Muhammad/cartoon riots

A caricature of the Prophet Muhammed sparks riots and leads to the burning of the Danish and Norwegian embassies in Damascus (Syria), the Danish consulate in Beirut (Lebanon), and much uproar in the Muslim world.

Comments

This is where two key modern ideals – freedom of speech and religious tolerance – run headlong into each other, and it's not clear where a reasonable answer lies.

Reference

• Wikipedia

Timeline

• 2005-09-30 Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten publishes "12 different cartoonists' idea of what the Prophet Mohammed might have looked like." The paper's editor later characterises these depictions as "sober" and "not intended to be offensive". Other papers reprint the images and their accompanying story.
• 2005-12-15 (approx.) a delegation from several Danish Muslim organizations went on a tour in several Middle-Eastern and Arabic countries, reportedly to gain sympathy for their point of view (see Wikinews)
• 2006-01-23 (approx.) two European newspapers Die Welt in Berlin, France Soir in Paris, and two small weekly Jordanian newspapers, Shihan and Al-Mehwar, reprinted the cartoons and characterized the publications as a matter of free speech.
• 2006-01-26 a massive boycott of dairy produce from Denmark-based Arla Foods starts in Saudi Arabia (see Wikinews) and spreads to Kuwait
• 2006-01-30 Jyllands-Posten explains and apologizes for the original publication
• 2006-02-03 (Friday) Pakistan's government unanimously passed a resolution condemning the cartoons [1]. About 800 people protested in Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, chanting "Death to Denmark" and "Death to France," "Death to America". Another rally in the southern city of Karachi drew 1,200 people, but only about 20 protesters showed up for a rally in the eastern city of Lahore.
• 2006-02-04 (Saturday) Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said his "government condemns the publication" of the drawings, but he urged his citizens to remain calm. According to Jordan's Petra News Agency, arrest warrants were issued for the editors-in-chief of the Jordanian newspapers (Shihan and Al-Mehwar). Shihan's editor, Jihad Momeni, who is a former member of the Jordanian Senate, was fired after publishing the cartoons.
• 2006-02-05 (Sunday) Danish embassy in Beirut torched [2]

News

• 2006-02-05
  • Danish, Norwegian embassies in Syria attacked by Muslims
  • Danish consulate in Beirut ablaze
• 2006-02-04 Danish and Norwegian embassies set on fire
• 2006-02-03 Pakistan parliament slams cartoons
• 2006-01-30 Honourable Fellow Citizens of the Muslim World: the Danish paper explains and apologizes
• 2006-01-26 Saudis boycott Danish dairy produce