What a week huh? Hang on, I’m not sure which way this one is going yet.

A leading Islamic cleric called for an “international day of anger” today over publication of caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed, and a Danish activist predicted that deadly violence could break out in Europe “at any minute”.

As more European newspapers reprinted the cartoons, what started off as a row between Denmark’s press and its Muslim population grew into a full-blown “clash of civilisations”.

Anger boiled over in the Gaza Strip, where gunmen from Islamic Jihad occupied the office of the European Union. Europeans began to leave the Palestinian territories after threats from the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades.

Jihad al-Momani, the editor of the Jordanian newspaper al-Shihan, was sacked for trying to publish three of the 12 caricatures. He said that he was aiming “to show his readers “the extent of the Danish offence”.

A leading hard-line Muslim cleric, Sheikh Yussef al-Qaradawi, called for the day of anger to protest against the printing of the cartoons – first published in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten in September – in other European papers.

Emphasis Mine.
London Telegraph
Via Malkin.

The question that comes to my mind is, “And we’ll notice this because…?”

You want me to notice anything that you’re doing? Try an “International Day of Peace.” Try an “International Day of Non-Violence.” Maybe an “International Day of Service.” In case you’re missing it, the anger thing? Not workin’ for ya. Used to be just the Israelis who were really pissed at you, now you have large nations looking at you like bugs that need squishing. Even the folks who have been on your side in the past are telling you to “Settle down Francis.”

Ya see, I expect Islamic Fundamentalists to react with violence. I expect over-reaction. I expect you to act like the lil kid on the playground everyone picks on and goes running home crying. (Note to Jeff Harrell: I WAS that kid for a lot of years in grade school until I finally learned the hard way that if I didn’t start fights I couldn’t finish, I lowered my chances of getting my ass kicked exponentially.)

Anger, self-righteous or otherwise, simply doesn’t impress me. Self-restraint and the ability to laugh at yourself when the world seems out to get you? That gets my attention. That tells me that you have a pretty decent sense of humor and probably a higher level of intelligence.

The way I see it, the more you protest and gnash your teeth and burn flags over cartoons, the more we’re going to make fun of you, your prophet, and your version of God.

Oh, and any of you Christians who are thinking, “Ha! Take that!” Shut up. I’ve heard just about as much nonsense about being offended by Kanye as Jesus on the cover of the Rolling Stone as I have about the cartoons. But I work with a couple of guys that think Pat Robertson is cool. And please don’t get me started on the editorial cartoon that got the notice of the Joint Chiefs of Staff this week. With all due respect to your starry-ness, I KNOW you guys are smarter than that. The joke was on our boss, not the soldier. Come ON…sirs.

But I digress.

Let’s say that Islamic folks all over the world go ape-shit over cartoons. This accomplishes what? We somehow discover that you’re unhappy that we don’t all share your devotion, faith and reverence to your form of religion? Here’s a flash for ya, we get it. And yet we still don’t care. Some of us simply think your religion is silly. Others, who may have respected your right to believe what you believe as long as you left us alone, lost that respect when you started blowing our shit up.

As long as a group reacts with childish rage and bluster over insignificant things like cartoons… All I can say is that when Boyo acts the fool, he pays consequences for it.