Here I am a person on the left - very liberal - and very aware of what the west has done in the Middle East - and I find myself fed up and angry with these extreme people. The Muslim world deserves better. What is wrong with so many of them? They blow themselves up and others, including their own children, they deliberately intimidate and scare anyone who doesn't agree with them, they cut off people's heads, they kidnap and threaten whoever they can get their hands on, they fly planes into buildings where innocent people are working, they blow up buildings to make a point. Do they get enraged about that? Do they riot and burn flags about that? Do they rage at their own problem Muslims? No. What sets Muslims off is what? A cartoon? More than one cartoon? I am very aware that in Islam one is not to depict Mohammad, or any other living being for that matter. But you know what? Their rage proves they don't respect our culture at all. They move to our countries and expect us to change to suit them. Well, I was taught as a child when you are in someone else's house, you accept their way of doing things or you go home. Respect is a two way street - not a one way street. This outrageous reaction to cartoons without at least an equal outrage at their own violence makes me feel that all they do is attack us and that moderate Muslims really don't care - they keep explaining to us why we have to understand. I wish the Muslims who are normal would get as enraged at their own as their own do at us. I wish all that energy would go into good instead of all this insane, out-of-control hatred. For a society that once was relatively tolerant compared to medieval Europe, they sure have collapsed. And you would think the Muslims who hate this would stand up and REALLY do something about it. The Muslim world deserves better. They have quite a few real wackos in their family and they should do something about it.

http://www.perlentaucher.de/artikel/2888.html

I am staring at these cartoons now for a while and cannot really say why they are so inciting. They may not be great forms of art but they are only caricatures. For better or worse, they do reflect our image of Islam. I think we really need to know first what they all get so riled up about (O.k. no images of Mohammed allowed but that seems a rather weak point to justify riots, in particular since, I believe, non-believers are exempt from this. Christians draw God all the time although they have a similar prohibition.) The original point of the exercise was supposedly finding out how many cartoonists would dare to draw Mohammed at all, so some images do not seem to do much more than this.

Somebody trying to identify Mohammed in a set of suspects, including one with a halo, but he does not recognize him - since pictures are not allowed, how could he.

A cartoonist sweating because he draw a picture of Mohammed. - This would explain why they did not find more illustrators for the childrens book.

There is the one guy who looks like a Russian anarchist except for the writing on the bomb. - I think this one is usually quoted so it must be the most insulting.

A Mohammed holding a stick image of himself - and an orange falling into his turban witht the words "PR stunt." - I have no clue what that is supposed to mean.

A bearded guy with a donkey during an evening sun. (Land of the sunset I suppose).

Mohammed next to some violent jihadists saying "Easy my friends, when it comes to the point it is only a drawing made by a non-believing dane." - I guess this falls in the same category as the sweating cartoonist.

Mohammed in heaven, rejecting a bunch of smoking suicide bombers and giving the reason: "Stop, Stop! We have run out of virgins." - Seems simply to accurately reflect what the same Islamist preachers who now are fanning the flames with these cartoons were telling us all along.

One has a guy "Mohammed Valkolskole 7a" pointing to a blackboard that says something bad about the publishing newpaper. - I guess the cartoonist cheated and did not draw Mohammed the prophet but some guy named Mohammed.

A beard guy wearing a turban surrounded by a crescent moon and a five-pointed star in his eye. - Maybe this is offensive, I simply have no clue why.

A guy with a half-moon halo.

The last one, I think, is actually quite good. It reflects our image of Islam: Two women in burkhas and Mohammed, carrying a sword, in the center. The eyes are masked out with the piece of cloth taken from the bhurkhas. - Muslims are allowed to marry more than one woman, women are subjugated, you cannot make an immage of Mohammed, hence the covering of the eyes. Also, he does not seem to be a guy with the slightest sense of humor.

Holy cow –

This last letter by anonymous has got to be the most spectacularly inane on the topic thus far. What are you babbling about, anyway? “They move to our countries and expect us to change to suit them?!” Could you elaborate on this, please? By most estimates there are about 6 million Muslims in America – could you please clarify how many of us have actually asked you to change to suit our lifestyles? Furthermore--

“This outrageous reaction to cartoons without at least an equal outrage at their own violence makes me feel that all they do is attack us and that moderate Muslims really don't care - they keep explaining to us why we have to understand. I wish the Muslims who are normal would get as enraged at their own as their own do at us.”

Really? You really do wish to find evidence of moderate Muslims who condemn these terrorists? I don’t believe you. You know why? Because just one screen back this Muslim quite clearly expressed her outrage and horror at these monsters. That’s right, about 3 letters before yours. But you summarily dismissed it, simply so you can maintain your repellant prejudices against Muslims. I love how telling that is – just one screen back and you ignore it, just the way I’m sure you shrug all evidence that might undermine your snotty little worldview of Muslims. ‘These extreme people,’ you say. Lady, over a billion people about the world identify as Muslims - if the majority, or hell, even a quarter of were ‘wacko’s,’ as you claim, blowing up our ourselves and each other….I would venture to say none of us would be here, having this conversation.

You wonder, in your letter, why the Muslims ‘who are normal’ (wow, you ARE liberal!) don’t rage at our own ‘problem Muslims’ by rioting and burning flags. Is this a serious question? Honestly? Understanding that it is a minority of Muslims that riot about and commit these atrocities --- are you asking why the rest of us Muslims, who actually don’t commit such acts, then start to do so in protest of these fringe Muslims? I really don’t understand, and I’m even one of the normal ones among us.

“And you would think the Muslims who hate this would stand up and REALLY do something about it…..They have quite a few real wackos in their family and they should do something about it.” I see. So going about my life, trying to be a good American citizen and do good unto others, that’s not enough, right? Because some monsters on the other side of the world have hijacked my religion’s name to further their own hateful agenda that doesn’t remotely reflect our true religion I should – do what? Besides condemning their actions, besides contributing to a decent society just the way the majority of Muslims in their ‘host’ countries (I was born here, by the way) – what else would you suggest I do? Jeffrey offered up earlier that perhaps we could stage a peaceful protest. That’s reasonable. At the same time, do you remember ever saying to any Catholics – not leaders, just people of Catholic faith - ‘there are quite a few real molesting wackos in your family. You should do something about it.” (that sincerely wasn’t a dig on Catholics but intended for context.)

It’s a good thing you so eagerly established your liberal colors right at the outset of this letter. Otherwise I could have rested easy thinking if was lifted right off of little green footballs.

From a December 2001 Zogby study

-- American Muslims almost unanimously support donations to non-Muslim social service programs, like aid to the homeless (96%), efforts to become more involved in civic organizations (96%) and participation in the American political process (93%).

---- Over three-fourths (77%) of American Muslims are active in organizations that help the poor, sick, elderly or homeless.