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Was discussing the isse with a Danish friend of mine. I was surprised when he didn't seem that upset and thought it better that such cartoons had never been published. In his words, Denmark, up until about 30 or 40 years ago had been a very homogeneous society with essentially one people - Danes. Now, there is a large muslim minority in Denmark, and there is some cultural friction.
He also said that essentially when you are dealing with muslims you are essentially dealing with a theocracy that is like it or not, operating well in the past. His comparison was "imagine printing such cartoons in Europe in say 1500."
The church would be out scouting nice poles right now to tie you to for the wienie roast. Only it would be your wienie about to be roasted.
Muslims are a primative culture, steeped in religous traditions, out of step with the modern world. And I use the word primitive deliberately, since that is how they strike me.
The only really scary difference is that unlike the Christians of 1500 who would have roasted your ass, these guys are living in 2006 and as such are actively trying to build a nuclear bomb.
Think about that for a minute.
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