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Danish, Norwegian embassies set ablaze as Muslim anger spreads

Jamie Doward, Bartle Bull, Gaby Hinsliff and Mark Townsend

Islamic leader threatens "Rushdie type"fatwaagainst journalists

BREATHING FIRE: The Danish embassy set ablaze by protesters in Beirut on Sunday. The Danish and Norwegian missions in Damascus, Syria, were also torched. — PHOTO: AP

London/Damascus: The increasingly bitter row over reaction to the publication of a series of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed reached a new level of intensity on Saturday night after protesters set fire to the Danish and Norwegian embassies in Syria.

A prominent Islamist leader in Britain threatened to issue a fatwa similar to the one issued against Salman Rushdie, the author of "Satanic Verses". Police in London signalled that they will launch an investigation into the behaviour of protesters who called for "beheading" persons who backed the publication of the cartoons.

Demonstrators in the Syrian capital, Damascus, defied tear-gas and water cannon to enter the Danish embassy and replace the country's flag with another which read: "No God but Allah, Mohammad is His Prophet."

Rising tension

The embassy, which had been empty when attacked, was a charred hulk.

The Norwegian embassy was still burning. As well as the dramatic scenes in Damascus — not known for its Islamic militancy — rising tensions among Muslims over the publication of the cartoons in Denmark, threatened to boil over across the globe.

In London, 700 Muslims held a second day of angry protests outside the Danish embassy, many holding placards glorifying the events of July 7 and 9/11.

Police said that arrests could follow after investigations into the behaviour on Friday of some protesters who demanded the massacre of "those who insult Islam". The protesters may have breached laws against inciting religious hatred or inciting terrorism. In Iran, the President ordered his Commerce Minister to study cancelling all trade contracts with European countries whose newspapers had published the cartoons.

The Hamas leader, Dr Mahmoud Zahar, told the Italian daily Il Giornale that the cartoons were an offence that should be punished by death.

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw attempted to calm the situation, insisting the trouble was caused by a "few hot-heads".

Journalists warned

It is understood that a number of those identified by the London police were already known for holding militant views, including Anjem Choudary, a key ally of Sheikh Omar Bakri Mohammed, the exiled leader of the radical Islamic group Al-Muhajiroun who described the July 7 bombers as "the fantastic four".

Mr. Choudary warned the row over the cartoons was set to escalate. "The Danish journalists and others who followed suit, I don't think they're going to be able to live peacefully from now on," Mr. Choudary told The Observer. "A fatwa will be issued, there will be people around the Muslim world who will take that very seriously and what happened to Salman Rushdie is going to happen to the journalists."

Mr. Choudary's comments came as senior Muslim leaders denounced the nature of the protests. — © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004

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