To see all TWELVE (12) of the cartoons, visit

http://face-of-muhammed.blogspot.com

ISLAMIC RAGE: REPRINTS OF CARTOONS SPARK ISLAMIC RAGE! / WHAT ABOUT THE

'FREE SPEECH' RIGHTS OF THE CARTOONISTS?! / CAN JUDEO-CHRISTIAN PEOPLES

REALLY CO-EXIST WITH THE ISLAMIC/MUSLIM PEOPLES?! / TAKE A LOOK AT

EUROPE FOR YOUR ANSWER! / ISLAMOFASCISTS WANT TO WAGE A 'HOLY WAR'

AGAINST ALL 'INFIDELS' OF THE WEST! –

By Paivi Munter in Stockholm, Martin Arnold in Paris and Bertrand Benoit

in Berlin, Sunday, February 5, 2006

European leaders tried to contain the controversy over newspaper

cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed on Thursday, as the international

dispute escalated into a consumer boycott and risked the gravest

cultural clash with the Muslim world since the Salman Rushdie affair.

Publication of the cartoons in Spain, Italy, France, Germany and the

Netherlands triggered condemnation in the Muslim and Arab world, where

consumers turned their anger on Danish companies.

Arla, the dairy company based in Denmark, where the cartoons were first

published, admitted on Thursday its sales in some Middle East countries

had fallen to zero. Carrefour, the French retailer, said it had removed

Danish products from shelves in its Middle East operations.

Other Danish companies targeted in the boycott include Lego, the

toymaker, and Novo Nordisk, the pharmaceuticals company.

As popular protests spread, the leaders of Egypt and Afghanistan warned

the cartoons had offended millions of Muslims and could be exploited by

terrorists in their war against the west.

"Any insult to the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) is an insult to more

than 1bn Muslims and an act like this must never be allowed to be

repeated," said Hamid Karzai, Afghan president, strong western ally and

moderate Muslim leader.

Gunmen in Gaza surrounded the local European Union office and threatened

to kidnap citizens of countries where newspapers had published the

cartoons.

In an effort to calm Muslim anger, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the Danish

prime minister, was set to appear last night on the al-Arabiya satellite

news channel to explain his government¹s position. He also called a

meeting of all foreign ambassadors in Copenhagen for today as the debate

in Europe polarised defenders of press freedom and religious groups.

Ursula Plassnik, foreign minister of Austria, which holds the rotating

EU presidency, said she understood the offence Muslims felt, adding that

EU leaders needed to ³clearly condemn² acts that insult religion.

Kofi Annan, the United Nations secretary-general, said he believed

"freedom of the press should always be exercised in a way that fully

respects the religious beliefs and tenets of all religions."

The dispute began on September 30, when Jyllands-Posten, Denmark¹s

biggest newspaper, published 12 cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed, a move

considered blasphemous in Islam. One of the cartoons showed the Prophet

with a bomb under his turban. The Danish newspaper later apologised but

the row escalated this week after several European newspapers reprinted

the cartoons to assert the right to free speech.

The BBC on Thursday used footage of newspapers carrying the cartoons in

its 1pm television news bulletin and on BBC News 24, the rolling news

channel, and ITV News said it would show similar footage "in the context

of it being a news story."

Most daily UK newspapers decided not to reproduce the cartoons on

Thursday. One cartoon appeared on The Spectator¹s website but was

quickly taken down.

The French government criticised France Soir, the first French newspaper

to reprint the images. In Germany, religious and minority

representatives sought to calm after Die Welt, the conservative daily,

reprinted the cartoons on Wednesday.

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http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2024306,00.html

DANISH CARTOONISTS FEAR FOR THEIR LIVES,... ISLAMOFASCIST EXTREMISTS ARE

AFTER THEM,... OUCH! –

By Anthony Browne in Brussels, The Times, Sunday, February 5, 2006

Twelve Danish cartoonists whose pictures sparked such outcry have gone

into hiding under round-the-clock protection, fearing for their lives.

The cartoonists, many of whom had reservations about the pictures, have

been shocked by how the affair has escalated into a global ³clash of

civilisations². They have since tried, unsuccessfully, to stop them

being reprinted.

A spokesman for the cartoonists said: "They are in hiding around

Denmark. Some of them are really, really scared. They don¹t want to

see the pictures reprinted all over the world. We couldn¹t stop it. We

tried, but we couldn¹t."

Mogens Blicher Bjerregaard, president of the Danish Union of

Journalists, told The Times: "They are keeping a very low profile. They

are very concerned about their safety. They feel a big responsibility on

their shoulders. It¹s blown up so big. It is tough for them."

The cartoonists' names were originally printed in the Danish paper

Jyllands-Posten. Flemming Rose, the paper¹s cultural editor, invited

25 newspaper cartoonists to draw a picture of Muhammad "how they saw

him," after a children¹s author complained that cartoonists would only

dare illustrate a book he was writing on the life of Muhammad if they

could be anonymous.

Twelve cartoonists responded, had their pictures printed in September,

and were paid 800 Danish krone (£73) each. In an interview with a

Swedish newspaper this week, some of the cartoonists expressed their

doubts about the entire episode.

"It felt a little like a lose-lose situation. If I said no, I was a

coward who contributes to self-censorship. If I said yes, I became an

irresponsible hate monger against Islam," one of the cartoonists said.

Another said: "I was actually angry when I first received the letter

[from Jyllands-Posten]. I thought it was a really bad idea. At first I

didn't want to participate, but then I talked it over with some friends

from the Middle East, and they thought I should do it."

The cartoonists come from a variety of different political backgrounds,

which is reflected in their work. While some of the pictures satirise

Muhammad, others attack populist right-wing politicians and even

Jyllands-Posten itself, which is rightwing.

Having failed to stop the cartoons being reprinted across Europe, the

cartoonists have now decided to use all the money raised from the sales

of the pictures to set up a foundation which will award an annual

international prize for press freedom.

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MUHAMMAD CARTOON ROW INTENSIFIES (2/2/2006):

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