02/18/2006
The Cartoon Jihad appears to have legs (the violence started 2/4), and shows signs that it might surpass the historic France carbecue in length. The French jihad against automobiles (around 10,000 achieved meltdown) and other private property lasted about three weeks, though without loss of life other than the two unlucky teenagers whose electrocution deaths started the whole thing.Bodies are accumulating over the Danish drawings, however. Ten were killed as a result of a five-hour riot against the Italian embassy in Libya. (Yes, Italian — the sons of Allah aren’t containing their anger to just Danes.) Five became deceased in Afghanistan during anti-cartoon action.
While visiting Pakistan, the ever-diplomatic ex-President Bill Clinton declared publishing the cartoons a "mistake" because it was disrespectful to famously sensitive Muslims. "I can tell you most people in the United States deeply respect Islam … and most people in Europe do," he said.
Not exactly, Bill. A recent USA Today/CNN poll found that Americans were critical of Muslim excitement around the cartoon ["Poll: Americans fear Iran will develop, use nukes"].
By a 3-to-1 ratio, however, they blame the resulting furor on Muslims' intolerance of different points of views, not Westerners' lack of respect for Islam.
In Britain, the public is losing patience with jihadist Muslims as well as how the government is handling them, with 86 percent characterizing the violent nature of the protests to be "a gross overreaction."
The demands of rioters that their religion be seen as a "religion of peace" are falling on increasingly deaf ears, it would seem.
This is a content archive of VDARE.com, which Letitia James forced off of the Internet using lawfare.