Friday, December 09, 2005

Kashmir shutdown over Quran desecration, Prophet caricature

Via Jihad Watch. These Muhammed cartoons in Denmark are turning into quite the international incident:


Kashmir shutdown over Quran desecration, Prophet caricature

Shops and establishments in most parts of Kashmir Valley were closed Thursday to protest a Danish newspaper publishing a caricature of the Prophet and the alleged desecration of the Quran in Sopore town. The strike call was given by the separatist Hurriyat Conference group led by Syed Ali Geelani. The Kashmir bar association and other groups supported the shutdown. Authorities have made elaborate security arrangements all over the valley to maintain law and order. Though shops in parts of Kashmir capital Srinagar and other major towns were closed, traffic was plying. Tension is still high in the north Kashmir town of Sopore, famous for its apples, where three drunk youths had desecrated the Quran and also tried to set ablaze the mosque earlier this week.

Cartoon protest closes Kashmir


Thousands of shops and businesses were closed down on Thursday in the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir in protest against twelve caricatures of the Muslim prophet Mohammed printed in daily newspaper Jyllands-Posten in September. Jyllands-Posten reported that newspapers in the area said businesses in entire neighbourhoods in the capital of Jammu and the province of Srinagar had been closed down. 'In four to six of the biggest cities in the province shops were closed to express anger over the caricatures of the holy prophet. In some places there were clashes, and people started throwing rocks. Most Muslims feel deeply affronted,' said Abdur Rasheed, editor-in-chief of the newspaper Kashmir Observer. In the city of Sopore, shops were closed in protest. 'We are talking about hundreds of thousands of shops in six of the seven biggest cities. In large areas, 98-99 percent of the shops were closed. People are not allowed on the streets because of the strained situation in the region, so instead they close their shops to demonstrate against the Danish newspaper,' said Meraj Wani from the newspaper Greater Kashmir.

3 Comments:

At December 09, 2005 5:11 PM, Blogger Unknown said...

Sissyblue: Thank you, I have gotten dozens of requests to keep on blogging recently, but I don't think I will change my mind. Maybe if something extraordinary happens, I could write a post and send it to Jihad Watch, but in general, I will leave the blogopshere.

 
At December 09, 2005 5:43 PM, Blogger Evan said...

It is interesting that with per capita income of less than $1000, endemic corruption and Sunni/Shiite violence, the terrible problems after the recent earthquake and the like, this thing happening in a small country thousands of miles away is what gets people excited.

This appears to be a very troubled society.

 
At December 09, 2005 5:47 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi Fjordman,

just came across the letter you had drafted in support of Jyllands-Posten and will post it on my blog this evening.

You'll be sorely missed - hopefully we will be able to follow in your footsteps.

Deepdiver

 

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