USA, France, Germany close embassies in Muslim countries

Reaction to Protests
Germany Closes Embassies in Muslim Countries

The German government expects further violence in the Muslim world following Friday prayers and will close its embassies in the region as a precaution. Personnel have been instructed to stay home and security may be increased in some places, the Foreign Ministry in Berlin said on Thursday.

Amid fears of more violent protests in the Muslim world, the German government has announced it will close its diplomatic missions in the region on Friday, the Islamic holy day.

With further escalation of protests expected after Friday prayers, Berlin is also considering whether to provide additional security for German diplomatic facilities, Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said.
Many embassies are closed on Fridays in the Islamic world in honor of the holy day to begin with, but a number of German diplomats have received specific instructions to avoid embassies that day. "We have intensified security precautions everywhere in the region, and in some cases increased security personnel too," Westerwelle said.

The news came as backlash continued against the controversial anti-Islam film "Innocence of Muslims," followed by additional unrest in reaction to the publication of Muhammad caricatures by French satire magazine Charlie Hebdo , which added fuel to the fire on Wednesday. Paris subsequently announced it would shutter its embassies in sensitive areas on Friday as a precaution too.

On Thursday, German satire magazine Titanic announced that it would also publish its own Muhammad issue later this month, which could provoke further unrest.

Last Friday the German embassy in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum was attacked and set on fire by an angry mob. It has been closed since, operating on an emergency contingency plan.

Violence continued in the Middle East on Thursday, when hundreds of protesters descended on the French embassy in Tehran. A large police presence, however, managed to prevent the mob from storming the compound.

http://www.spiegel.de/international...rld-on-fears-of-friday-protests-a-857060.html

France, US shut embassies ahead of Friday prayer

France and the US are shutting down their embassies in Arab countries September 21 fearing unrest after traditional Friday prayer.
French schools and cultural centers will also be closed in Egypt, Tunisia and another 20 countries.

US Embassies in Indonesia and Pakistan will be shut down after they had been attacked by protesters against the Innocence of Muslims movie mocking Prophet Muhammad.

France also has reasons to be concerned after French weekly Charlie Hebdo published Muhammad cartoons Wednesday.

http://english.ruvr.ru/2012_09_20/France-US-shut-embassies-ahead-of-Friday-prayer/

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Cinemas are burning in Pakistan. At least 1 person dead already.

dafuq is wrong with these people.

 

To get there, we need more cartoons, not less. If you give in to their terror, you will just encourage them.

 

Some truth in this.

There is always this talk about how a few extremists should not be mistaken for the majority of peaceful Muslims, but the truth is that the lack of understanding for freedom of speech is there in some cases of non-violent Muslims as well, as posters like Mathloom, adeelsiddiqui (I'm assuming they are non-violent) and others here show.

Whether it is really the majority - I don't know. Probably more so in the Middle East than in Western countries.

 

Never. I thought that this was a tasteless joke?

It's not ok to accuse someone of wanting to "exterminate" people just because I criticize. The only ones who call for an "extermination" are the fanatics in the pictures above - and I criticize them.

I guess it's a symptom of the hypersensitivity that turns into aggression of certain people to make statements like that. Or an attempt to stifle criticism.