By Guled Mohamed Nairobi — Kenyan police shot at hundreds of people demonstrating against cartoons of Muhammad, wounding at least one, as protests across the Muslim world showed no sign of abating. Police in Bangladesh beat back about 10,000 people marching on the Danish embassy in Dhaka. Demonstrators also took to the streets in the Middle East, Asia, Africa and, for the first time, Latin America. The Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad threatened more violence. A leading Saudi Muslim cleric called for no mercy in punishing anyone mocking the prophet. “So far we have demanded an apology from the governments. But if they continue their assault on our dear prophet Muhammad, we will burn the ground underneath their feet,” Islamic Jihad leader Khader Habib said. At least 11 people have been killed this year in protests over the cartoons, one of which showed Muhammad wearing a bomb-shaped turban. They were first published in Denmark and then in other European countries and elsewhere. Muslims consider any portrayal of the prophet blasphemous. European Union External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said religious sensitivities and freedom of speech had to be respected but the violent reaction was unjustified. With tensions high and the cartoons appearing in more newspapers around the world, some tried to calm believers. The imam at the heart of the row appeared to backtrack, saying Denmark was a tolerant country. “As a Muslim, I am heavily indebted to this country,” Imam Abu Laban said. In Indonesia, police questioned an editor after his tabloid, Peta, published a caricature of Muhammad. And Malaysia banned circulating or possessing cartoons of the prophet.
