The Cartoon Row

The behaviour of some Muslim protesters demonstrating in London over cartoons of Prophet Muhammad was "completely unacceptable", Downing Street has said. There have been calls for arrests after placards glorifying the 7 July bombings and calls for the enemies of Islam to be killed featured in Friday's demo. A statement from the prime minister's office said police would have "our full support" in...

BEIRUT, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Lebanon apologised to Denmark on Monday for the burning of its consulate during a protest over cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad, and some Lebanese politicians accused Syria of using the furore to stir sectarian tension. Sunday's riot in Beirut and similar attacks on Danish and Norwegian missions in Damascus were among the worst seen in a worldwide Muslim uproar over the...

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Muslims across parts of Asia staged noisy but largely peaceful protests on Monday against cartoons published in European newspapers depicting caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad. While the region escaped much of the violence and arson that accompanied protests in the Middle East, Asian leaders were quick to condemn the cartoons while also calling for calm. The cartoons were...

PARIS (Reuters) - World leaders called for calm on Monday after weekend attacks in which Danish diplomatic missions were set ablaze and Lebanon and Syria promised inquiries into how protests about cartoons of the Prophet turned violent. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan expressed alarm about the riots and urged restraint but oil giant Iran, which is reviewing trade ties with countries that...

Denmark has listed 14 countries it says Danes should not visit unless strictly necessary, amid Muslim outrage over the Prophet Muhammad cartoons. The foreign ministry also recommends against any travel to Syria or Yemen. The advice follows protests by Muslims around the world, and attacks against Danish embassies in Syria and Lebanon. The cartoons satirising the Prophet Muhammad were first...

BEIRUT, Lebanon -- Lebanon apologized Monday to Denmark after thousands of rampaging Muslim demonstrators set fire to the building housing the Danish mission in Beirut _ the most violent in a growing string of worldwide protests over caricatures of Islam's Prophet Muhammad. In Afghanistan hundreds of demonstrators clashed with police and soldiers, leaving one dead and four injured. The prime...

Syria is behind the attacks on EU member state embassies in Damascus and Beirut, US and European diplomats are claiming. Danish, Swedish, Norwegian and French embassies across the Middle East were attacked over the weekend as anger continues to rage about the publication of caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad. "That does not happen by accident there has to be some kind of acceptance by the state...

Lebanon has apologised to Denmark after thousands of rampaging Muslim demonstrators set fire to its diplomatic mission in Beirut in the most violent of worldwide Muslim rage over caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad. Ghazi Aridi, the information minister, said early on Monday, after a late Sunday emergency cabinet meeting, that the government had unanimously "rejected and condemned the acts of...

When a newspaper cartoon in Denmark can provoke riots from Jakarta to Gaza, and causes Europeans, regardless of their passport, to fear for their security, it is time to sit up and take notice. Unfortunately, few people seem to realise how symbolically important this case is. Firstly, we should re-think our understanding of the word "globalisation". The word is employed differently according to...

Where did those three "extra" cartoons come from, that did so much to fuel the Danish cartoon row? Perhaps it is an academic point, but I, for one, am not sure I know the answer yet. As I've written in earlier postings, the row took off after a delegation of Danish Muslim clerics and activists took themselves off to the Middle East to drum up support for their campaign against the 12 cartoons...