Update: The Danes caved and apologized. Score another one for the Religion of Intolerance.
Once again, Islam, the religion of tolerance, shows its tolerance by threatening to kill those who don’t follow Islamic dictates. Muslims the world over are attacking and threatening Danes because a Danish newspaper printed twelve cartoons that depicted Mohammed.
BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) – The controversy over Danish caricatures of Prophet Muhammad escalated Monday as gunmen seized an EU office in Gaza and Muslims appealed for a trade boycott of Danish products. Denmark called for its citizens in the Middle East to exercise vigilance.
Denmark-based Arla Foods, which has been the target of a widespread boycott in the Middle East, reported that two of its employees in Saudi Arabia were beaten by angry customers. Aid groups, meanwhile, pulled workers out of Gaza, citing the threat of hostilities.
[…] In Gaza, masked gunmen briefly took over an office used by the EU, demanding an apology from Denmark and Norway. The gunmen said citizens of the two countries would be prevented from entering the Gaza Strip. No one was hurt.
The Danish Red Cross said it was evacuating two employees from Gaza and one from Yemen.
“There have been concrete threats against our employees. The fact that they are Danish nationals has made the difference,” Danish Red Cross spokesman Anders Ladekarl said.
The Norwegian People’s Aid group also said it was withdrawing its two Norwegian representatives in Gaza but that operations would be maintained by local staff.
In a statement issued Sunday evening on its Web site, the Foreign Ministry called for Danes in the Middle East to be cautious.
The newspaper and Danish government are standing fast, but some Danes are already calling for them to back down. Muslim nations are talking about boycotting Denmark, but Denmark pointed out to Saudi Arabia that private boycotts are against World Bank policy.
Arabs and Muslims also are calling for a boycott of Danish foods, including popular cream cheese, butter and cookie brands. Arla said the boycott of its products in the Middle East was almost total.
“Sales have come to a standstill in almost all markets,” said Jens Refslund, the foods production division manager.
Arla Foods has $430 million in annual sales in the Middle East and about 1,000 employees in the region.
Saudi Arabia, which has recalled its ambassador to Denmark, was warned by the EU trade commissioner that the 25-nation bloc would take action with the World Trade Organization if the kingdom supported a Danish boycott, the European Commission said Monday.
Libya on Sunday said it was closing its embassy in Denmark.
Emirates’ Minister of Justice and Islamic Affairs Mohammed Al Dhaheri said publishing the “blasphemous” cartoons was “disgusting and irresponsible,” according to comments released Monday by the official WAM news agency.
“This is cultural terrorism, not freedom of expression. The repercussions of such irresponsible acts will have adverse impact on international relations.”
There we go, misuse of the T-word. Yes, “insulting the prophet” is now tantamount to blowing up children on buses, hijacking planes, and bombing synagogues and churches.
Oh. My. God. Could these people be any less mature?
Once more, we are expected to change our values to match their culture, and yet, they are not expected to change a whit to respect Western values, like, say, equality for women, freedom of expression, the ability to worship whom you please.
But Islam is a religion of tolerance. And peace.
As long as you toe the line, that is.
Judith Apter Klinghoffer has a counter to the boycott of Danish products: Buy Danish. (Not the pastry.)
Let’s see … Danes (and Norweigians – well, they all look the same, don’t they?) who are giving time, help, money, sympathy and support in Gaza and Yemen are being threatened by some of the recipients of same. Tough problem – what could the donor organizations possibly do about that? It would be inhumane to make the thugs look like they have shot themselves in the foot, or give the other recipients a reason to slap some sense into them, or leave it up to Saudi Arabia, Libya and the UAE to provide the humanitarian aid themselves, or….
I’m starting to feel a craving for some cream cheese, maybe a little herring.
Can I win Best Series in Blogging in the JIBs posthumously?
By the way, the Danes just caved in.
Love the post. Love the courage. Love the truth. Shoot, if I don’t like something, I don’t read it or watch it. Personally, I am a BIG fan of cream cheese and herring . . . maybe by the moment.
Thanks for the post.
Congrats, Haflings has nominated you for one of the
“Best So Far” Blog Awards at Bloggin’ Outloud.
http://blogginoutloud.blogspot.com/2006/02/best-so-far-blog-awards.html
Feel free to participate, nominate, and spread the
word. Thanks, Lyn from FBO
According to Bill Clinton, the cartoons published in Denmark were “appalling” and “totally outrageous.”
Want more? “So now what are we going to do? … Replace the anti-Semitic prejudice with anti-Islamic prejudice?â€
What will the Western media publish next that will lead to death threats from Muslims? Evidence that the Protocols are forgeries? They are so popular in the Arab world after all. Muslim threats have caused the Danes and the Norwegians to cave in and surrender the principle of free speech. I trust Danish women are shopping for burkas, they may need them soon.
When will people learn that appeasing the unappeasable is futile? This imbroglio reminds me of an incident in the life of Nelson. He commented that it did not matter in which direction he laid down a fireplace poker he had in his hand. But, he continued, if Bonaparte said it must be laid in a certain direction, it was immediately necessary to lay it in some other direction. I might be sympathetic to an argument that courtesy to Muslim sensibilities was desireable, but once Muslims demanded, under threats, that Westerners must abandon freedom of speech and conform to their prejudices, it was necessary to refuse and resist them. We went through this with the Rushdie Affair. Will the West allow Muslims to dictate what may and may not be published in the West? I am sorry the Danes did not realize the stakes, or if they did, that they decided they could not afford to defend their freedom.
The Danes haven’t caved. The Jyllands-Posten has issued an apology for the umpteenth time that, again, explains how the cartoons publication occurred.
Basically, they are saying they are sorry that some Moslems took offense and that they did not intend to be offensive which is all true. They are sory it has spread so far is all I see of anything different from all their other apologies.
The caving the Muslims want is Rasmussen begging for forgiveness and he won’t give it to them. That’s why it has come so far.
I looked at the apology and it appears to follow the new form of “apologyâ€.
We are sorry that you are upset. We did nothing wrong and it was completely correct to begin with. We did not mean to upset you by telling the truth. Please don’t cost us money.
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It is time to quarantine Islam until they sign on to civilized man’s social compact. Stay home until you grow up.