Syrian authorities backed Damascus riots, say protesters

[Taxloss]

Syrian protesters who burnt and looted the Danish and Norwegian embassies in Damascus at the weekend were encouraged to organise by the Syrian authorities, and received text messages from Islamic study centres urging them to gather, according to participants in the riot.

"The sheikhs told us to send five text messages to every true Muslim we knew urging them to participate," said a student from the conservative Abu Nour Islamic Institute in Damascus, who wished to remain anonymous. "The authorities gave a green light for us to organise the gathering in public and to participate in it."

The Middle East has for months been a tinderbox of pent-up anti-Western anger, and the publication of caricatures of the Prophet Mohamed was the spark that lit the fuse. But the fury displayed by crowds in Syria, Lebanon, Gaza and Iraq may also have been exploited by some Muslim countries to settle scores with Western powers. Syria and Iran face growing pressure from the US and Europe on the issues of Iraq and on Tehran's nuclear programme. And Egypt, one of the first to publicly criticise the cartoons, has been critical of the Danish government for funding critics of human rights abuses.

"This is an organised attempt to take advantage of Muslim anger for purposes that do not serve the interests of Muslims and Lebanon, but those of others beyond the border," Lebanese Social Affairs Minister Nayla Mouawad, a Christian, said yesterday after riots in Beirut.

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This is not a Bush plot, it is not an attempt to build support for war in Iran, it is not designed to spread anti-Muslim resentment in the West. It is being driven and endorsed by the Arab elites themselves.

[genie_weenie]

1. Hmmmm,

One of the points I started in another thread was that the Leadership of Islamic organizations and Arab nations were using the cartoon fiasco to further there agendas. Which are to keep their own citizens downtrodden, to foment discontent with the West and to continue to focus all their peoples hate on an external enemy in this case a Western Boogeyman called Islamophobia....

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=322009&mesg_id=322009

Do you have any links backing this up?

[Taxloss]

3. Well, it's a commonly held belief.

I agree that this crisis is a creation of the Arab states.

This was in today's Guardian:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/cartoonprotests/story/0,,1703506,00.html

And a good column by Joan Smith from yesterday:

http://comment.independent.co.uk/columnists_m_z/joan_smith/article343238.ece

[genie_weenie]

4. I know

It is, also, my conclusion that muslim organizations are fueling this, but many DUers are closing their eyes and ears to those facts, it would be nice to have more links than I already do to use as evidence.

Great post and reply!

[genie_weenie]

2. Great lines

"This is not violence, this is the right of every Muslim to fight for the prophet," said Ali Allameh, a bearded cleric whose hair was tied back with a bandanna. "Those who insult the prophet are not people, are not human beings. They're pigs and chimpanzees. Even pigs are better than these people."

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-muslims6feb06,0,4694855.story?coll=la-headlines-world