Ok here is anohter positive move that one of our friends here (Aymoon) is playing a role in:

http:muhammad.masyouth.org (past and copy)

and here is an article about the move on Islamonline today: www.islamonline.net

I received an email that said that they're changing Danish products to say that it is made/produced by the "European Union" to avoid losses incurred by the boycott...

Allahu a3lam if this is true..

And they have launched an informative website that introduces the prophet to everyone: www.cair-net.org

Please forward.

And some more.


CAIR-CA: PUBLIC INVITED TO 'EXPLORE THE LIFE OF MUHAMMAD' - TOP

(SANTA CLARA, CA, 2/8/06) - On Sunday, February 19, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the Muslim Community Association (MCA) will hold an educational program titled "Explore the life of Muhammad" in Santa Clara, Ca.

The program will review the life and teachings of the prophet Muhammad and discuss the Muslim community's reaction to the publications of defamatory cartoons in Europe. The event is open to the public and will include a presentation and educational materials on the Prophet Muhammad.

WHAT: Explore the Life of Muhammad
WHEN: Sunday, February 19, 2:00pm to 4:00pm. (Pacific)
WHERE: Muslim Community Association, 3003 Scott Blvd., Santa Clara, CA
CONTACT: CAIR Outreach Coordinator Sameena Usman, 408-986-9874, E-Mail: [email protected]

SEE ALSO:

CAIR-SAN DIEGO: ISLAMIC CENTER TO HOLD EVENT ABOUT PROPHET MUHAMMAD - TOP

WHAT: On February 19, the Islamic Center of San Diego will have an event called "The Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him): The Man. . .The Message" to educate the community about Prophet Muhammad and his message. They will also have a Mosque Open House that is designed to help people of all faiths gain a better understanding of the positive role Islam can play in American society.

WHEN: Sunday, February 19, 3 to 5 p.m.
WHERE: Islamic Center of San Diego - 7050 Eckstrom Avenue, San Diego, CA 92111

CONTACT: Call 858-278-5240 (General Inquiries). 619-913-0719 (Media Only).

Photo/Sound Opportunity: The event will showcase various beautiful Islamic decorations and informational posters that will be all over the Islamic Center. There will also be a performance of a nasheed (naw-sheed) or Islamic song by the local Muslim Girl Scouts.

Here's something useful being done under "educating the west": transcripts.cnn.com

I applaud what CAIR does.

people from different background discussing the subject
www.topix.net

This issue is blowing out of control...with all of the violent protests and people dying as a result. I'm glad that there are rational voices that are condemning the violence but without forfeiting our demand for respect and apologies where it is due and befit of the status of our beloved Sayedna Mohamed sala Allahu 3alayhi wassalam...

I wonder how this whole situation will be contained....

I think we will not come to a suitable solutions, other than to continue to educate others about who we are, and form committees (such as the one headed by Sheikh Al-Qaradawi) for "sound" action plans in the future and proactive response mechanisms.

and here's another voting link:

edition.cnn.com

here's another article in the independent illustrating another balanced point of view:
news.independent.co.uk

but if you are not a subscriber to the independent, you can find the article in Hananabanana's Journal:

naseeb.com uid=27224931483097& isFriend=False& isFwd=True)

Jazak Allah khair. check this voting link:
www.msnbc.msn.com

this is a link to a 25 min message from Amr Khaled about the issues:
www.amrkhaled.net

I found not rather strange, the provocations by these European newspaper and those in position of power there, that I believe it might not have just come haphahazardly and may be more of a planned matter. May be they wanted to send a message to muslims living in Europe who has grown more than their expectations.

I found this article very interesting:
www.timesonline.co.uk
Here are some quotes:
"To imply that some great issue of censorship is raised by the Danish cartoons is nonsense. They were offensive and inflammatory. The best policy would have been to apologise and shut up."

"The question is not whether Muslims should or should not ?grow up? or respect freedom of speech. It is whether we truly want to share a world in peace with those who have values and religious beliefs different from our own."

"Offending an opponent has long been a feature of polemics, just as challenging the boundaries of taste has been a feature of art. It is rightly surrounded by legal and ethical palisades. These include the laws of libel and slander and concepts such as fair comment, right of reply and not stirring racial hatred. None of them is absolute. All rely on the exercise of judgment by those in positions of power. All rely on that bulwark of democracy, tolerance of the feelings of others. This was encapsulated by Lord Clark in his defining quality of civilisation: courtesy."

"The best defence of free speech can only be to curb its excess and respect its courtesy."

you have good points Amr. yes we shouldn't just stand there and say it's ok. but not burning their flag or condemn their country. we condemn the news paper and whoever is respoinsible in this crime.

about the link. i am reading between the lines of this muslim person who lives in Denmark. someone i know lives in Denmark told me that many people are racist. muslims are minority over there and they just want to protect themselves from mad people. so he got to say that, but we don't really know what's inside his heart.

Hany: ? I think educating the West is called for?

yes hany, that is the key thing... in today's khutba, the imam was saying that one Danish Muslim businessman will sponsor a series of TV programs about our Prophet, etc... that is perfect, yet I didn't find it anywhere online..

Gigo:
? 1) we lack the skill of planning
2) we mainly react and are hardly ever proactive
3) there needs to be a leader?

You said it all...couldn?t agree more...which reminds me that we need to educate ourselves first as we aspire to educate others about our faith..

NewCairo:
I think you meant that we should exercise self-restraint when reacting... forgiveness shouldn't stop us from defending our dignity and values? but it should come after we do that... remember what our Prophet did when he entered Makaah..

Mohamedadaly:?they were indifferent to our feelings and assumed that we shouldn?t get angry coz of these drawings coz, as they say, Jesus PBUH is being drawn on a daily basis?

That was in mind? yet when I read what an eyewitness has to say, I discovered the double-standard... Here is an excerpt from www.islamonline.net

"There are other examples in Denmark, such as when an artist drew a dirty painting of a naked Jesus and it was taken away immediately, and rightly so. Denmark has laws against blasphemy that protect the honor of the regent and private citizens. Law 266b forbids insulting racial and degrading public remarks and propaganda against a group of persons on the basis of their religion."

I think boycotting Danish products is required but not sufficient. I think educating the West is called for.

Read what the Danish PM says here www.msnbc.msn.com
---
Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the issue had gone beyond a row between Copenhagen and the Muslim world and now centered on Western free speech versus taboos in Islam, which is now the second religion in many European countries.

?We are talking about an issue with fundamental significance to how democracies work,? Rasmussen told the Copenhagen daily Politiken. ?One can safely say it is now an even bigger issue.?
---

So, it's not just about one editor or a single newspaper.

Apologize if I repeated any of the opinions below, but I couldn't read everything.

here are some points i just want to make.

making a big deal of it will increase the hate between the west and the east and makes things more complicated.
those who burn the Denmark flag have decided that the whole people in Denmark are involve in this crime. Flag represent the identity of their country which bring more people to hate Islam. those who have done that forgot that there are muslim minority who lives in Denmark that may get hurt because of that. i just saw some picture of letting some arab kids walk on the Denmark flag, that's very childish act and unresponsible. what will be your feeling or reaction when you see some people burn your love country or walk on it.

and the way we react toward the cartoon will not solve the problem, but it will increase "subborn " behavior among the Europe nations. As a result of our "emotional" respond the insulting of the prophet Muhammad (S) has been insulted again in German. so we actually encouraged some other people to insult our prophet (S) again.

and my question is do muslims react from their own? or should always return to the Quran for answer ? here is what people have done and here is what God says :

Al-Baqarah 2:109
"Many of the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) wish that if they could turn you away as disbelievers after you have believed, out of envy from their ownselves, even, after the truth (that Muhammad Peace be upon him is All?h's Messenger) has become manifest unto them. But forgive and overlook, till All?h brings His Command. Verily, All?h is Able to do all things. "

Al-Ma'idah 5:13
" ...... But forgive them, and overlook (their misdeeds). Verily, All?h loves Al?Muhsin?n (good?doers) "

Al-Hijr 15:85
" And We created not the heavens and the earth and all that is between them except with truth, and the Hour is surely coming, so overlook (O Muhammad ), their faults with gracious forgiveness. "

Az-Zukhruf 43:
"So turn away from them (O Muhammad ), and say: Sal?m (peace)! But they will come to know. "

I just read in an Egyptian newspaper that European intelligence are paying tabloids to reprint the comics so that they diffuse the boycott and relief Denmark a little. Again that proves that we need to focus our boycott on the newspapers rather than the countries to hurt who really deserves it and make an example out of them, otherwise it is the Satanic Quraish plan again to assassinate the Prophet (pbuh) by a man from each clan so that his blood is on every clan's hand and Bono Hashem would accept Deyya for him instead of fighting them all. We don't want that to happen to us, and thus we need to be smarter. Any ideas?

That's a good idea actually.

-I think that some people did overreact, and consider this act a war on Islam and part of the global conspiracy theory and declared holy war on the West ...etc. But boycotting the Danish products is not overreaction, it's simply our right to declare our discontent with what happended, and with the way the Danish gov handled the issue. I think they were indifferent to our feelings and assumed that we shouldnt get angry coz of these drawings coz, as they say, Jesus PBUH is being drawn on a daily basis. However, when we announced that that was wrong, they should have understood that. But the Danish gov did nothing, the PM refused to even meet the arab ambassadors to discuss the matter, and look at his speeches now after the boycot.

On the other hand, as you said, we should have a vision for this action, and we shouldnt get sweeped by the movement. One possible goal is to fire the EIC of that newspaper, coz as long as the PM is not responsible for what the press writes, and this is true, and so his apology is meaningless, then the one who did that act should pay for his deeds.