When you see pictures of burning embassies and mad crowds it seems insane to think that all this is about a few drawings published in a Danish news paper a few months ago and now re-published in a few other news papers. Yes, the cartoons were disrespectful, yes they were initially published in a right-wing publication and probably designed to offend but honestly, a wee bit of perspective and tolerance would not go a miss. The cartoons were pulling the piss out of Muslims for being violent and militant …. way to prove the cartoon’s point guys!

This incident has now been blown up into a freedom of the press V religious respect issue. Personally, I think the cartoons were in bad taste and the fact that it is a real offense to Muslims to portray their God means that they should not have been published IMO. However, that is no reason to revert to violence and to take out your anger on an entire nation. Buring down embassies in response to a drawing does not seem proportional to me! Also, these cartoons were not published by the Danish Government so burning down their embassy is un-called for. Likewise, these images were not published by the Danish dairy company that is being targeted and had to lay off staff so they should not be punished for them.

The reaction in the middle east speaks volumes for the power of a few radical Imams to stirr up hatered. An entire nation is being targeted for the actions of a few cartoonists, if something this small can be blown up this much I think it’s fair to say there is a long way to go before there is peace in the middle east!

As I see it the initial cartoons were IMO a blow below the belt and not appropriate but the response is infinitely more inappropriate and I think the Muslim world has scored an own goal on this one. Yes, it is a minority of extremists doing the burning but it looks like a large enough group to me and the governments in the Islamic nations involved seem less than eager to protect people from these mobs. This response has re-enforced all the stereo-types being used by right-wing loonies in Europe to stir up anti-Muslim feeling and, in the eyes of many people, have prooved the cartoonist’s point.

As for this being a freedom of the press thing, I just don’t see it. Freedom of the press is about allowing the press to report events free from Government censorship, it’s not about insulting and belittling an entire religious group! These cartoons were designed to insult and belittle, not to relate a factual event.