Dinah Lord

Turkey: Rasmussen eats Muslim crow and meets Khatami...

Some pic.  Do you think Today's Zaman tried to make Rasmussen look both pitiful AND submissive?  Look for it to get wide distribution throughout the ME.

From Today's Zaman.

Anders Fogh Rasmussen said on Monday he would pay close attention to religious sensibilities in his new role as NATO chief in comments aimed at allaying Muslim concern at his appointment.

Turkey had threatened to veto the former Danish prime minister's appointment over his handling of a 2006 crisis triggered by cartoons of Prophet Mohammad in a Danish newspaper.

His comments at an Istanbul conference on Monday fell short of the outright apology which Turkish officials had hoped for.

"I was deeply distressed that the cartoons were seen by many Muslims as an attempt by Denmark to mark and insult or behave disrespectfully towards Islam or the Prophet Mohammad. Nothing could be further from my mind," he said

"I respect Islam as one of the world's major religions as well as its religious symbols," he said during a panel discussion at the conference aimed at building bridges between the Muslim world and the West."

We are just so screwed.

'BBC is censoring me to appease Muslims' says Danish cartoonist Westergaard.

Makes you wonder what happened between the BBC, the Muslim malcontents and Mr. Westergaard, doesn't it?

"A Danish cartoonist, responsible for one of the caricatures of Mohammed which sparked worldwide anger from Muslims in 2005, has accused the BBC of appeasing radical Islam.  Kurt Westergaard says the BBC will not air a recent interview with him because it is terrified of upsetting extremist Muslims.

The 73-year-old cartoonist gave his first ever English interview to a BBC journalist four weeks ago. Since then it has not been broadcast, amid claims that the BBC is frightened of “inflaming” Muslims.

Mr Westergaard told the Daily Mail newspaper, “I am disappointed on behalf of the freedom of speech.  Every time you are afraid I think you make a step backwards. That is depressing me.” 

Mr Westergaard compared the BBC’s attitude to the appeasement of Hitler in the 1930s. He said: “If you have an appeasement policy towards the radical Muslims then you are on a very wrong way and you have to start marching backwards.”

The protests which greeted the publication of the Danish cartoons in 2005 lasted for six months and led to dozens of deaths.

Mr Westergaard has received death threats and been forced to spend periods living at secret locations under police protection.

A spokesman for the BBC said: “No decision has been made yet. As and when one is, it will be based, as always, on editorial merit.”

Likely story with the BBC.

In other free speech and Muslim turbans in a bunch news:  Geert Wilders to speak in Orange County.