February 05, 2006

Violence Spreads to Lebanon

Islamic anger over the Muhammad cartoons isn't easing up; it's spreading:

Thousands of angry Muslim protesters torched the Danish consulate in Beirut on Sunday and damaged property in a Christian area in riots over cartoons of Prophet Mohammad.

The violence fueled sectarian tensions in Lebanon and forced the resignation of Interior Minister Hassan al-Sabaa.

The protesters, waving green Islamic flags and chanting "God is greatest," stoned a church in the eastern part of the capital, provoking an angry Christian outcry in a country that has not fully recovered from its 1975-1990 civil war.

About 20,000 protesters marched on the consulate, some carrying banners that read "Whoever insults Prophet Mohammad is to be killed" and throwing stones at security forces, who fired teargas and used water cannon to disperse the crowd.

A bit of Darwin Award flavor was noticed:

One demonstrator, among those who set the consulate building on fire, was encircled by flames and died after jumping from the third floor, a senior security official told Reuters.

In past history wars have started with attacking a country's embassies. Lucky for the protesters they're challenging militarily-limited Denmark.

At least there are some Muslims who know these violent reactions do no good:

Several Sunni Muslim clerics were on the streets urging restraint and asking protesters, who came from across the country, to leave the scene, a Reuters witness said.

Some protesters stoned a Christian Maronite church nearby and a group of Muslim clerics went to the church to apologize, witnesses said.

The protesters also damaged 50 cars and 40 shops and set fire to a bank, the police official said.

President Emile Lahoud joined scores of Christian officials in deploring the attack on the church. Scores of Christians also burned tyres and briefly blocked the highway linking Beirut to the Muslim-dominated Bekaa Valley.

The police official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said 21 policemen and 12 protesters were injured. Many suffered from teargas inhalation.

Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora told private Future television: "This has nothing to do with Islam at all."

"Destabilising security and vandalism gives a wrong image of Islam. The Prophet Mohammad cannot be defended this way."

The Arab European League reacted to the Muhammad cartoons by displaying some bigotry of their own in the form of an anti-semitic cartoon. Notice the AEL didn't publish a cartoon insulting the Pope or Jesus (also an Islamic holy figure). They leaped into Jew-bashing.

Stephen Bainbridge found a Christian comparison to Muslim outrage. It doesn't involve burning down a television network's headquarters. Muslims know their history contains stories of empire and dominance. Today, they're just trying to integrate into the global economy. The rage we are witnessing is one of insecurity. Muslims know they can't successfully build an army to crush the infidel. So they resort to riots. In a way this is progress. The cartoons can never be hidden. They'll float through cyberspace until the end of the internet. At some point protesters will realize their violence won't change a thing, just like Iran's death threat never stopped Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses from being published. This is a messy, ugly process.

"Lebanese Torch Danish Consulate over Cartoons"

UPDATE: Turkey is a Muslim nation farthest down the globalization path. Their reaction has been much different than that in Syria and Lebanon.