Sunday, 5 February 2006
30 Sept 2005: The cartoons were first published in September 2005 by Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten. Many Muslims say that the cartoons - some of which depict Muhammad as a terrorist - are extremely and deliberately offensive, expressing a growing European hostility towards and fear of Muslims. The portrayal of the Prophet Muhammad and Muslims in general as terrorists is seen as particularly offensive.
8-9 October 2005: Imams in Copenhagen protest. Imam Raed Hlayhel says "The article has insulted every Muslim in the world. We demand an apology!"
14 October: Up to 5,000 people stage a protest outside the offices of Jyllands-Posten.
19 October 2005: Muslim ambassadors complain to Danish PM Rasmussen. Muslim ambassadors in Denmark including Turkish and Bosnian ambassadors searched co-operation. Yet Rasmussen rejected the offer and hHe refused to meet them
October 2005: Diplomatic protests by governments of Islamic countries started, escalating to the closure of embassies.
27 October 2005: 11 Muslim groups report Jyllands-Posten to the Danish police for "blasphemy and racial discrimination"
14 November 2005: Jamaat-e-Islami, a Pakistan-based group, protests in Islamabad
10 Jan: Norwegian publication Magazit' a Christian newspaper, reprints cartoons
They were later republished in Austria in January.
22 January 2006: The Danish imams, who protested the publication of 12 cartoons in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten last September, have announced that they want to end the dispute.
26 Jan 2006: Saudi Arabia recalls its ambassador and initiates boycott of Danish goods
27 January 2006: Thousands denounce the cartoons during Friday prayers in Iraq
28 January 2006: The Denmark-based Arla Dairy Group places adverts in Middle Eastern newspapers to try to stop boycott of its produce
29 January 2006: Jyllands-Posten prints a statement in Arabic saying the drawings were published in line with freedom of expression and not a campaign against Islam. Palestinians burn Danish flags and Libya announces it will close its embassy in Denmark. Danes told to be vigilant in the Middle East
30 Jan 2006: Gunmen raid EU's Gaza office demanding apology. Anders Fogh Rasmussen said he could never apologise for a newspaper's actions, but said he was "distressed" at offence caused.
EU says it will take World Trade Organisation action if the boycott persists. Several Islamic groups, including Hamas and the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, call for worldwide boycott of Danish products.
31 Jan 2006: Danish paper apologises. Boycotts of Danish products and protests across the Islamic world built up in late January and early February. Danish companies lose millions of dollars in the Middle East. The economic loses forced the Danish Government to search co-operation of the Muslim countries.
1 February 2006: Newspapers in Germany, Italy, Spain, Netherlands publish one or more of the cartoons. France Soir publishes all 12 and a new cartoon of its own. The editor is fired by the newspaper's French-Egyptian owner. British papers declared that they will not publish the cartoons. Syria withdraws ambassador to Denmark
2 February 206: Danish PM Anders Fogh Rasmussen appeared on Arabic TV, but he justified the crisis by defending 'freedom of expression'.
Danish PM Rasmussen asked his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan to intervene to defuse the tension between Denmark and the Muslim world. The Danish ambassador in Ankara submitted a letter to the Turkish foreign ministry including Rasmussen's request.
3 February 2006: the Danish prime minister made a new bid to calm anger, by explaining his position over the publication to Muslim ambassadors. Palestinians, protesting the satirical cartoons of Prophet Mohammed, raided the German Culture Center in Gaza. The protestors broke doors and windows and burned the German flag.
3 February 2006: The Anti Defamation League (ADL), a Jewish organization, announced the caricatures associating Prophet Mohammed with violence are "disturbing".
Pakistan's parliament unanimously voted to condemn the drawings as a "vicious, outrageous and provocative campaign" that has "hurt the faith and feelings of Muslims all over the world."
4 February 2006: Syrian demonstrators set fire to the Norwegian and Danish embassies in Damascus in protest at the publication of newspaper cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. Outside the Norwegian embassy, police fired tear gas to try to disperse the protesters, but some broke in and set it ablaze. Demonstrators also tried to storm the French mission, but were stopped.
Muslims in Turkey, Pakistan, Indonesia and Malaysia demonstrated against the European nations whose papers published the cartoons' including one depicting the Muslim prophet wearing a turban fashioned into a bomb
More than 1,000 Afghans have held a peaceful protest to demand the prosecution of people responsible for publishing cartoons
5 February 2006: Denmark and Norway have condemned Syria for failing to stop attacks on their embassies in a row over the publication of contentious cartoons.
Compiled by Levent Laciner
5 February 2006
