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Since they were published in September last year, the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons have excited responses from every corner. Below we've collected a daily press review, a philosophical analysis, a balanced appraisal by an Islamic scholar, an interview with a Lebanese poet, an open letter by eleven French writers, a statement of indignation and a piece on how it all began.
The twelve Muhammad cartoons
A new Rushdie affair? All of Europe is involved in the controversy over the Danish cartoons: French newspapers, Danish newspapers, Spanish, Belgian, Lithuanian, Hungarian, English, Swedish, German, Portuguese, Slovenian, Swiss, Czech, Austrian, Italian, Polish newspapers... A survey of the European press since December 9, 2005.
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Separating truth and belief
A clash of cultures? No, of mindsets. Philosopher Andre Glucksmann on truth and belief, and why the Danish Muhammad caricatures and cartoons about the Holocaust are two different things.
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Rousing the lethargic bull
Anyone familiar with Middle Eastern literature knows it abounds with jesters who heap scorn on God, the mullahs, and rulers. But if Western media show endless stereotypes of Muslims - hooded men with machine guns and faces distorted with rage - you should not be surprised when hatred escalates and turns violent. By Navid Kermani
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The right to blaspheme
The disconcerting thing about the cartoon conflict is having to remind people that we have the right to commit blasphemy, that picking on the parish priest has long been a national sport. When we talk about anti-Muslim racism, we ask: what race are we talking about? Is Islam genetically transmittable? An open letter by eleven French writers.
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On the heels of the anti-Western reflex
Lebanese poet and writer Abbas Beydoun talks to Bernhard Hillenkamp about the rioting in his country in response to the Danish Muhammad cartoons and the creation of a more general "Islamic" paranoia.
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"What next, bearded one?"
We are offended. Our traditional values have been quashed. Freedom of speech and reason are sacred to us. And let's not forget, the world isn't flat. A wake-up call. By Sonia Mikich.
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Who's afraid of Muhammad?
In September, the Danish paper Jyllands-Posten printed cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. Some Muslims were not amused. Jörg Lau explains how the seemingly innocent pictures caused an international crisis.
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The dead body of Russian artist Anna Alchuk was pulled out of the river Spree in April this year. She and her husband, philosopher Michail Ryklin, had moved to Berlin in November 2007 after life in Russia became intolerable as a direct consequence of Alchuk's participation in the exhibition "Caution: Religion!". Michail Ryklin looks to his wife's tormented diary entries to help him approximate the causes of her death.
Last year secularists and multiculturalists converged at signandsight.com to debate Islam in Europe. Both parties want a liberal society where autonomous citizens live peacefully side by side, but the slightest political provocation is enough to unleash an intellectual Kulturkampf. Jürgen Habermas considers both positions and points beyond them to a post-secular society, where religious and secular mentalities are open to a complementary learning process. (Photo: Wolfram Huke)
At the Durban Conference against Racism in 2001, anti-colonialism bared its anti-Semitic face. The UN is planning a follow-up conference next year in Geneva. Pascal Bruckner tells democracies to keep their distance.
Advocates of Ukrainian democracy are motivated by old desires for independence from Moscow and, now that political autonomy has been achieved, by the need to get under the protective umbrella of Nato and the EU. From an objective point view, though, there are plenty of arguments against Ukraine turning its back on Russia. By Richard Wagner (Photo: Lothar Deus)
On the 60th anniversary of the state of Israel, exiled Iraqi writer, Najem Wali, decided to go and survey the "enemy" territory with his own eyes. What he found was an explanation for the reluctance of Arab leaders to let their people make the same journey: the stagnation of Arab societies and economies cannot be blamed on Israel.
Dragan Klaic arrived in Skopje on the day that Greece vetoed Macedonia's bid to join NATO at the summit in Bucharest. He found a nation reeling from this unexpected slap in the face.
No-one knows what the anti-Koran film 'Fitna' by the Dutch right-wing politician Geert Wilders contains exactly. But fearing Muslim anger many are ready to make concessions regarding the fundamental freedom of expression. Gelijn Molier looks to nineteenth century philosopher John Stuart Mill for advice.
The deportation of Romanians from Italy in the wake of a murder committed by an ethnic Roma has caused a stir in Romania. Yet whereas Romanians object to this discrimination abroad, they fail to see that at home the Roma are treated with nothing but hatred and disdain, and neither the Church nor the state is doing anything about it. By Mircea Cartarescu
Since the 19th century Ukrainians have been dreaming of a return to the paradise lost of Europe. But Ukraine's rich and painful history remains a blank spot in the European collective consciousness, or a mighty underground river flowing out of Europe's cellar, littered with corpses. By Oksana Zabuzhko