It sounds like the delegation of Danish Muslims also has some explaining to do. Not all the pictures that it distributed in the Middle East in order to drum up support for the boycott were actually from Jyllands-Posten.  One bogus picture was particularly inflammatory, as it portrayed a pig-like man. (I've seen it--it's hideous.)I must say I'm disgusted, though not terribly surprised, that some Muslims would intentionally spread lies while on a mission to defend the Prophet's honor.  … [Read more...]

First, Palestinian gunmen in Gaza raided an EU office demanding an apology.  Then the Danish and Norwegian embassies in Syria were burnt down.  Now, a Danish consulate in Lebanon has been set afire inspite of water cannon and tear gas.  Iran's officially boycotting Danish goods.  Fresh protests have broken out in India, Thailand and Malaysia. And general consumer boycott of all things Danish n the Middle East shows no signs of waning. I guess it was just a matter of time … [Read more...]

Yakoub the Muslim Anarchist captures my scorn for all this Europe-is-under-siege-from-Muslim-extremism rhetoric: To claim publishing these cartoons is in any way a defiant act is like saying shooting fish in a barrel is shark fishing. Europeans have been vomiting all over the Islamic faith since the crusades, and contemporary examples pile layer upon layer of hatred and prejudice - whether it be Rushdie's Satanic Verses or Daniel Pipes' campus watch. Freedom of speech my backside! Well, here's … [Read more...]

Jyllands-Posten's defense has been refuted by its own record. Exhibit A: Rune Engelbreth Larsen reports in "05.02.2006 | JPs dobbeltmoral og Hornbechs kritik" (with my own bland  translation into English following): Nu har Politiken (4.2.2006) afsløret, at JPs dobbeltmoral også viser sig deri, at avisen i 2003 nægtede at bringe en temmelig uskyldig Jesus-tegning (sammenlignet med en dæmoniseret Muhammed med bomber i hovedet) - og med hvilken begrundelse? Daværende … [Read more...]

The plot thickens: [Thanks to The Predicate] Raymond Lakah, the owner of the French newspaper France Soir, has sacked Jacques Lefranc, the paper’s editor. Yesterday France-Soir republished the twelve controversial Danish Muhammad cartoons (see them all here, halfway down the page). Mr Lakah declared: "We express our apologies to the Muslim community and to all the persons that were shocked by the publication of the cartoons."France, of course, has far more Muslims than Denmark, both … [Read more...]

Cartoons and Hypocrisy:Danes Finally Apologize to Muslims (But for the Wrong Reasons)     By RACHARD ITANI http://www.counterpunch.org/itani02022006.html In many European countries, there are laws that will land in jail any person who has the chutzpah to deny not only the historicity of the Jewish holocaust, but also the method by which Jews were put to death by the Nazis. In some of these countries, this prohibition goes as far as prosecuting those who would claim or attempt … [Read more...]

When I look at analysis of the Danish cartoon controversy, I'm struck by how so many otherwise well informed and intelligent commentators simply don't get what's really going on.   The basic reasons for and issues involved in this  crisis are pretty easy to grasp, but conspicuously absent from most discussions of this saga.   Instead, one finds ethereal discursions on freedom of religion and freedom of speech, ideals that actually have precious little to do with this lamentable turn of … [Read more...]

Thought I'd share a partial translation of a hardhitting and eye-opening op-ed by Danish social commentator, Rune Engelbreth Larsen about the international uproar and political and economic crisis facing Denmark over the infamous political cartoons denigrating the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in Jyllands-Posten . Like me, he sees this PR disaster as self-inflicted by the Danish government and sees a lot of doublestandards at work here.  I've only translated/summarized the first few … [Read more...]