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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Anti Danish cartoons' rallies turn into fiasco for the regime |
| 2006-02-07 |
| An Islamist crowd, composed mainly by Bassij Para-military force's members, smashed windows and threw several petrol bombs and pieces of rocks at the Austrian and Danish embassies in Tehran. The organized rallies were intending to show, what was supposed to be, the massive indignation of Iranians over the publication of cartoons depicting the Islamic Prophet Mohammad. But despite all supports from governmental circles and advertisements made by Mosques related to the theocratic regime, which had called for a massive participation, the demonstrators stayed under 400 individuals while the Iranian Capital has over 12 millions of inhabitants. The regime's regular Law Enforcement Forces made a show of resistance in facing the Islamists. The scenario was to fill the lack of Iranians "collective indignation" while showing, as well, some aspect of challenges for foreign journalists reporting from Iran. This lack of popular support, for fanatical ways of expression and some of the political goals of the Islamic regime, is much more significant, as; it's coinciding with the Shia ritual of Moharam month and the Ashura mourning. By Islamists believe, Iranians should have been more sensible to any parameter which might affect their religion, but the today's event showed that this is not the case, contrary to many other majoritary Muslim nations. The today's fiasco, for the clerics, marks the unpopularity of the ideological pillars of the Islamic republic regime and shows better the increasing secular aspiration of Iranians. It also proves Iranians sense of respect for the freedom of expression, while many of them might have their objection to the published cartoons. It also underlines how Iranians are rejecting any call to attack any diplomatic mission, contrary to a terrorist regime which its leaders saw, in the seizure of the US Embassy and the hostage taking of American diplomats, a "second revolution". |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #6 Couldn't. No Austrian Embassy in Albuquerque. Now as to a cock fight... [we'll leave that one to your imagination]. |
| Posted by: Unelet Slaitch9798 2006-02-07 15:42 |
| #5 400? Hell, you could probably get a crowd that big to throw stones at the Austrian embassy in Albuquerque. That's peanuts. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2006-02-07 13:25 |
| #4 Tim Blair has them here. Or go over to Michelle Malkin's. That Wikipedia entry does have the cartoons, apparently as presented on the original Jyllands-Posten page. But they're awfully small and hard to read. It does have a good description of the in-jokes. I have often heard these cartoons described as "crude", "obnoxious", or "unfunny". They are nothing of the sort. Some of them require cultural background to understand. Others are apparently more subtle than people give them credit for. For example, my least favorite is the weird crescent-star-ice cream cone (or whatever) line drawing. This cartoon mocks Islam's treatment of women, and yet does not actually depict Mohammed, or indeed any human figure. Is it still blasphemous if there is no discernable human figure? [Trick question: The answer is, "Everything is blasphemy, unless we say it's not."] I think there's a similar point made in the one with the censored eyes. |
| Posted by: Angie Schultz 2006-02-07 13:23 |
| #3 wikipedia has good up-to-date info on the saga here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jyllands-Posten_Muhammad_cartoons the best thing is they give a commentary on the cartoons as some have writing in Danish/domestic in-jokes that aren't clear to someone outside Denmark. Those explanations are about halfway down. But they don't show the cartoons. For that, you can go here: http://www.brusselsjournal.com/node/698 and scroll halfway down the page. Little Green Footballs had a slideshow of the images, too, but you'll have to search the site: www.littlegreenfootballs.com happy cartooning! |
| Posted by: anon1 2006-02-07 12:33 |
| #2 ...FWIW, Fox News showed a couple of them on Chris Wallace's show on Sunday - was amazed by that. Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2006-02-07 12:29 |
| #1 Has anyone seen these cartoons? Many bloggers have taken them off of their site. And in order to view them on Jyllands-Posten you have to be a member. |
| Posted by: ilikechocolate 2006-02-07 11:49 |