The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has denounced the arrest of the publishers of Errissala (The Letter) and Essafir (The Ambassador) after they reprinted cartoons published by the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Postens which have led to protests from Muslim communities around the world. The two weeklies were suspended. Last week the publisher of the weekly Iqra (Read) was jailed and the...
Feb. 13, 2006 issue - The worldwide uproar over the cartoon depictions of the Prophet Muhammad, printed in a Danish newspaper and reprinted across Europe, has little to do with what's in the headlines. In fact, those obscure the real–and critical–issues at stake. We read that the affair pits the strictures of Islam against Western freedom of expression. In fact, most Muslims are neither more nor...
Feb. 13, 2006 issue - Back in September 2005, the liberal Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten published several cartoon depictions of the Prophet Muhammad–at least one as a terrorist–although any physical representation of the prophet is forbidden in Islam. There was no immediate backlash, but last week, after several other European newspapers reprinted the cartoons, the reaction went global. Muslims...
NEW YORK: As the crisis over the Danish cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad flared over the last two weeks, leaders of several American Muslim groups began working quietly to try to mediate between European Muslims and the West. The leaders - representing three national organizations and two mosques - say they share the outrage over the cartoons felt by Muslims in countries where riots have turned...
WASHINGTON, DC, United States (UPI) -- Several U.S. Muslim groups reportedly are playing a mediator role to calm Muslims elsewhere angered over the Danish cartoons of Prophet Mohammed. Leaders of the U.S. groups admit they share the outrage of other Muslims. But they also are telling other Muslims they must stop the violence in reverence to the prophet who would never have approved of their...
WASHINGTON – U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Monday he's seen no evidence to prove the U.S. allegation that Syria and Iran have roiled anti-Western demonstrations over cartoon depictions of the Prophet Muhammad. Still, Annan said, those two, just like all other countries, should have prevented rioters from attacking foreign diplomatic missions. Foreign missions, especially of Denmark and...
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Uproar in the Islamic world over cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad has prompted many in the Middle East to ask why Muslims have rarely mobilized to address other pressing issues such as democracy and human rights. In a region largely dominated by absolute rulers, there has been little momentum for protests against restrictions on political freedom, sky-high unemployment or human...
OTTAWA - The Western Standard magazine has republished the controversial cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad, which have ignited riots and protests around the world. Reprinting the cartoons, which many Muslims consider to be blasphemous, increases the risk to Canadian embassies and troops, especially those serving in Afghanistan, said Peter Marwitz, a retired RCMP and CSIS agent. "The troops...
Suomen Sisu, a Finnish nationalist organisation, has posted Danish daily Jyllands-Posten's cartoons of the prophet Muhammad on its website. The organisation, which calls itself "a revolutionary Finnish nationalist movement", said in a statement dated Friday that the move was a response to what it says was a decision by the Swedish Security Police (Säpo) and the country's Ministry for Foreign...
Round two in the controversy over the Muhammad cartoons: Because many Muslim regimes are competing with radical Islamists for popular approval, they continue to incite public outrage. Now the region fears terrorist leader Osama bin Laden's call to arms. Jørgen Nielsen quickly cleared his desk and emptied the safe. Then he locked the door from the outside and left the Danish Cultural Institute in...
