Indonesia say prophets cartoon riots are unjust

The groundswell of emotion that has surrounded the drawing of Prophet Mohammed is breathtaking. There is much debate over the issue of freedom of expression vs. religious respect. I’m not going to get into that here, but will say I can see both sides. Yesterday Indonesian President SBY said the cartoons were an insult to Muslims and should not have been printed. Knowing now that Muslims regard that kind of thing as provocation, I agree with him.

SBY is a solid guy and not a reactionary. He is also the leader of the worlds biggest Muslim country and has to show solidarity with other Muslims. Today Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Hassan Wirajuda said “The cartoons have hurt the Islamic community, so it has added to ammunition for (global) radical groups to exploit the situation and the whole thing has got out of proportion.”

SBY has met with representatives from Iran recently to talk about nuclear proliferation, and will invite North Korea’s leader to Indonesia for talks. I think SBY is a great stabilizing presence in this region. By the way, the fact that a French magazine republished the cartoons of Prophet Mohammed, after its has been widely publicized that Muslims find them offensive, is plain provocation in my view.