I’ve been watching this story unfold since September when the now infamous cartoons were first published. At the time I didn’t think it was newsworthy story for this site as it was a european issue and I frankly didn’t see the story developing much past the initial backlash.
Four months later, the story has hit a tipping point (why it took four months is a mystery to me) and muslims in Europe and the Middle East are outraged. Some muslims are threatening to kidnap any French or Dutch citizen found in Gaza; a newspaper editor in France was fired for reprinting the cartoons; Newspapers in Italy, Germany, Netherlands and Spain also reprinted the cartoons – sparking more outrage in those cities.
For a good recap and to follow the story, visit the Times (UK).
WESTERN governments appealed for calm yesterday before Friday prayers as the storm over the publication and broadcast of cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad escalated.
Masked Palestinian gunmen fired shots into the air and closed the EU office in Gaza, saying it would stay shut until Western governments apologised for their media printing images including a cartoon of a bearded Muhammad with a bomb in his turban.