Fanning the Flames

摘要

The marchers in Kabul last week were in their teens and early 20s. the kind of zealous, energetic youths Westerners might have hoped would be clamoring for democracy or human rights. Instead, the cause of their protest was caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad, first published last September by a Danish newspaper called Jyllands-Posten, which in the past two weeks have provoked Muslims around the world to denounce not just the offending illustrators but also French newspaper editors, Norwegian diplomats. U.S. troops in Iraq and peddlers of Danish food. In Kabul the protest signs read death to Death and Death to those who publish cartoons. A stuffed pig meant to represent Denmark was burned, along with a Danish flag. "We are all willing to sacrifice ourselves," said Qasi Nazir, 20. "We are calling for the death of Jews and Christians." On the side of the road, a teenager wearing a blue winter hat watched the marchers. "It's democracy, no?" he asked before heading into the crowd.