit — You watch the Super Bowl in the UK? You’re more American than I am. I Tivo it and skip the game to watch the stupid beer commercials. So far, nothing too memorable.
Just say the burning of consulate in Beirut. This is just plain scary.
By Neil on 02.05.06 7:07 pm
Scary? I thought you welcome danger, Neil; if things will develop in the similar scenarios here (and I don’t see many reasons why not) as in Europe, you’ll have your wish, the one you had when missed witnessing 9/11, come true.
As Avva said, the whole bruhaha is an example of characteristic upside-down logic: let’s say you’re a Muslim offended that your religion is associated with terrorists in some contry’s newspaper. What do you do to repel this accusation? You burn flags of offending country, you’re physically treatening citizens of said countries, you burn their embassies and you (Iran’s president), declared boycott on all products manufactured in those countries [which is in itself a very very good idea says I: they impose sunctions upon themselves w/o the UN battles!], you will treaten the enemy with death, terrorist acts and destruction until they back up and refuse to call your religion terrorist!
I keep repeating all day, after one of the commenters @Samizdata, Mr.Burn’s’ “Ex-cel-lent!”
By Tatyana on 02.05.06 8:29 pm
It looks as if only a minority of those arrested in Beirut for attacking the Danish mission were actually Lebanese. Most of those arrested were Palestinians and Syrians. I strongly suspect that certain governments are encouraging the action. Demonstrations against Danes are safe for those governments!
I wish every newspaper in the free world (while that still means something) would publish those cartoons on the same day.
By Sedulia on 02.05.06 10:05 pm
Me, too. And I agree about Syria. This way, it keeps the focus off their own corrupt government.
By Neil on 02.05.06 10:13 pm
Hi Neil,
Am glad you didn’t publish the cartoon here. This is a situation we would have done without. I believe that your rights stop where somebody else’s start. Imagine what would the world have been like if we’d do whatever we wished in the name of freedom of this or freedom of that. I was pleasantly surprised the Vatican took a stand on this issue. Whatever anyone would say, Islam is a religion of Peace. Just read what the Quran says about other Prophets. We just are not permitted to represent ANY Prophet in any form whatsover. We belives that it leads to cult of the personality, ultimately Polytheism. This whole situation is tragic, more so, since it could have been avoided so easily.
Fitèna
By Fitèna on 02.06.06 4:23 am
They have a strange way of showing Islam as the religion of peace….
By Wotm on 02.06.06 5:07 am
Fitena,
please read the comments above and stop repeating failed argument re: religion of peace etc, it doesn’t show your intelligence in favorable light.
As to prohibition on images of Mohammad, here’s the history of images of him that existed in muslim or christian sources/publications for centuries - and no burning of embassies were involved.
By Tatyana on 02.06.06 6:31 am
Fitena, I’m really glad you wrote because this issue is so much more interesting hearing the other side of the view. I can perfectly understand being outraged at a sacred religious leader being put in a cartoon. But I think what is most scary is the reaction to the cartoon. The Western world has worked very hard to get to the point where people are free to express themselves, even in ways that I hate. Do we really want to live in a world where a stupid cartoon can get you death threats? So, the argument isn’t whether of not the newspaper was right to publish the cartoon, it is whether or not the Arab Muslim clerics can bring their followers to live in a world that has grown up a lot since the 15th Century.
Again, don’t be scared off by Tatyana! I’d love to hear more of your opinion.
By Neil on 02.06.06 8:59 am
Great.
Sorry to piss on your consiliatory parade, Neil.
You’ve made your bed.
By Tatyana on 02.06.06 9:05 am
Tatyana, don’t you think it is important to make rational Muslims see how crazy their “brothers” are, burning buildings over a cartoon? Maybe if they speak out against this, it will have more effect than you or I, who are mostly preaching to the converted.
But I added the gallery of cartoons to the post. Tatyana does have a point. My apologies, Fitena, if I offend you. It is not really my intention. But I’ve made jokes about Jews, Christians, and Mormons. Muslims should be able to accept nonsense such as this without it destroying the fabric of their religion.
By Neil on 02.06.06 9:21 am
From the Danish PM:
I want to emphasise that in Denmark we attach fundamental importance to the freedom of expression, which is a vital and indispensable part of a democratic society.
This being said I would like to stress as my personal opinion that I deeply respect the religious feelings of other people. Consequently, I would never myself have chosen to depict religious symbols in this way. Likewise I am deeply distressed by the fact that these drawings by many Muslims have been seen as a defamation of the Prophet Mohammed and Islam as a religion. I hope that the apology of the independent newspaper Jyllands-Posten will contribute to comfort those that have been hurt.
I am pleased to note that this apology has been received positively by Muslim communities in Denmark and that they have pledged support for our efforts.
I want to emphasise that the Danish Government condemns any expression, action or indication that attempts to demonise groups of people on the basis of their religion or ethnic background. It is the sort of thing that does not belong in a society that is based on respect for the individual human being.
On this basis I call on all parties to abstain from any statement or action that will create further tension. In Denmark as well as in other countries we must do our utmost to get back to the dialogue and build on the friendship that has always characterized the relations between Denmark and the Muslim world
By jacob on 02.06.06 10:18 am
Frankly, it’s pretty pathetic that the Danish government even has to come out with a statement, although I understand why they are doing it.
But I certainly wouldn’t want the United States Government having to step in to speak for some controversial article in the Los Angeles Times. The newspaper could basically tell the government to “fuck off” if it wanted to, and they couldn’t do much about it. I’m not even sure why there is a boycott on Denmark — as if they are representatives of their country’s newspaper. I think the New York Post is a shitty newspaper, but I’m not going to blame the City of New York.
By Neil on 02.06.06 10:44 am
This whole situation is tragic, more so, since it could have been avoided so easily.
Yes, if they behaved like mature people and engaged in nonviolent protests we wouldn’t have people reacting because they are afraid of terrorist threats.
By Jack on 02.06.06 10:59 am
Tatyana, this reminds me of a very old Russian joke:
Nixon comes to visit Brezhnev and says: We respect freedom of speech in America. Anyone can stand in front of The White House and scream “Nixon is an idiot.” To which Brezhnev replies: Hah, we respect freedom of speech here no less than you do. Anyone can stand in front of Kremlin and yell: “Nixon is an idiot.”
By Sophia on 02.06.06 12:12 pm
Neil, Tatyana,
You notice I said nothing about the the “reaction to the cartoons”? Tatyana, I’ve seen the site you linked, I still say its a prohibition to show imageries of ANY prophet. Still, do the pictures in the site you linked look like cartoons to you?
Second, we are not just used to laughing at any religion. That’s the reason why these cartoons are seen as a provocation, not just the radicals, but from the average muslims like me. To take a critical distance and not respond to provocation would have been the ideal reaction but how do you go about taking a critical distance when emotion is involved?
Am sad when I realise how this issue is doing as absolutely no favour on two sides: the radicals are handed substance to fuel their politics and non-muslims look at us and say, “stop repeating failed argument re: religion of peace”.
Thank you Neil, “on your consiliatory parade.” To be open minded at this point is refreshing!
Fitèna
By Fitèna on 02.06.06 11:28 pm
Fitena — The one big question you ask — “how do you go about taking a critical distance when emotion is involved?”
And the answer is, “You just do. That’s part of what being an adult is all about.” No one can live in a world where the “provocations” of cartoons equals the burning down of buildings. Even if mocking a prophet is a prohibition in your religion, you just have to accept the fact that other people are jerks and that’s life. You can call him a jerk. You can refuse to be his friend. But you can’t threaten him with violence. Once you do that, you become a mobster. I think it’s your job Fitena — and other reasonable Muslims — to tell the more radical members that they need to start living in the world with other people. Part of being a grown up human is learning to be critical and not letting emotions rule. It’s the mind that distinguishes humans from animals.
There are plenty of cartoons out there that are insulting to Christians, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, etc. But only Muslims seem to react this way — using violence as a tool. That’s why so many of us have problems with this concept of Islam being a “religion of peace.” We’d like to see it in action once in a while, rather than just talked about.
By Neil on 02.07.06 12:03 am
Its hard being an adult
Am with you here, 100%.
Peace, is no myth in Islam. Its the Islam I’m living and millions of others like me who you never hear out, we’re so peaceful there’s nothing interesting about us to be talked about.
We condemn violence, its sad to admit but Cynicism, irony and indeed blasphemy are part of culture. Since voltaire.
The cartoons are no justification for this violence. But then Neil, isn’t it other’s civic responsibility not to offend others in anyway whatsover?
I forgot, there are jerks who don’t give a heck about civic or any responsibility whatsover. You’re right.
Fitèna
By Fitèna on 02.07.06 3:48 am
BTW, check out my last post.
Thank you Neil,
Fitèna
By Fitèna on 02.07.06 3:50 am
Thanks, Fitena, for helping me remember not to stereotype any group. I agree that it would be nice if the media would focus more on the everyday people rather than the overly-dramatic ones. The U.S. media in particular is always forgetting that not all Muslims are Arabs, and vice versa.
By the way, your mention of Voltaire clearly sets up the inclusion of his most famous quotes:
“I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to
say it.”
By Neil on 02.07.06 4:08 am
Fatma (or Fitena, I’m not sure which one you prefer),
you’re making a mistake in saying “Mohammed imagery is forbidden”: whatever or prohibitions or directives you voluntarily accepted in your religion, it applies to you as a practitioner, not to other people who are not. Be it depiction of Mohammed for you, celebrating Sabbath for Jews or having seafood-only Xmas dinner for Roman Catholics.
You’re free to practice your beliefs as long as you don’t extend them as obligations upon others: this is the general rule in civilized society.
As to difference between cartoons and complimentary portraits - all I can say, some like it hot. It’s their right.
Am I right in thinking you can read French? Here’s an article on the topic from Le Figaro. (thanks, J.Cassian!)
By Tatyana on 02.07.06 12:25 pm
Thanks for posting this Neil. We shouldn’t have to fear for our lives when it comes to cartoons. It’s absurd. Part of freedom of speech is being able to look someone, or something, straight in the eye and say: “Go to hell.”
I love the Danes. They make great beer. Carlsberg is excellent. Hamlet was a Dane.
I think the big problem here is that in those countries where the really violent protests are taking place, the governments are looking to deflect attention away from internal problems. So they encourage the masses to go out and burn european embassies. Hey, better the Danish embassy than the palace where the autocrat/mullah/king lives.
-Suley
By Suley on 02.07.06 9:40 pm
Tatyana,
Thanks for the link. Be reading it.
Fitèna
By Fitèna on 02.08.06 2:43 am
You see muslims are so angry cause of these cartoons but want to ask a question .. in iraq Shia muslims bomb Suni muslims mosques and burn there Korans also vice versa.. why they want the world to respect there prphet if they do nt love or respect themselves ? bombing a mosque and burning the koran is much bad than the cartoons
By no name cause they may kill me !! on 03.03.06 11:10 am
I hate Denmark. It is full of small minded stupid idiots. I can,t wait to leave this hell hole.
By john richmond on 07.18.06 9:37 am
[...] So, I got into my car and drove to this gallery in downtown Tehran. I had heard a lot about this exhibit: it was sponsored by the Iranian newspaper Hamshahri and contained the best international entries of cartoons mocking the Holocaust. The exhibit was packed, as it was Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad himself who called for the cartoons as a response to last year’s caricature of Mohammad in a Danish newspaper. [...]
By Citizen of the Month » The Art Gallery on 08.16.06 3:01 am
we r so lucky to have a prophet like mohamud (( peace be upon him)) .. i will not say anything because u will not affect us .. draw what u want and write what u want .. (( WE LOVE ALLAH AND MOHAMMUD THE MOST ))..
and do u know that our prophet tell us not to kill each other .. and islam =peace .. and muslims when meet each other say : peace be upon u .. and that show how great is islam !!
By proud to be a muslim on 11.08.06 9:22 am
Greetings from Denmark!
I am proud of Denmark being the worlds largest producer of Muhammed Cartoons!
Finaly we found something we are good at:)
By Proud to be Dane on 11.20.06 1:21 pm
DENMARK ROCKS!
You have not even bin there?
By Pernille From Denmark on 07.07.07 2:12 am
Fuck all danish citizens!
They are all a piece of shit, and should go to hell!
Allah! Allah! Allah! Allah!
By Hassan Abduhl Muhammed on 07.13.07 11:17 am
John Richmond is right. Denmark is an awful country to live. You’d only love it here if you can sponge off the benefits system. Self-motivated and hard workers need not apply…
By Alan on 12.12.07 1:17 pm
its Denmark’s own fault whats happened, i am Dane, and i feel no pity for that fucked up country. The Danish goverment invited the muslims to come here to work in the 60′ers. Now they must learn from their mistakes
By JeghaderDK on 02.23.08 9:33 am
I have lived in that fucking country more that 30 years, its an awful awful horrible place to live. The Danes are a bunch of faggots and idiots, and no one cares about others than themselves. The Climate is so fucked up too, always cold and dark!! Anything is extremely expensive and the whole country is full of muslims, why not rename it BAGDAD, IRAQ II. I hate this fucking hole, and if i had the possibility i would NEVER EVER come back to there again.
Im NOT supporting muslims, i just hate Denmark and all it stands for. Fuck off!!!
By basse on 02.23.08 9:42 am
No one have the right to make fun of any realigen i am muslim but i respect all others
Denmark should review its freedom
99.5 freedom .5 sensor
I hate the newpaper and all who support
By Kamran on 02.28.08 12:02 am
Hey, im danish. and i just want to say, that all this about those cartoons are blowed up!
we have the rights to draw what ever we want to, yes i find the second time they where posted as an insult but serusly? we as a country has to stand up, and not say “sorry” just becuse other pepolpe all over teh world is insulted. i am proud of being a dane, and for what we stand for. but i think that its sad, to see all these pepople all over the world, hate a houl country because some cartoons. and i think that you all should think abot what they are doing, i mean pepole around the world think that denmark is a racist land, as its NOT! its the totally oppisits! in my country there is muslims who are politicks and so on, and we are not a racist land!
By muss on 02.29.08 3:43 pm
All you people who says you hate denmark should really be ashamed of yourself! there is nothing to hate it for! its a beutiful, non-racist country! and everyone is welcome there, included muslims!
By muss on 02.29.08 3:48 pm
I think that was really wrong of denmark’s newspapers to draw the pics, why just why would u do anything like that if u know its gonna hurt people, the people who havent been there,like me, will obviously think its a freaking racist country. and they should apologise to every muslim country in the whole world and understand not to do this mistakes again and learn, muslim r peaceful but if u start making a of the religion and prophet a fire runs through them so dont try it OK!!!! bie
By missaats on 03.30.08 3:48 am
Every religion has some sacred thing associated with it. Mulims never make fun of any other religion. Then why any other person tries to play with only and only the Muslims’a dearest personality????….Mind it!!!! you people may not be so dedicated to the respect of YOUR sacrede persons and books…But Muslims are Live Nation…We will tell you what this would result…You people are actually DEAD inside…none of you is actually following your religion in true meanings….so y would you care if anybody abuses Jesus?…Only that’s why.only that’s why you cannot ever feel what muslims do feel with such things of like making cartoons and movies against islamic sacred people and Books….You people are shameless and dont know how to respect somethings.. you dont knw the meaning of respect even…Huh!!!! SHAME ON YOU!!!!!!!! SHAME ON YOU DENMARK!!!…..SHAME ON YOU!!! ALLL OF US HATE YOU AND WILL BYCOTT YOUR PRODUCT..WILL BYCOTT YOU ECONOMICALLY AND SOCIALLY….InshAllah.
By Sadia on 04.05.08 3:18 am
thank u those who support us muslims and who belive in Allah cause denmarks will soon come to sense and we will be not maken fun out of in news papers
By Farheen on 04.14.08 8:49 am
Danish people are xenofobic people. They hate everione who doesn’t look like them. Seek 100% but it’s true. I do not look like a Dane and I have dayli experienced racisme. I have been in Denmark more than 17 years and until now I did’nt find a danish friend. Danish hates foriners, and most of all they hates muslims. I’m not muslim but I feel danish hate every day. I’m tired of this and I’m going to leave Denmark for ever. 17 years of my life gone in pain. Danish society is build on lies and hatred. God damn Denmark.
By afraidtosay on 07.10.08 8:30 am
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