Norway Muslims Protest Prophet Pig Cartoon

OSLO – Thousands of Norwegian Muslims went into the streets of the capital Oslo Friday, February 12, in protest at a newspaper cartoon lampooning Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing be upon him) as a pig.

“This is a big attack on Muslims,” Kamran Naveeb, a 25-year-old student, told Reuters.
“It goes against our religion.”
Nearly 3,000 people protested the cartoon published by the tabloid Dagbladet showing the Prophet as a pig writing the Noble Qur’an.
The caricature, originally drawn by an Israeli setter in the 1990s, was printed by the daily last week to illustrate a front-page story describing a link between the Facebook page of the Norwegian Police Security Service (PST) to pages featuring Prophet cartoons.
“I am here because what Dagbladet has done is very offensive to us,” said Kashif Aurangzev, a 34-year-old taxi driver.
The protestors chanted slogans for respect of religions.
“Show respect to all religions” and “Stop insults against Muslims” were among the placards carried by the marchers.
Norway was plunged into the controversy of the Danish cartoons lampooning Prophet Muhammad in 2005.
In September 2005, the mass-circulation Jyllands-Posten published 12 drawings including portrayals of a man the daily called the Prophet, wearing a bomb-shaped turban and another showing him as a knife-wielding nomad flanked by shrouded women.
The cartoons were republished by a Norwegian Christian newspaper in January 2006, leading to violent acts against the Norwegian embassy in Syria.
The drawings, considered blasphemous under Islam, triggered mass protests across the world and strained Muslim-West ties.

“Civilized” Protests

As more protests are being planned, Muslim leaders are calling for “civilized” marches against the lampooning Prophet cartoons.
“If young Muslims choose to participate in the demonstrations, it’s my strong recommendation that it takes place in a very civilized manner,” Usman Rana, the former head of the Muslim Student Society, told VG Nett.
“People show loyalty to Norwegian symbols and the Norwegian flag – because this is also the homeland of Norwegian Muslims.”
Norwegian Muslims are estimated at 150,000 out of the country’s 4.5 million population, mostly of Pakistan, Somali, Iraqi and Moroccan backgrounds.
There are nearly 90 Muslim organizations and Islamic centers across the northern European country.
The Muslim leader said that violent reactions to the cartoons would play into the hands of right-wingers.
“People should also ensure that rioting elements don’t take advantage of the situation,” he said.
“Norwegian Muslims should rather show their dissatisfaction by doing good and by showing a positive side as peace-loving, civilised and decent people who benefit society. That is what the Qur’an and the prophet Muhammad also say that people should do: Namely to counter evil with good.”

Source: IslamOnline.net & News Agencies