February 8, 2006

No Longer Funny

Islamic protests over cartoons published in Demark have now turned deadly. The original fuss was kicked up over charges of blasphemy. Its a violation of Islam to picture the Mohammed, which these cartoons did. Protests are happening all over, and several European Embassies in the Middle East have been attacked. All of the deaths have occurred in Afghanistan when protesters tried to storm NATO bases. My guess is that this really isn't about cartoons. You do not try and storm a US base shouting "Death to America" over Danish cartoons. I think every bit of anti-western hatred, local disputes and ever rabble rouser wanting to make a name for themselves is getting caught up in this.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

It must be more than just simply pictures of Mohammed, which surely have appeared in the Western press previously without causing riots. It was the subject matter and the context in which they were published. In addition, I agree that this whole response was made more serious by trouble-makers, the same people who inflame anti-western hatred for their own selfish goals. Unfortunately, the policies of Bush and Sharon, and the refusal of the rich Arab countries to share their oil wealth with the Palestinians, make it that much easier.