Source: Yahoo! News
Wire Service: AP
On February 8, 2006 the Associated Press reported, "Police shot four protesters to death Wednesday to stop hundreds from marching on a southern U.S. military base, as Islamic organizations called for an end to deadly rioting across the Muslim world over drawings of the Prophet Muhammad. 'Islam says it's all right to demonstrate but not to resort to violence. This must stop,' said senior cleric Mohammed Usman, a member of the Ulama Council — Afghanistan's top Islamic organization. 'We condemn the cartoons but this does not justify violence. These rioters are defaming the name of Islam.' Other members of the council went on radio and television Wednesday to appeal for calm. It followed a statement released Tuesday by the United Nations, European Union and the world's largest Islamic group urging an end to violence. 'Aggression against life and property can only damage the image of a peaceful Islam,' said the statement released by Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the EU chief Javier Solana... Indonesia's foreign minister said Wednesday that radical groups around the world were exploiting public anger over the cartoons. '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,' Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda told reporters."