On Sunday thousands of Muslims rampaged in Beirut, setting fire to the Danish Embassy, burning Danish flags and lobbing stones at a Maronite Catholic church as violent protests spread in response to the recent republishing of caricatures of Muhammad that linked the prophet to terrorism. The drawings were first published last September by the Danish newspaper, Jyllands-Posten, but the controversy was low-keyed according to CBS News.
The French newspaper, France Soir, reprinted the caricatures on Wednesday alongside its own cartoons of Muhammad with Christian, Jewish and Buddhist religious figures. In the cartoon, “the Christian God” said to Muhammad, “Don’t complain, Muhammad, we’re all being caricatured here,” reported the L.A. Times.
Tunisia and Morocco have banned copies of France Soir.
Muslims consider any depiction of God and the prophets to be blasphemy. In one of the twelve caricatures, Muhammad has a bomb as a turban while another shows the prophet standing on a cloud as he tells a group of suicide bombers that paradise has run out of virgins said to await martyrs upon their death.
The caricatures led to confrontation and violence in the Gaza Strip on Thursday as masked Palestinians fired weapons in the air and surrounded an office of the European Union and a French Cultural centre, according to reports. In addition, two Palestinian militant groups threatened to kidnap European citizens and target churches and European offices in response to the French newspaper.
Thousands staged demonstrations in Iraq after mosque prayer services on Friday. About 4,500 people rallied in Basra and hundreds at a Baghdad mosque. Danish flags were burned at both demonstrations.
In Pakistan, hundreds of students reportedly set fire to French and Danish flags in protest. According to Beliefnet.com, Pakistani Islamic students where chanting “Death to Denmark” and “Death to France.”
Insulting the prophet is punishable by death in Pakistan.
Pakistan’s parliament unanimously passed a resolution condemning the caricatures, calling it “blasphemous.” The resolution called for “economic and political actions to prevent “uncivilised behavior by the European media that printed the drawings,” the Associated Press reported.
Prominent members and leaders of the Islamic council of Norway, the Christian Council of Norway and the Church of Norway, meeting in Oslo on Friday also denounced the publication of caricatures of Mohammed as well as the violent reactions they have caused.
”It is an extremely positive that religious leaders in Norway have come together to condemn the publication of the controversial sketches of the Prophet Mohammed, and underline the fact that we jointly reject all forms of violence or threats of violence,” said Norwegian Church Aid General Secretary Atle Sommerfeldt in a released statement.
Ole Christian Kvarme, Bishop of Oslo, in addition said, "It is extremely important that we stand together on this issue.”
“A violation of one religion is a violation of other religions,” he stated. “I am deeply upset that the Norwegian newspaper Magazinet, a publication that calls itself ‘Christian,’ has chosen to publish these images. Magazinet's actions demonstrate a lack of both judgment and sense. Its editorial team must have known that they would offend the faith of others, and I apologise for this.”
Kvarme underlined the fact that Magazinet is in no way connected to the Church of Norway.
Meanwhile, anger and protests against the cartoons spread to Asia, where many of the world’s largest Muslim populated countries lie.
In Indonesia – the world’s most populous Muslim nation – 150 Muslim demonstrators pelted the building housing the Danish Embassy with rotten eggs and burned the Danish flag on Friday morning to protest the caricatures, according to reports.
Disorderly demonstrations occurred in Bangladesh and Malaysia, where crowds chanted “Destroy our Enemies!” AP reported. In Bangladesh, there were about 500 Muslim protestors.
Likewise, Singapore and Afghanistan has also criticised the drawings.
In addition, the event has raised a debate over whether priority should be given to protect freedom of expression or to respect religious sensitivities.
Many world leaders have expressed reservation in their comments on the event, calling for balance between freedom of expression and religious sensitivity.
U.N. Spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Friday that U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan “believes that the freedom of the press should always be exercised in a way that fully respects the religious beliefs and tenets of all religions,” according to the L.A. Times
The U.S. State Department on Friday criticised the cartoons, calling them “offensive to the beliefs of Muslims.” The department recognised the important of freedom of the press and expression but said these rights must be partnered with press responsibility.
"Inciting religious or ethnic hatred in this manner is not acceptable," Janelle Hironimus, department press officer, said according to an AP report on Friday. "We call for tolerance and respect for all communities and for their religious beliefs and practices."
France’s Chief Rabbi, Joseph Sitruk, said to the European Jewish Press on Feb. 2, “I share the anger of Muslims following this publication.”
“I understand the hostility in the Arab world. One does not achieve anything by humiliating religion. It’s a dishonest lack of respect,” Sitruk stressed.
He added that he was a long-time opponent of those who mock Christianity and Islam.
“You don’t get anywhere by insulting religion,” he said.
On the other hand, others have expressed their support of freedom of expression over religious sensitivity.
Patrick Chappatte, a cartoonist quoted in the Swiss newspaper Le Temps, said, “The reaction in Muslim countries shocks me because it confirms the weight that radical Islam has acquired.”
“A real totalitarianism is at work in the world and wants to impose its views not only on Arab Muslims, but on the West,” he stated. “The same way that they veil women, Islamic radicals want to veil cartoons in the press.”
French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, who expressed the need to defend freedom of expression, said “… if I had to choose, I prefer the excess of caricatures over the excess of censure.”
In Germany, the newspaper Die Welt asked readers whether “cartoons should be published which might hurt religious feelings.” Among almost 20,000 participants, 56 percent voted for “should be published” and 42.1 percent disagreed, the L.A. Times reported. Fewer than two percent said they had no opinion.
Some have pointed out that the event exposes the difficulties Europe is facing in absorbing the rapidly growing Muslim population. Islam is now the second-largest religion in France, with about five million adherents.
Moreover, the controversies over the cartoons show the large difference between views on relationship between state, religion and media. Arab leaders are demanding that the European government sanction the journalists. However, leaders in Denmark and other countries say that censorship is “unacceptable and that the government cannot be held responsible for what appears in the media,” according to the L.A. Times.
Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen on Thursday called foreign diplomats to a meeting that day aimed at calming the tension. More than 70 ambassadors attended, including those from predominantly Muslim Egypt, Turkey, Iran and Lebanon.
However, Egypt’s ambassador said that Rasmussen’s response has been inadequate and that the country should do more to “appease the whole Muslim world,” according to AP. She also said she will urge diplomatic protests against the country to continue.
The caricatures have appeared recently in newspaper in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and even Jordan according to reports.
Muslims have responded by boycotting Danish products in the Middle East, issuing death threats and burning flags.
Michelle Vu
Christian Today Correspondent