Thursday, March 06, 2008

Social immaturity at its best!

"We're not raising any alarm, and there's no reason to panic. It's just that after what happened over the Danish cartoons, we want to be prepared"Good thinking. But why isn't anyone, anywhere, telling those who are offended to grow up, and to recognize that a film, no matter how offensive, is no warrant to destroy things and kill people?

"Islam: European Commission braces for anti-Islam film," from AKI (thanks to James):

Brussels, 5 March (AKI) - The European Commission has warned all its offices around the world that the release of an upcoming Dutch film criticising the Koran could spark violent protest by Muslims.

"We have informed our delegations that the film - due for release soon, although we don't know exactly when - could draw protests," EU external relations commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner's spokeswoman, Christiane Hohmann, told Adnkronos International (AKI).

A series of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed which first appeared in Danish daily Jyllands Posten two years ago and which were republished in scores of papers around the world, angered many Muslims.

At least 50 people died in anti-cartoon protests in dozens of countries, including Afghanistan, and the cartoonist and his colleagues reportedly received death threats. Several Muslim countries boycotted Danish goods.

Afghan MPs on Tuesday staged a protest outside the country's parliament against the 10-minute film, 'Fitna' by far-right Dutch MP Geert Wilders. The MPs have called on the Danish and Dutch government to prevent such acts.

NATO secretary general Jaap de Hoop Scheffer also said last Sunday he was fearful the film could put troops at risk in Afghanistan. The same day, hundreds of people protested in the northern Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif, burned the Danish and Dutch flags and demanded that the government close the two countries' embassies in the capital, Kabul.

"We're not raising any alarm, and there's no reason to panic. It's just that after what happened over the Danish cartoons, we want to be prepared," said Hohmann.

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