> Wojtek Sokolowski wrote:
>
> >http://www.di2.nu/files/Muhammed_Cartoons_Jyllands_Posten.html
> >
>
> I believe in freedom of speech and all, but these cartoons are
> rather racist and stupid.
Muslim protests against the racist Danish cartoons have been swift and fierce -- boycotts are launched, and ambassadors are recalled: e.g.,
"A diverse group of Muslim activists has stirred a consumer uproar in one of Denmark's fastest-growing packaged-foods markets in a case pitting freedom of the press against religious sensitivity, and which is playing out in the arenas of diplomacy and global trade. In recent days, Saudi Arabia and Libya have recalled their ambassadors to Denmark, protests have been staged in places like Dubai, where they are virtually unheard of, and Arab and multinational companies have placed ads in Middle Eastern newspapers to deny any connection to Danish companies. . . . The Danish manufacturer, Arla Foods, which normally sells $1.5 million worth of dairy products a day in the region, announced that its sales there had come to a halt. And two of its employees in Saudi Arabia were beaten by angry customers, The Associated Press reported. 'This is a public uprising,' said Louis Honoré, a spokesman for Arla, Europe's second-largest dairy company. 'This has spread through the region like wildfire. And the boycott has been practically 100 percent.' Other Danish companies reported dramatic sales declines as well. Trade between Denmark and the Persian Gulf amounts to about $1 billion per year, said Thomas Bay, the consul general of Denmark in Dubai" (Hassan M. Fattah, "Caricature of Muhammad Leads to Boycott of Danish Goods," 31 Jan. 2006, <http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/31/international/middleeast/ 31danish.html>);
and
"Saudi Arabia and Syria have recalled their ambassadors to Denmark, and the Danish government has summoned foreign envoys in Copenhagen to talks on Friday over the issue, having already explained that it does not control the press" (Craig S. Smith and Ian Fischer, "Firestorm Over Cartoon Gains Momentum," 2 Feb. 2006, <http:// www.nytimes.com/2006/02/02/international/europe/02cnd-cartoon.html>).
Contrast that with a total lack of solidarity with Iran!
<blockquote>OPEC members said they had agreed to maintain their current policy and keep pumping oil at 25-year record levels, rejecting earlier calls from two members, Iran and Venezuela, to pare production. The conference of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is to begin on Wednesday at the group's headquarters in Vienna, but the decision to maintain production levels had already been widely expected by oil analysts. Prices in New York remain just $2 below last summer's record of $70 a barrel.
The decision, if formally adopted, would mean that OPEC, which accounts for a third of the world's oil production, would keep producing at a level last seen in the early 1980's to help build commercial stocks and keep "ample" supplies on the markets, said Edmund Daukoru, Nigeria's oil minister and the president of OPEC this year.
"We are unanimous in our view of the market," Mr. Daukoru told reporters here. "We are a bit uncomfortable with the price."
There was little mention Monday of a possible cut in production, even in the second quarter, a time of the year when demand typically declines. The idea had been first pushed by Iran last week.
But the proposal, which gained only the backing of Venezuela, was defeated by other producers, led by Saudi Arabia, who believed that prices were too high to consider any cuts in production.
(Jad Mouawad, "OPEC Said to Reject Iran's Bid to Cut Output," 31 Jan. 2006, <http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/31/business/worldbusiness/ 31opec.html>)</blockquote>
<blockquote>After years of hesitating, Persian Gulf states are joining the call for tougher action on Iran's nuclear efforts, increasingly worried that a nuclear Iran could set off a regional arms race. In recent weeks, Saudi officials and other gulf leaders have called for Iran to abandon its nuclear research, without demanding that Israel disarm first.
Separating those two demands is a major policy change, and many experts see the shift as a sign that Iran's Arab neighbors may even back United Nations sanctions against Iran.
"For the past couple of years, they have been ambiguous, giving conflicting signals," said Riad Kahwaji, managing director of the Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis in Dubai. "Now we're seeing a unified stand."
"If they are asked to vote on this in the U.N.," he added, "they would not vote in favor of Iran." (Hassan M. Fattah, "Gulf States Join Call for Tougher Action Toward Tehran," 1 Feb. 2006, <http:// www.nytimes.com/2006/02/01/international/middleeast/01arab.html></ blockquote>
It is ironic that these two events are unfolding at the same time. Furor over the Danish cartoons covers the fact that the power elite of the other predominantly Muslim states are totally subservient to the Euro-American hegemony. Only Hugo Chavez, a non-Muslim, is willing to buck it and side with Iran.
Yoshie Furuhashi <http://montages.blogspot.com> <http://monthlyreview.org> <http://mrzine.org>