Outrage in the Muslim world over the publication of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed stems both from resentment over perceived double standards and from political exploitation by some regimes, experts say.
For Muslims "since the Gulf War, international law has followed double standards," Mounia Bennani-Chraibi of the University of Lausanne in Switzerland said, adding that they believe the same of freedom of expression.
She said the indignation in the Muslim world is "linked to this feeling of inequality, of playing the villain in history."
"The West has lost its Soviet enemy and has built Islam into its new enemy," she said.
Muslims, including those who oppose terrorism, see the publication of the cartoons as "the height of contempt," with the subtext that "your religion is intrinsically terrorist and perverse," she said.
manipulation
For Muslims, according to Bennani-Chraibi, "others use the language of law but in fact manipulate it so they can continue to dominate and despise them."
Olivier Roy, a French specialist in Middle Eastern affairs, said two crises had fused -- first, that of Muslims in Europe who think that "the other religions benefit from greater protection than theirs [and] want the benefit of legal protection" and second, that of roiling anger in the Middle East.
Roy added that the demonstrations concealed "political exploitation" by regimes such as that in Syria, "which has scores to settle with the Europeans."
Roy pointed to France's "very hardline" positions over Syria's influence in Lebanon and Iran's nuclear activities.
The Europeans, Roy said, are "paying the price of their involvement in the countries in crisis," citing their reaction to the crushing victory of Hamas over the long-dominant Fatah party in the Palestinian elections.
Haizam Amirah Fernandez, from the Royal Elcano Institute of International and Strategic Studies in Madrid, said he was "convinced" that most Muslims who had demonstrated against publication of the cartoons "had not seen them."
"They simply received reports that the prophet had been insulted," he said.
outside enemy
But "you have to see why the reports are coming out now, why they are spreading [and recognize] the interests in play that want this publicity to grow," he said.
"When internal social and political tensions rise, some regimes seek to direct it against an outside enemy," he said.
According to Antoine Basbous of the Paris Observatory of Arab Countries, "Regimes lacking legitimacy need this crisis to recover their purity."
He also cited Syria where he said the government "is in difficulty" and seeking "a diversion" as well as Yemen, which he called "the trailblazer in this affair".
"Every time you have a weak government, to score points it will throw people onto the streets," said Basbous, alleging the "deliberate use of these caricatures by governments lacking legitimacy."
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