Last October, I blogged about a Danish newspaper, Jyllands-Posten, and its cartoonists being threatened by Muslim extremists for publishing cartoons about the prophet Muhammad deemed offensive by Islamist p.c. bulllies. See here and here.

For the past four months, The Brussels Journal has relentlessly covered the ensuing uproar from the Muslim world and the battle over the newspaper’s freedom to publish provocative speech.

Things came to a head over the past week. In Gaza City, Palestinian gunmen took over an EU office to protest the cartoons:

Masked gunmen today took over an office used by the European Union to protest the publication of cartoons deemed insulting to Islam. About five gunmen stormed the building, closing the office down, while 10 other armed men stood watch outside. One of the militants said they were protesting the drawings, one of which depicted Islam’s Prophet Muhammad wearing a turban shaped as a bomb.

Danish flags are being burned. Danish workers have reportedly been beaten. The country now faces an international boycott from Muslim nations.

While the intrepid newspaper has not apologized for printing the cartoons, it has issued a statement acknowledging that the cartoons “offended many Muslims, which we would like to apologize for.” Paul Belien at The Brussels Journal singles out the courage of Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who has refused to capitulate to the bullies:

He is one of the very few European politicians with guts. If anyone deserves a prize for his valiant defence of freedom of speech and freedom of the press, it is certainly Mr Rasmussen. He did not give in to pressure from Muslim fanatics, nor from the appeasers at the UN, the European Commission and the Council of Europe. In the past weeks Denmark has shown that all is not yet lost in Europe. If something is rotten now it is not in Denmark.

Here, for posterity and in solidarity with the paper’s free speech rights, are the 12 forbidden cartoons:

In response to the notion that the West (or Islam) has ever followed the prohibition against depicting Mohammed, Zombie has created the “Mohammed Image Archive,” which contains dozens of Mohammed images from throughout history. A must-read.

Zombie e-mails:

I think it’s important that the West stands up on this issue: if we cave into Muslim demands for self-censorship, our freedom of speech will be taken away forever.

Exactly right. And for those who think this isn’t affecting us, open your eyes:

Local Radio Skit Sparks Muslim Controversy (KFI radio host Bill Handel is fighting back.)

Criticizing Islam on the airwaves

CAIR’s war on conservative talk radio

Brian Maloney: Islamists 1, Talk Radio, 0

LGF: CAIR goes ballistic over B.C., Dr. Laura

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There is now a Buy Danish campaign in response to Saudi Muslims boycotting Denmark’s products.

Butter cookies, here we come!

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What did Bill Clinton have to say about the cartoon controversy? You won’t be surprised.

More at LGF.

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Feedback:

Reader David S…

By threatening to kill those who insult them, the terrorists are demonstrating the vicious reality behind the caricature of Mohammad wearing a bomb-shaped turban better than any cartoonist ever could.

Reader Mike W…

Buy Legos. Lots and lots of Legos. Especially the Mindstorm programmable robotics kits. Danish company and non-fattening.

Reader Fritz R…

The utter hypocrisy is that Muslim countries regularly lampoon Christians and Jews in their comics while demanding the west refrain from any criticism of Islam.

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Feb. 8, 2006 update:

All posts to date:

Video: Breaking the taboo

The Muhammed Cartoons blogburst under attack

The Murder of Father Santoro

We are in this together

American newspapers, will you please stand up?

Origins of a fake Muhammed cartoon

Iran is burning

The Danish cartoonists respond

Cartoon jihad: the map

Mara-l equivalence

So, will our Supreme Court be next?

Pakistani doctors: No more European medicine

Chechnya joins the Cartoon Jihad

“With our blood we will redeem the prophet”

He shouted “Allah Akbar”

Stupid Islamist stunts

Video: Cartoon Jihad debate on Fox News

The lies of the Danish imams

Fanning the flames

Standing up in Australia

What does the American left have to say?

Another day, another embassy torched

It is not a “row”

Video: And then they came for the embassies

First, they came: the movie

Don’t forget: Buy Danish

In their own words

The Muhammad Cartoons blogburst

The State Dept takes sides in the cartoon wars

Followers of the Religion of Peace

bin Laden as Christ

The “International Day of Anger”

The cowardly American media (video added)

Support Denmark…and Piglet!

In search of a brave American newspaper (updated)

First, they came for the cartoonists

Fight the bullies of Islam

Support Denmark: Why the forbidden cartoons matter

The cartoons Islamists don’t want you to see

The forbidden cartoons

Alternative spellings to help those searching for this thread with a search engine: Mohammad, Mohammed, Muhammad, Muhammed