Hell in a handbasket

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 before people lost their lives.  The furor has now resulted in its first deaths during protests Afghanistan and Somalia.

We really seem to be heading to Hell (or perhaps Ragnarok) in a handbasket.

The moral of this story is simple:  This is what happens when a country’s political establishment endorses confrontation over dialogue in a small, interconnected world.  Things easily spin out of control.

There is some positive news, though: 

• A group of Danish Muslims is organizing a vigil in Århus against the violence in the Middle East. 
• Also, the Danish government is not only meeting with
  representatives of the Muslim community to reduce tensions inside the
  country.
• Denmark is also opening a dialogue with the Organization of Islamic Countries.

Insha’Allah, these important gestures will get the message out that this has to stop.