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Younghusband
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Younghusband

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February 4th, 2006

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Cartoon Chaos

LGF reports (and here) on the burning of the Danish embassy in Syria today. Apparently the Syrians also lit up the Norwegian embassy as well. Hoder points out that Iran is “deeply silent” on the whole cartoon issue, illustrating the growing gap between Iran and the Muslim world. Salman Rushdie is a thing of the past.

Comments to this entry

Dan tdaxp
February 4, 2006
7:31 pm
Fascinating on Iran! Typical for Arabs.
Younghusband
February 4, 2006
10:30 pm
One wonders if another reason the Iranians aren't up in arms is that they feel that Western society is a "lost cause" from the perspective of radical Islam, and no matter what Iran says we'll keep on being the way we are until the end? Or, more pragmatically, they do not want to ruin any negotiating leverage over the nuclear issue?

Then again, the "Irish report":http://breakingnews.iol.ie/news/story.asp?j=73437038&p=7343734x that Iran's commerce minister is looking for ways to break off trade deals with Euro countries involved.
Kirk H. Sowell
February 5, 2006
12:50 am
I really doubt that Iran's silence on this issue has anything to do with moderation. Were they not already having problems over Holocaust denial and nukes - the IAEA finally voted to refer them for sanctions today - I'm sure they would be beating the jihad drum as well. As YH notes, I believe that it is a negotiating position issue.

On the other hand, I'm sure that there is a difference on the popular level. In the Arab world it is the population plus the regimes, in Iran it would just be the regime protesting; Iranians have seen enough of repression to advocate it in another country.
Curzon
February 5, 2006
12:59 am
Kirk: that may be an accurate portrayal of the government's stance, but the Iranian people are not protesting in the streets and burning down embassies. Surely that indicates a real difference between Persia and Arabia?
Kirk H. Sowell
February 5, 2006
1:13 am
Curzon: Maybe I was unclear; what you wrote is precisely what I meant. I intended to suggest that there is a difference at the popular level, because Arabs are protesting in the streets and burning embassies and Iranians are not.
Jay
February 5, 2006
3:22 am
Syria's a police state--what're the _chances_ that this happened without government approval (or even instigation?) of some sort?
Mi-Hwa
February 5, 2006
11:53 am
I read in the news that Syria's police protected the American and French embassies from demonstrators, but let the Danish and Norwegian embassies burn. Syria's government keeps getting into trouble with the West.

According to the BBC, the US has condemned Syria's government, and not just the demonstrators:

"The government of Syria's failure to provide protection to diplomatic premises, in the face of warnings that violence was planned, is inexcusable."
Mi-Hwa
February 5, 2006
1:07 pm
Lebanon has a close relationship with Syria, so it's not surprising that burning down embassies has spread to Beirut.

As for Iran, it has more important things to worry about than cartoons, such as building nuclear weapons and dealing with the UN Security Council.
Dan
February 5, 2006
3:33 pm
This does raise questions regarding Iran's supposed madman strategy. If Ahmadinejad is "mad," then it's a strange form of madness that recognizes the importance of good relations and balance-of-power concerns.
Bill Petti
February 5, 2006
5:33 pm
Dan (and all) see my thoughts on the Madman issue here.

As far as the cartoon issue goes I can't see how anyone can be anything but appalled at the reaction. Death threats, burning of embassies--I really fail to understand how such behavior can be rationalized. Even if you take grave offense--its a cartoon, a form of expression (that, by the way, was not intended for offensive purposes but an experiment on self-censorship)--if these people can't understand or live with the notion that expression and spreech are (and should be) protected than I shudder to think what democracy will eventually bring...
Kirk H. Sowell
February 6, 2006
1:23 am
The Madman issue: Assuming that Ahmadinejad's "madman image" is not some sort of elaborately crafted "good cop/bad cop" game he is playing with Rafsanjani, I would say that he has simply been reigned in by Iran's Supreme Security Council. They are realizing that they had Europe in a complacent doze until Ahmadinejad came along and woke them up.

Syria: The Syrian regime is in real hot water right now, so I'm not surprised that they protected the American and French embassies. They know who has the ability to fry their bacon. The Danes and Norweigens are harmless. Let'em burn.
Mi-Hwa
February 6, 2006
2:40 am
Some Muslims are violent, partly because of radical clerics who preach 'Death to Israel, America, and Europe'. In contrast, Muslims who are well-educated and Westernized are less likely to be violent. That is why it is important for the West to not antagonize Muslims. It would be better to encourage and educate Muslims about Western ideals like free speech, free press, and freedom of religion.
snow
February 6, 2006
6:04 am
"That is why it is important for the West to not antagonize Muslims."

So Mi-Hwa, we should be politically correct and censor anything bad about Muslims? In the meantime, in the press in Middle Eastern countries they continually churn out a stream of the most vile anti-American and anti-Israel crap.
Kirk H. Sowell
February 6, 2006
8:26 am
Mi-Hwa:

I believe it would have been better if the cartoons had not been published, although this turn of events has been beneficial in revealing to Western publics something about Arab societies that those of us who follow events closely knew already, and learned again with Hamas' electoral win; radical Islam is not a fringe.

I would question the factual premise of your argument: It is emphatically not the case that militant Islam doesn't appeal to the educated. Most educated Muslims are not terrorists or otherwise violent, of course, but Muslim terrorists are disproportionately drawn from the middle and upper classes. Al-Qaeda is filled with professionally educated, financially comfortable individuals. The core of groups like the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas are the college educated middle class and professionals; doctors, lawyers, and others.

Of course, your argument does append the "and Westernized" adjective, but many European radicals are formerly Westernized professionals who converted to radical Islam. They have to stay Westernized.
ComingAnarchy.com » Blog Archive » Imagery, religion and nationalism
February 6, 2006
7:26 pm
[...] After discussing the furor over cartoons in the Middle East, I was looking around and found an example in Northeast Asia that I just had to share with you all. Nuts! What say you? [...]
Younghusband
February 8, 2006
2:59 pm
"Why haven't Muslims in Canada taken to the streets in large numbers to protest against cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed?":http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060208.wxcartooncan08/BNStory/National/?page
ComingAnarchy.com » Blog Archive » The Real Free Speech Battle
February 20, 2006
5:28 pm
[...] Although many Muslims may not be able to handle freedom of speech and have demonstrated this with their childish and violent responses around the world, another battle for freedom of speech rages in Europe, one that hasn’t been on the front page, namely, that of holocaust denial. [...]