West divided on free speech over cartoons
Afp, Paris
Muslim faithful vented their anger in mosques around the world on Friday over European cartoons of Prophet Hazrat Mohammed(SM), as divisions opened up between Western countries over the limits to free speech. Anti-European protests erupted in cities in the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Europe, but there was also a sense of relief after millions of Muslims attended Friday prayers without a major outpouring of street violence. Demonstrations were reported from Turkey, where protestors burnt French and Danish flags, to Indonesia, where around 100 men stormed the building of the Danish embassy, chanting "Let's go jihad (holy war), we're ready for jihad". But the main focus of unrest was in the Palestinian territories, especially the West Bank city of Nablus where some 20,000 protestors burnt the flags of Denmark, France and Norway, where the offending sketches appeared in full.
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