« Great Britain's military furious with Gordon Brown |
Blog Home Page
| Some of Obama's less publicized flip flops »
June 1, 2009
Muslim leaders warn Greece of riots over defaced Koran
Rick Moran
This is almost getting to be a "Nothing to see here, move along" story.
A Greek policemen allegedly tore a Koran from an Iraqi immigrant and stepped on it which set off riots last week with the usual torched cars and general mayhem. Greece has an assimilation problem with a huge influx of illegal Muslim immigrants - 400,000 in the Athens area alone - and along with an arson attack on a Muslim prayer room, tensions have been driven very high.
But really, this is about recognizing an invisible community - and the Muslims are milking the controversy for all that it's worth.
Iason Athanasiadis of the Washington Times reports:
Muslim leaders in Greece are warning authorities of violent protests in the mainly Christian Orthodox nation after an incident in which a policeman reportedly defaced a Koran.
"How can you control enraged 20-year-old Afghans who will hit the streets seeking to die in the name of Allah?" asked Naim al-Ghandour, president of the Muslim Union of Greece.
[...]
Muslim leaders in Greece have distanced themselves from the violence, but are seeking a formal apology from police while warning that they are on the verge of losing control over their communities.
Riot police forces, who typically battle anarchists on the left and right, have instead been placed on full alert in neighborhoods populated by Greece's estimated 1 million immigrants.
"This is creating hate in a country that did not have the reputation in the Arab and Muslim world of being an enemy," Mr. al-Ghandour said.
[...]
"Greece is not Denmark," said Ahmed Muawiya, a member of the Greek Immigrant Forum, seeking to dispel fears of another conflagration like one that followed the 2006 global riots over Danish cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad.
"But offending Islam is not a game, and this must not be viewed as just an immigrant issue," Mr. Muawiya said.
No, offending Islam is not a game - at least not for authorities. For Muslim activists it is, however, a perfect opportunity to gain some power at the expense of trembling authorities who worry what 1 million Muslims can do to their cities if they get riled up.
I might mention that no one is sure if the policeman did the things he is accused of. But the perceived slight - even if it never happened - is a godsend to those who wish to stifle free speech and gain advantage over the situation.
|
|
|
Share