An extraordinary and encouraging development. From AFP:
WASHINGTON (AFP) – The United States urged Muslims angered by newspaper cartoons of the Islamic prophet Mohammed to also condemn frequent anti-Semitic and anti-Christian “hate speech” in the Islamic world.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan denounced escalating violence over the drawings, which Muslims say are blasphemous, and urged governments and demonstrators to defuse tensions with “constructive dialogue.”
“We would also urge people who are criticizing these cartoons to speak out forcefully against all forms of hate speech, including cartoons and articles throughout parts of the Arab world, which frequently espouse anti-Semitic and anti-Christian views,” McClellan told reporters….
Global protests over the cartoons escalated Monday, with a total of five people killed in protests in Afghanistan, Lebanon and Syria, and warning shots fired outside a US consulate in Indonesia….
After a weekend that saw Denmark’s embassies torched in Lebanon and Syria, fury over the images continued to spread with protests held across Afghanistan as well as in Indian-held Kashmir, Indonesia, Lebanon, Iran, Somalia and Thailand.