Goldstein on the Cartoon War
Identity Politics, Free Speech, and the Future of worldwide Liberalism, 2: a follow-up
From Islam Online:
Danish Muslim leaders warned on Saturday, February 4, of grave consequences if copies of the Noble Qur’an were burnt in a rally planned by Danish extremists to protest Muslim anger over cartoons mocking Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
“All hell will break loose, if those extremists burn the Qur’an,” Raed Halil, the head of the European Committee for Defending Prophet Muhammad, told IslamOnline.net over the phone from the Danish capital Copenhagen.
“A female member of a racist party circulated a message calling for burning copies of the Noble Qur’an in Saturday’s march,” he said.
Note the bolded text, because it draws clear (if to be expected) lines of demarcation between the actions of the rival “protest” groups: the Danish protesters are “extremists” from “extreme-right”—many members of a “racist party”—while those outraged by the publishing of the cartoons in the first place (and who “protested” by burning flags, firebombing embassies, and—even here, through a spokesman, are issuing active threats of “grave consequences” and promises that “All hell will break lose” should counterprotests seek to address “Muslim anger”) are mere victims of some minor misunderstanding in the “new cultural battle over freedom of speech and respect of religions.”
Totally pwned
More Goldstein Obsession
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Anger over German football cartoon
Nigeria cartoon protests kill 16