Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten 's publication of satirical cartoons of the Islamic prophet Muhammad on September 30, 2005, led to violence, arrests, inter-governmental tension, and debate about the scope of free speech and the place of Muslims in the West. Many Muslims stressed that the image of Muhammad is blasphemous, while many Westerners defended the right of free speech. A number of governments, organizations, and individuals have issued statements defining their stance on the protests or cartoons.

Political reactions

International organisations

"Legally, the Government of every State party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights is bound by three articles dealing with the relationship between freedom of religion and freedom of opinion and expression, namely article 18, which protects freedom of religion, subject to such limitations as are necessary to protect public safety and order or the fundamental rights and freedoms of others (art. 18, para. 3); article 19, which protects freedom of expression and opinion, subject to certain restrictions such as 'respect of the rights or reputations of others' (art. 19, para. 3 (a)); and article 20, which states that any advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence shall be prohibited by law."

Nations

"Offending and insulting, is different from expressing an opinion that can be analyzed, argued on, and can eventually be accepted or rejected [therefore offending others is not acceptable] ... But in addition to the west, we ourselves also have problems in this regard. Instead of logical criticism or debate, we only keep saying offensive things about liberalism, democracy and modernism. I had told some of our elders before, that the religion of the today's world is 'liberalism' and we have no right to make insults about it. We should not keep using phrases such as 'the corrupt culture of the west' etc. in our words. As it's also said in the Koran, 'Do not insult the gods of others, otherwise you are indirectly insulting your God'."

Violent protests

Deaths

Demonstrations and riots

Demonstrations against the cartoons took place in several predominantly or partially Muslim countries, including the Philippines and Indonesia. A prominent feature of many of these demonstrations was burning the flags of Denmark, France, and Norway. The Swiss flag was also burned at some protests. At some of these protests, many American, British, and Israeli flags were also burned. In addition to burning, some demonstrators walked on Danish flags or tore them up. Since the Danish flag incorporates a cross, desecrating a Danish flag can be seen as both anti-Danish and anti-Christian. An interview in the Russian media asserts that a US newspaper made the cartoons, and that Jyllands-Posten only distributed it. The controversy produced labour strikes and protests in Pakistan and mass demonstrations in Baghdad, Iraq. In the Palestinian territories, thousands of people participated in demonstrations and gunmen in the Gaza Strip threatened violence against any Scandinavians in the area. The European Union's Gaza offices were raided by 15 masked gunmen from the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades. They demanded apologies from Denmark and Norway, but left 30 minutes later without any shots being fired or injuries caused. On February 2, Palestinian gunmen shut down the EU headquarters in Gaza in protest of the Jyllands-Posten drawings. According to CNN, "Masked members of the militant groups Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the armed wing of the Palestinians' former ruling party, Fatah, fired bullets into the air, and a man read the group's demands. ... The gunmen left a notice on the EU office's door that the building would remain closed until Europeans apologize to Muslims, many of whom consider the cartoons offensive." On February 6, at least four demonstrators in Afghanistan were shot by riot police, while taking part in an assault on the Bagram Airbase outside Kabul, and another two died in Mihtarlam. As of February 24, at least 150 people, most of them Nigerian, had died in the protests.

Death threats

In response to the publication of the drawings, the UK Islamist group Al Ghurabaa published an article on their website called "Kill those who insult the Prophet Muhammad". The article states, "The insulting of the Messenger Muhammad is something that the Muslims cannot and will not tolerate and the punishment in Islam for the one who does so is death. This is the sunnah of the prophet and the verdict of Islam upon such people, one that any Muslim is able execute." Al Ghurabaa organised the February 3 protest march from London Central Mosque to the Danish Embassy where protesters waved placards reading, "Butcher those who mock Islam", "Kill those who insult Islam", "Europe you will pay, your 9/11 is on the way", or "7/7 is on its way", "Europe you will pay, Bin Laden is on his way", and "Europe you'll come crawling, when the Mujahideen come roaring". Despite the similar theme on Al Ghurabaa's website, their spokesman, Anjem Choudary, said he did not know who wrote the placards. MPs from all parties condemned the protest, calling the Metropolitan Police to pursue those responsible on the grounds that the threats were an incitement to murder.

Churches

On January 29 six churches in the Iraqi cities of Baghdad and Kirkuk were targeted by car bombs, killing 13-year-old worshipper Fadi Raad Elias. No militants claimed to be retaliating for the pictures, nor was it the first time Iraqi churches have been bombed, but the church's bishop stated that "[t]he church blasts were a reaction to the cartoons published in European papers. But Christians are not responsible for what is published in Europe." Many Assyrians in Iraq felt like "Westerners should not give wild statements [as] everyone can attack us [in response]" and said things like "Today I'm afraid to walk the streets, because I'm Christian." On February 5, thousands of Muslims in Lebanon surrounded the Maronite Catholic Church and threw stones at it. On February 6, an Italian Catholic priest named Andrea Santoro was reported to have been shot dead at the door-step of his church in the Black Sea port city Trabzon. The convict, arrested on February 7 was a Turkish Muslim youth aged 16, who told the public attorney that his action was motivated by cartoons protests. Also on February 6, leaflets were distributed in Ramadi, Iraq, by the militant group "The Military Wing for the Army of Justice" demanding Christians to "halt their religious rituals in churches and other worship places because they insulted Islam and Muslims." On February 18, 2006, eleven churches, as well as several Christian-owned businesses, in northern Nigeria were burned by protesters.

Fatwa

Also on January 29, a Muslim cleric in Mosul issued a fatwa stating, "Expel the Crusaders and infidels from the streets, schools, and institutions because they have offended the person of the prophet." It has been reported that Muslim students beat up a Christian student at Mosul University in response to the fatwa on the same day. On February 2, some Palestinians in the West Bank handed out a leaflet signed by Islamic Jihad stating, "Churches in Gaza could come under attack". The Danish government announced that a fatwa had been declared against the Danish troops stationed in Iraq. The government responded by heightening security for its troops.

Burning embassies

On February 4, the Danish and Norwegian embassies in Damascus, Syria, were set on fire, after being stormed by an angry mob. Within the building housing the Danish embassy were the Chilean and Swedish embassies, both having no formal connection to the present row. As it was a holiday, the building was unoccupied. As a response to this incident, the Danish and Norwegian Ministries of Foreign Affairs issued a warning, urging their citizens in Syria to leave the country immediately. The German Cultural Centre in Gaza was raided by Palestinian students. On October 19, ten ambassadors from Islamic countries, including Algeria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Morocco, Pakistan, Libya, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey, as well as the head of the Palestinian delegation in Denmark, sent a letter to Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen requesting a meeting and asking him to distance himself from hate speech, including remarks by MP Louise Frevert, Culture Minister of Denmark Brian Mikkelsen, and the Radio Holger station. Rasmussen declined, saying that the government could not interfere with the right to free speech, but said that cases of blasphemy and discrimination could be tried before the courts, a reaction seen as a snub by the Muslims.

Nordic countries

On January 10, a marginal Norwegian Christian magazine, Magazinet, printed the drawings after getting authorization from Jyllands-Posten. Major newspapers in Norway had printed facsimiles from Jyllands-Posten and reproduced all the caricatures in their online versions; a few days earlier, the Swedish newspaper Expressen had printed two of the drawings in conjunction with an article discussing the event. A Norwegian man made a threat against the lives of the people at the magazine, but later claimed, when faced by the police, that it was just a prank. The Norwegian Foreign Ministry sent a letter to their ambassadors in the Middle East stating that one of the pillars of the Norwegian society is freedom of speech, but they expressed regret that Magazinet did not respect Muslims' beliefs. On January 30, Palestinian groups demanded that all Scandinavians leave the Palestinian territories immediately. On January 30, an Islamic organisation, the Mujahedeen Army, called for militant attacks against "all available targets" in Denmark and Norway.