News Search Search this site or the web powered by FreeFind Site search Web search Story archive		04-02-2006 Scotsman Pleas for calm are ignored as fury at cartoons intensifies By Chief News Correspondent Gethin Chamberlain MODERATE Muslim leaders yesterday urged those offended by cartoons of the prophet Muhammad not to fuel anti-Islamic sentiment by allowing "misguided and oppressive" extremists to hijack their demonstrations. As Muslims around the world staged protests against the publication of cartoons depicting the prophet, the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) and Iraq's most senior Shia cleric both warned of the danger of allowing fringe elements to warp the public perception of Islam. The controversial images first appeared in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten and included images of Muhammad wearing a turban shaped like a bomb, and another showing him telling suicide bombers arriving in heaven that he was running out of virgins. Iraq's Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani denounced the publication of the cartoons but warned that "misguided and oppressive" segments of the Muslim community were projecting "a distorted and dark image of the faith of justice, love and brotherhood". The influential religious leader said: "Enemies have exploited this... to spread their poison and revive their old hatreds with new methods and mechanisms." As Muslims gathered to protest outside the Danish embassy in London yesterday in a rally organised by the radical At-Tawheed organisation, the MCB also urged caution. Inayat Bunglawala, an MCB spokesman, said he recognised the immense amount of hurt and anguish felt by Muslims around the world and accepted that many would want to protest in a peaceful and lawful manner. But he urged them to "be on guard for mischievous elements" who were planning to use the crisis to exploit people's feelings in an unlawful manner. "We ask all concerned to act with dignity at all times. We are concerned that the demonstration today is organised by an extremist group. "All major religions will have the fringe elements which give a bad name in the same way that President Bush gives a bad name to Christianity." But the appeals for calm fell on deaf ears as demonstrators around the world took to the street to vent their anger. Chants calling for further atrocities like the 7 July bombings echoed around central London as hundreds of Muslims waved placards and burnt flags in a march to the Danish, French and German embassies. The chants got more violent as the afternoon progressed, with shouts of "bomb bomb Denmark" and "nuke nuke Denmark". There were also shouts of "Osama bin Laden" and "7/7 is on its way". The crowd turned almost hysterical when it burnt the Danish flag. There were rowdy cheers as it went up in flames and was stamped on. Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, had earlier launched a fierce attack on the decision by some media outlets to republish the cartoons. Media organisations - including the BBC, Channel 4 and ITV - as well as several European newspapers showed the controversial drawings, some with defiant headlines. British newspapers have not published the images. The British broadcasters defended their use of the images, saying that they had been used to provide context and explanation in news reports. But Mr Straw said: "There is freedom of speech, we all respect that, but there is not any obligation to insult or to be gratuitously inflammatory. "I believe that the re-publication of these cartoons has been unnecessary, it has been insensitive, it has been disrespectful and it has been wrong." But Mr Straw praised the British print media for showing "considerable responsibility and sensitivity" in its approach to the issue. The United States government also condemned the caricatures. "These cartoons are indeed offensive to the beliefs of Muslims," said a state department spokesman. "We all fully recognise and respect freedom of the press and expression, but it must be coupled with press responsibility. Inciting religious or ethnic hatreds in this manner is not acceptable." Speaking at a rally in southern Lebanon, Sheikh Abu Sharif, a spokesman for the militant Osbet al-Ansar group, said: "We will not be satisfied with protests. The solution is the slaughter of those who harmed Islam and the prophet."
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