Some considerably less upbeat news from the state of Denmark, and from Jutland, Jylland-Posten's heartland. The Danish newspaper Politiken reports (my translation): According to Aalborg Police, approximately 110 threating letters have been mailed directly to northern Jutlanders with Muslim-sounding names. "In the past, we have had individual cases of racism but nothing at all on this scale. So we take it very seriously. It is deeply tasteless action and a punishable … [Read more...]
Indian Christians: Ban ‘Da Vinci Code’
May 17, 2006 By Leave a Comment
Ah, a picture is worth a thousand words. And for a change they're about non-Muslims. AFP on Christian demands for censorship: A Christian activist protests against the release of "The DaVinci Code" and "Tickle My Funny Bone" in Mumbai. Russia's Nezavisimaya Gazeta newspaper said polemics surrounding "The Da Vinci Code" reflect a clash between religious and secular values reminiscent of the recent furor over the Prophet Mohammed cartoons, considered blasphemous by … [Read more...]
The Da Vinci Code protests, or Christians get their “cartoons”
May 16, 2006 By 5 Comments
Speaking of the "Da Vinci Code", protests by offended Christians, particularly Catholics, are happening around the world. Many are calling for it to be banned, censored, or accompanied by a disclaimer noting that it is a work of fiction. Deja vu all over again. It'll be interesting to see how many of those who loudly denounced Muslims for supposedly imposing their religious values during the cartoon controversy will speak out against the attempts of some Christians … [Read more...]
Random Platitudes dissects the cartoon row
March 19, 2006 By Leave a Comment
A Danish academic has provided a series of really informative and insightful posts on the historical backdrop to the cartoon controversy (e.g., Random Platitudes - The "Cartoon Row" dissected -- part 1) . He gets into detail about recent Danish history and shows the real (and underreported) politico-cultural context to this truly bizarre turn of events. And, unlike most of the Danish blogs providing intelligent analysis on the matter, he writes in English.Grab a cup of … [Read more...]
Die Zeit on ‘Fortress Denmark’
March 11, 2006 By 6 Comments
Germany's Die Zeit weekly has just run a series of withering pieces on Denmark's rising xenophobia, "In der Festung Dänemark"(which I'm pretty sure means "In Fortress Denmark"). The Danish newspaper Politiken has a summary of the coverage in Danish (appropriately entitled "Tysk magasin hudfletter Danmark", German magazine flays Denmark). Haven't found a summary in English yet. Some interesting points: I've noted before how I suspected that few Danes … [Read more...]
Christian Science Monitor on protests in Afghanistan
March 5, 2006 By Leave a Comment
Another example of there being far more than meets the eye to violent protests over the cartoons. Mounting concern over Afghanistan | csmonitor.com: Cartoon protests are part of an impatience with the problems of drugs, jobs, corruption.[...]The cartoon protests of the past week - which have been the deadliest in the Islamic world - are largely a barometer of domestic frustrations. In the streets of Kabul, Laghman, Maimana, and Bagram, protesters turned their anger on the US, the West, and … [Read more...]
Malaysian Islamists using cartoon row to silence independent media
March 3, 2006 By 2 Comments
I've commented on how I believe that the riots...I mean "protests"...in Pakistan by hardline Islamists are more about their desire for political influence within Pakistan than piety. (Zahir, who recently returned from Pakistan, told me how many of the Islamists he interviewed not only hadn't seen the infamous cartoons, but didn't even know they were from Denmark. Some spoke about the "American cartoons"!) In a similiar vein, this report leaves the impression that … [Read more...]
Mob rule & what passes for piety among the mullahs
March 3, 2006 By 1 Comment
This article in IPS, "PAKISTAN: Cartoon Protests Cripple Local Trade", would make me laugh if it weren't so tragic and painfully familiar. More examples of the reduction of Islamic piety to nihilistic hooliganism: The once popular Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) outlet here, which was torched and looted on Feb. 15, during a massive rally joined by 75,000 protesters, now stands draped, incongruously, with banners carrying verses from the Quran. At least three persons were killed and … [Read more...]
Cartoon Body Count
March 2, 2006 By 2 Comments
CatoonBodyCount.com tracks deaths resulting from the Satanic scribblings. Its list of violent incidents (with links to reports) is particularly helpful for getting an overview of how this mayhem has played out around the world. [Hat tip: Jeff Yang at SFGate.com, who was kind enough to mention Akram's Razor, as well. I'm not exactly a regular topic of media discussions, anyway, but this is the first time I've found myself mentioned in a discussion of Asian-Americana (e.g., Margaret … [Read more...]
“Denmark’s Cartoon Blowback”
March 2, 2006 By Leave a Comment
Professor As`ad Abu Khalil memorably named his blog, a refreshingly stimulating and bittersweet antidote to the mainstream American media's bland coverage of the Middle East and Islam, the "Angry Arab News Service". Given how much of my blogging has been dedicated of late to this wacky cartoon crisis, I'm starting to wonder if I should follow suit and christen this blog "The Angry Danish American Muslim News Service". (Finally, a niche where I'm the expert!) … [Read more...]
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