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Originally Posted by raeanna74
After looking at those toons I cannot understand what about them warrents anything more than a complaint letter to the editor. Even a public protest seems outrageous. I don't care if you are an extremist Islamic or a moderate, you should not be condoning the actions of these protestors, let alone defending them. If anything you should be criticising them because they are protraying a worldwide image of a violent, intolerant religion. If Islam is not violent and intolerant then why am I not hearing any criticism from the islamic world over the protestors actions?
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I don't think most moderates would defend the violence... Protest, yes but not the violence.
Think about the protests in Seattle, not too long ago. There were many who supported the protests in principle but not the violence the ultimately errupted.
Again, this isn't just about the cartoons. There has been a lot more leading up to this... the cartoons are just an excuse to release the pressure that has been building up. Remember that freedom of press and speech do not exist in many of these nations. As a result, there isn't room for moderate dissent in the press. In many cases, the only place where dissenting voices are allowed to be heard are in the Mosques. The moderates have been largely marginalized while the more radical elements have been allowed to fourish.
As ktspktsp points out, the situation is not as simple nor as cut and dry as a similar set of events would play out in the west.