Cartoon Protests

Angry boycotts and protests continue around the Muslim world, in condemnation of recent political cartoon caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad which were published in European newspapers as an exercise in "free speech."

My personal opinion on the uproar is in line with that of Dr. Tariq Ramadan (famous European Muslim scholar), who told the AFP: "Muslims must absolutely learn to keep a critical distance. They have to get used to living in a global world. Their consciousness must be sufficiently robust to master their hurt feelings." An excessive reaction is exactly what the artists wanted to provoke.

For background on the controversy, see this Q&A piece from BBC World News.