Muslims assault U.S. Embassy in Indonesia

[Phlegm]

Well you know it'll happen sooner or later. From Associated Press:

JAKARTA, Indonesia - Hundreds of Muslims protesting caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad tried to storm the U.S. Embassy on Sunday, smashing the windows of a guard post but failing to push through the gates. Several people were injured.

Pakistani security forces, meanwhile, sealed off the capital of Islamabad to block a planned mass demonstration and fired tear gas and gunshots to chase off protesters. In Turkey, tens of thousands gathered in Istanbul chanting slogans against Denmark, Israel and the United States.

Protests over the cartoons, which first appeared in a Danish newspaper in September and have been republished in other European publications and elsewhere, have swept across the Muslim world, growing into mass outlets for rage against the West in general, and Israel and the United States in particular.

Saudi papers print apology; Abdullah calls for calm

Saudi newspapers on Sunday ran full-page apologies by the Danish newspaper that first ran the cartoons.

But Jyllands-Posten’s Web site said the newspaper wasn’t involved in the ads. It said businesses placed the ad on their own initiative, using an apology issued by the newspaper late last month. It did not identify the companies or say if they were Danish.

Boycotts of Danish products throughout the Muslim world have taken a heavy toll on Denmark’s exporters, especially those selling Denmark’s famed dairy products.

The advertisements ran in three of Saudi Arabia’s main newspapers — Al-Jazeera, Al-Riyadh and Al-Youm — as well as the Saudi-owned Asharq Al-Awsat, which is distributed around the Arab world.

In Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, King Abdullah tried to calm the protests Sunday, condemning what he called “the clash of civilizations” and calling on Muslims to spread the idea of peaceful coexistence.

“I call ... for the next stage in relations between countries to be a stage of real dialogue where each side respects the other side, respects its sanctities, beliefs and identity,” Abdullah said, speaking at a cultural festival.

Christians are targets

Pakistani Muslims protesting in the southern city of Sukkur ransacked and burned a church Sunday after hearing accusations that a Christian man had burned pages of the Quran, Islam’s holy book.

That incident came a day after Muslims protesting in the Nigerian city of Maiduguri attacked Christians and burned 15 churches in a three-hour rampage that killed at least 15 people. Some 30 other people have died during protests over the cartoons that erupted about three weeks ago.

In Jakarta, about 400 people marched to the heavily fortified U.S. mission in the center of the city, behind a banner reading “We are ready to attack the enemies of the Prophet.”

‘We are fighting America’

Protesters throwing stones and brandishing wooden staves tried to break through the gates. They set fire to U.S. flags and a poster of President Bush and smashed the windows of a guard outpost before dispersing after a few minutes.

The U.S. Embassy called the attacks deplorable, describing them as acts of “thuggery.”

A protest organizer said the West, and particularly the United States, is attacking Islam.

“They want to destroy Islam through the issue of terrorism ... and all those things are engineered by the United States,” said Maksuni, who only uses one name.

“We are fighting America fiercely this time,” he said. “And we also are fighting Denmark.”

Protests in Pakistan

In Pakistan, where protests last week left five people dead, police put up roadblocks around Islamabad to keep people from entering the capital for a planned mass protest called by a coalition of six hard-line Islamic parties, the Mutahida Majlis-e-Amal — United Action Forum.

Authorities also arrested several lawmakers and Islamic leaders during raids in three cities and announced they would arrest anyone joining a gathering of more than five people to prevent the demonstration.

Opposition leader Maulana Fazlur Rahman, a senior figure in the Islamic coalition, was eventually given permission to lead a small rally through a square in the city center. The protesters chanted “God is great!” and “Any friend of America is a traitor.”

But when about 100 other protesters tried to reach the square, officers fired tear gas and at least one gunshot to chase them off. More gunshots were heard later in the city, but it wasn’t clear who fired them. At least two policemen were injured, one bleeding from the head. Several demonstrators also were hurt.

Stone throwers thwarted

A crowd of 700 people, some throwing stones at police, tried to march toward Islamabad’s heavily guarded diplomatic enclave about 1.3 miles from the square but with blocked by troops in armored personnel carriers.

Police also blocked about 1,500 protesters from reaching Islamabad from the city of Peshawar by putting shipping containers and sandbags on a bridge along a highway leading to the capital, said Mohammed Iqbal, a key member of the religious alliance.

Elsewhere in Pakistan, about 600 people staged a protest in Chaman, a town near the Afghan border, burning Danish flags and an effigy of the Danish prime minister.

Such protests prompted Denmark on Sunday to temporarily recall its ambassador to Pakistan, Bent Wigotski, because it was impossible for him “to perform his job duties during the present circumstances,” the Danish Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

[Markarado]

This is getting out of hand, and I'm seriously a bit worried. Just yesterday a banner was put up outside of the American international school I went to and still live very close to. The police took it down within a few hours. Where I live is rather peaceful. I really don't want to have to move again. Damnit.

[Yamori]

Let's review:

1) These people are rioting, commiting arson, and assaulting police and governmental buildings over a rather sloppy cartoon of an arab man with a bomb for a hat.

2) What are their targets of assault and destruction in response to a Danish cartoon? American embassies. American businesses (run/managed/owned by their neighbors). Christian establishments. Police buildings.

This is far beyond irrational over-reacting that could be explained based on the significance of portraying Mohammed in any form being a taboo in their culture.

This is just plain animalistic behavior. Maybe police in those countries should start cracking down on those rioters... preferably on their heads, with a lead pipe.

[mofish]

Let's review:

1) These people are rioting, commiting arson, and assaulting police and governmental buildings over a rather sloppy cartoon of an arab man with a bomb for a hat.

2) What are their targets of assault and destruction in response to a Danish cartoon? American embassies. American businesses (run/managed/owned by their neighbors). Christian establishments. Police buildings.

This is far beyond irrational over-reacting that could be explained based on the significance of portraying Mohammed in any form being a taboo in their culture.

This is just plain animalistic behavior. Maybe police in those countries should start cracking down on those rioters... preferably on their heads, with a lead pipe.

These riots are being instigated and supported by the governments.

[brinstar]

...who probably all believe our government consists of money-grubbing soulless assholes

[Ouchyfish]

Maybe police in those countries should start cracking down on those rioters... preferably on their heads, with a lead pipe.

They're taking a lesson from the African Americans here. Pistons lost the big game? RIOT!

[Harrison]

I'm telling you, Islam needs a huge fucking Hitler-style smackdown.

[Vincenti]

Hitler wanted world domination and commited horrible atrocities to get to it.... hmmm sounds like the Middle East is the one that decided that we needed the Hitler style smackdown and to adminster it themselves. What we need to do is lay a Patton style smackdown on their asses in retribution.

"The trick of war is not to give up your life for your country, but make the other poor bastard give up his life for his country"

[Lyion]

Mo got it right.

Most of the Muslims out there do not want this. Most of what you are seeing are the fringe factions, or government controlled rioting.

A few hundred people in Indonesia, a massive country with millions of Muslims is not representative. Thats like saying the 20 people camped with Cindy Sheehan represent all of America. Hardly. It just news sensationalism.

Wahabi and Shalafi sects will continue to riot and cause issues. It is what they do. They are not a majority, or even a large amount. What they are is is in bed with media, which is a shame, but not surprising.

[Spazz]

All over a cartoon man what a buncha retards. Islams such a peaceful religion........

[mofish]

Mo got it right.

Most of the Muslims out there do not want this. Most of what you are seeing are the fringe factions, or government controlled rioting.

A few hundred people in Indonesia, a massive country with millions of Muslims is not representative. Thats like saying the 20 people camped with Cindy Sheehan represent all of America. Hardly. It just news sensationalism.

Wahabi and Shalafi sects will continue to riot and cause issues. It is what they do. They are not a majority, or even a large amount. What they are is is in bed with media, which is a shame, but not surprising.

Yeah its a nasty mix of propaganda, government prodding and extremist elements. If the US government was authoritarian and extreme right-wing christian, you would see abortion clinics, gay bars etc burned to the ground. Nothing animalistic about this, just human.

Just remember the lens the media puts on all this people. There are a billion muslims in the world. If there are a million violent extremists, you are going to think they are all like that because that's all youre going to see on the news. But that would only be, uh, a thousandth of the muslim population.

I worked in Saudi Arabia for a summer, my dad was there for 7 years. My boss was a pakistani muslim, many muslims in the building. All of them, polite, civil, and hardworking. Just sayin.

[Captain Insano]

Sometimes I think god invented gasoline and matches just to combat muslim scum.

[KaiineTN]

Imagine there's no Heaven
It's easy if you try
No Hell below us
Above us only sky.

Imagine all the people
Living for today

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too

Imagine all the people
Living life in peace

[Markarado]

Then what would we discuss?