Speaking out against the publication in Western newspapers of caricatures depicting the Prophet Mohammed, he said: "They are hostages to the Zionists."

"How come insulting the prophet is free, but investigating the Holocaust is banned," asked the president, who has already drawn Western condemnation for his questioning of the Holocaust and his call for Israel to be "wiped off the map".

"We suggested to them that we will send an unbiased group to look at your documents in Europe and inform the nation, but you will not even allow your own scholars to invesigate the Holocaust," Ahmadinejad said.

"This is the same way as you dealt with things in the dark ages."

Ahmadinejad went on to hail the victory in last month's Palestinian legislative elections of the Islamic militant group Hamas.

"The Zionists are on on the verge of being destroyed; the time of occupation is coming to an end, so put an end to your slavery of Zionism," he said of the West.

"The recent elections in Palestine show what is inside the nation, so if you want a solution to the Palestinian issue, let them say what they want to say in a referendum, the result of which you have seen so far," he said.

"Until now, the Islamic republic's policy was to use nuclear technology for peaceful ends," the president said, a week after Iran was reported to the UN Security Council amid fears it is seeking nuclear weapons.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran has continued its nuclear drive within the framework of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the NPT, but if we see that you want to deprive us of our right using these regulations, know that the people will revise their policy in this regard," he said in a thinly-veiled warning.

Hundreds of thousands of Iranians were out under Tehran's winter sunshine, answering a call from supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to put on a show of force in the face of mounting international pressure.

The West wants Iran to abandon uranium enrichment work, which can be extended from making reactor fuel to the fissile core of a nuclear weapon. Iran maintains that it only wants to generate electricity and that its fuel cycle work is therefore permitted by the NPT.

But the reporting of Iran to the Security Council marked a turning point in the long-running crisis by exposing the country to the danger of sanctions unless it returns to a nuclear freeze and cooperates more with the IAEA.

So far Iran has reacted by doing the opposite.

"The Iranian people will never renounce their nuclear rights," Ahmadinejad vowed, drawing deafening chants from the crowd of "We will not give in!"

"Your threats will not get you anywhere. Don't push us to the limit. Don't make us change our policy," said Ahmadinejad, raising the threat that Iran could follow the course of North Korea by abandoning the NPT.

The NPT is the cornerstone of the global battle against the spread of nuclear weapons, prohibiting the development of the bomb and subjecting its signatories to IAEA inspections.

But the president said the West "believes it can cheat us by hiding its face behind international institutions like the IAEA and Security Council", but added "you have left these institutions and the NPT with no credibility."

Ahmadinejad, who since his shock election win last June has steered Iran on a collision course with the West, also used the speech to lash out at arch-enemy Israel.

"Questioning the myth of the Holocaust and the creation of the phoney Zionist regime has haunted them," said the president.

"For more than 60 years, this myth has enabled the Zionists to blackmail the Western countries, justify the killing of women and children and make them refugees in occupied land," he said.

"The real Holocaust is happening today in Palestine and Iraq. If you are looking for the real Holocaust, look at the poor Iraqi people."

He also lashed out against the publication in Western newspapers of caricatures depicting the Prophet Mohammed. Several European embassies in Tehran have been attacked by pro-regime protestors over the past week.

"How come insulting the prophet is free, but investigating the Holocaust is banned?" asked the president, who caused an uproar late last year by questioning whether the Holocaust even took place and calling for Israel to be "wiped off the map."

"We suggested to them that we will send an unbiased group to look at your documents in Europe and inform the nation, but you will not even allow your own scholars to investigate the Holocaust," Ahmadinejad complained.

"This is the same way as you dealt with things in the dark ages."

Ahmadinejad went on to salute the victory in last month's Palestinian legislative election of the Islamic militant group Hamas, a close ally of the Islamic republic.

"The Zionists are on on the verge of being destroyed; the time of occupation is coming to an end, so put an end to your slavery of Zionism," he said.

"If you want a solution to the Palestinian issue, let them say what they want to say in a referendum, the result of which you have seen so far," he said.

Prof Rogers, of the University of Bradford's peace studies department, says: "A military operation against Iran would not ... be a short-term matter but would set in motion a complex and long-lasting confrontation. It follows that military action should be firmly ruled out and alternative strategies developed."

US and other western critics of Tehran say the government there is intent on securing a nuclear weapons capability. The Iranians deny this, saying they are pursuing civilian nuclear energy. The issue could still be resolved diplomatically, but both the US and Israel have said the option of air strikes remains open.

Prof Rogers says the aim of an attack would be to set back Iran's nuclear programme by at least five years. He says Britain could be drawn in as US aircraft would probably use UK bases.

He lists the expected targets as the Tehran Research Reactor, a radioisotope production facility, a range of nuclear-related laboratories, and the Kalaye Electric Company, all in Tehran, and facilities in Isfahan and Natanz.

"The new reactor nearing completion at Bushehr would be targeted, although this could be problematic once the reactor is fully fuelled and goes critical some time in 2006," he says. "Once that has happened, any destruction of the containment structure could lead to serious problems of radioactive dispersal affecting not just the Gulf coast but west Gulf seaboards in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates."

He adds: "All the initial attacks would be undertaken more-or-less simultaneously, in order to kill as many of the technically competent staff as possible, therefore doing the greatest damage to longer-term prospects."

Iran would be unable to prevent such an attack, as it has only limited air defences. But Prof Rogers says it has a large arsenal of responses. It could:

· withdraw from the Non-Proliferation Treaty and pursue speedy development of nuclear weapons capability;

· encourage retaliatory action against Israel by the Lebanese-based Hizbullah group, which has missiles capable of hitting Haifa and several other Israeli cities;

· close the Strait of Hormuz, one of the main access routes for oil from the Gulf;

· send Iranian paramilitary units into states such as Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates;

· or order Iranian Revolutionary Guards to step up links with insurgents in Iraq.

Prof Rogers says a US or Israeli attack could also help al-Qaida by increasing the anti-US mood in the region and beyond.

I would like to make a few points about the insanity of attacking Iran.

1) Iran has Russian-made Sunburn missiles which can sink an aircraft carrier and shoot down an F-16. Are you prepared to lose all U.S. Navy ships in the Persian Gulf? Do you realize what that loss would do to America?

2) Iran has the ability to shut down all shipping in the Gulf. Are you prepared to pay $300 to $400 for a barrel of oil?

3) Iran stopped recruiting suicide bombers when they had 40,000 volunteers. That many dedicated and educated young people could easily cut U.S. supply lines into Iraq, kill many thousands of our troops and destroy what is left of our military morale. Are you prepared to destroy the only army that is willing to defend you?

4) The air campaign against Iran would include targets 150 feet under Tehran protected by double concrete walls with lead lining. There would be enormous civilian casualties. How many suicide bombers would it take to blow up the oil refineries in your area? How many Americans would die if all the refineries in the greater Houston area were blown up? What would the price of gasoline be if oil were $300 a barrel and several dozen refineries were destroyed? What would happen to your country if gasoline were $9.00 a gallon? What percentage of Americans would not be able to afford to drive to work?

5) America does have a strategic petroleum reserve which could sustain us for a few months though we would have to build refineries to process it. China and Japan have almost 2 trillion dollars of absolutely worthless paper currency that they cannot spend. If they spent all the money they earn selling to us, the dollar would collapse from the sudden increase in circulating dollars. You must realize that raising the price of oil to $300 a barrel would destroy the dollar and the world economy. Look at a world map and ask yourself which of these countries both import oil and cannot afford to pay $300 a barrel? All of those countries will be destroyed economically and politically. And you will have no army to protect American citizens and property.

6) You must realize that your purchasing power is being propped up by China, Japan and a handful of other nations that are willing to accept absolutely worthless pieces of paper for cars, computers, and everything at Wal-Mart. Attacking Iran will bring all of those subsidies to a crashing halt. When that happens, everyone will protect themselves by dumping trillions of dollars into commodity and currency markets. I calculate that prices will go up 1,000%. That means a relatively well off pensioner with a 2005 income of $3,000 a month will have to live on $300 a month. That will not pay rent, buy food, pay for utilities and incidentals. Millions of elderly will have no choice but to commit suicide. I would expect an unemployment rate of 25% and real after tax wage cuts of 50% to 70%. Do you realize what would happen to your community if half the people could not afford to eat? Would you be willing to shoot people who had not eaten food for 3 days? a week? Would you be willing to shoot their children? Would you be willing to live in a country that did precisely that?

I repeat. President Ahmadinejad of Iran has thought this out. He knows what he is doing. He is so unwilling to live under the New World Order that he has decided to risk his life and the lives a few million Iranians. It is true that you can drop a few nukes on Iran and destroy it. But you must realize that your country will cease to exist as you knew it. Do you really want to destroy America?

The Iranian government has repeatedly stated that its NUCLEAR PROGRAME is solely intended at peaceful purposes, simply generating electricity, not warheads. But the West, lead by Washington’s efforts, claim, although they fail to put too fine a point on it, that these are not the true intentions of Tehran, viewed as a security challenge for Western powers.

"Iran poses the single largest foreign policy challenge," said Ilan Berman, the vice president for policy at the American Foreign Policy Council and an expert on regional security in the Middle East, Central Asia, and the Russian Federation, arguing "they pose a direct challenge to our goals in the WAR ON TERRORISM."

Also in a private meeting with European diplomats that was held last week, a former senior U.S. official suggested launching a dozen B2 bombers in an air raid aimed at a key Iranian nuclear facilities.

But the official’s suggestion comes in contradiction with what the U.S. and the European Union keep boasting about; using diplomacy to resolve the world’s standoff over Iran’s nukes.

"Iran's radical president has said he would spread this technology as far as he can,"

"It would be a tragedy if we prolonged the life of this regime unnecessarily. Iran acquiring a nuclear bomb would do that," Berman added.

But Phil Giraldi, a former CIA staff officer, disagrees with Berman’s shallow warning of Iran’s alleged threat to the world.

"I do not believe it constitutes a major threat to the U.S. specifically. Last year, undoubtedly, speakers here (at the Conservative Political Action Conference) promoted the war in Iraq," Giraldi said. "All were wrong. Iraq was no threat ... Now we're hearing the same things about Iran."

Giraldi, who served 16 years as staff officer before becoming the chief of base in Barcelona, Spain, was also involved in gathering intelligence across the Middle East and Europe.

"If Iran used the bomb, they would face hundreds of Israeli NUCLEAR WARHEADS, and thousands in the U.S.," Giraldi, who writes for The American Conservative, a print magazine that contends the conservative movement, further states.

"Iran would be annihilated and would cease to exist. They know this."

Prior to Iraq war, Giraldi said, he warned that attacking the country was “neither realistic nor practical”, and could eventually lead to major unintended consequences.

However, the former CIA officer warned that Iran could make the situation in Iraq "untenable" for the Americans and that by aiding the Shia fighters there. to Iran, Giraldi said

He also suggests that Tehran might consider transferring cruise missiles obtained from Ukraine and Shahab missiles with biological and chemical payloads, targeting the U.S. occupation bases in Iraq, Israel, Qatar, Bahrain and elsewhere.

At the same time Giraldi said that shutting down the Strait of Hormuz could send oil skyrocketing to as much as $300 a barrel.

Giraldi says: "is this all worth it? No".

"It's not good policy to go to war on a basis of a 'what if' situation," he said.

"The Soviet Union was contained for 40 years."

"Ronald Reagan was able to destroy it without firing a single shot."

In 2002, the U.S. PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH delivered his State of the Union address, announcing his intention to initiate unilateral preemptive wars against any nation he sees as a potential threat, defying almost universal world laws and opinions.

He started IRAQ WAR, and now considers a similar action again the Islamic Republic.

Iran, a signatory of the NUCLEAR NON-PROLIFERATION TREATY, doesn’t wish for a direct military confrontation with the U.S., but it can aspire to deter what seems to be an imminent threat to its military and nuclear facilities, should the U.S. or any of its allies decide to attack it.

The options Iran would consider to fulfill its goals and protect itself is developing the capability to inflict unacceptable catastrophic damage on American interests or military forces, on the American fleet in the Persian Gulf, or even on the American homeland itself.

However, numerous analysts have stated that the possibility of an American strike on Iran have become weaker than it was in 2002 and 2003, knowing the suffering and continuous catastrophes inflicted upon the American troops in Iraq. But Tehran doesn’t believe that that shift in geostrategic dynamics will be permanent.

Iran doesn’t seek starting a nuclear arms race in the Middle East region, as it will pose a threat to its lands and facilities as well. The only country that stands as a threat to the Middle East security and stability is Israel, believed to possess about 300 NUCLEAR WARHEADS and refuses to sign the NPT.

The Islamic Republic seeks developing nuclear technology to meet the rising demand for energy on one hand and to protect any future military attack by the U.S. or Israel on the other.

In Britain where demonstrations were due to start in London at 1300 GMT Saturday, Prime Minister Tony Blair said Friday he regretted the offense caused to Muslims by the caricatures reprinted by European papers, but added that nothing justified the violent backlash.

"I understand the offense the cartoons have caused, we all regret that," Blair said at the opening of his Labour Party's spring conference in Blackpool, northern England.

"But nothing, I repeat nothing, can justify the violent retribution visited on innocent people or embassies round the world or the glorifying of acts of terrorism," including those on July 7 last year in London, Blair said.

Newspapers across Europe have republished some or all of the 12 cartoons, which first appeared in a Danish newspaper last September, prompting violent demonstrations across the world, particularly in the Middle East.

France's officially recognised French Council for the Muslim Religion (CFCM) said it was taking legal action against papers that reprinted the cartoons.

In Britain, demonstrators in an earlier rally have praised the suicide bomb attacks of last July when four presumed Islamic militants blew themselves up on three London subway trains and a bus, killing 52 commuters and themselves.

In Asia, about 500 Muslim protestors rallied in the Indonesian capital Saturday, calling the cartoons part of a "war on Islam".

Members of Hizbut Tahrir (Party of Liberation) Indonesia massed in Jakarta's central traffic circle, waving signs that read "Stop propaganda against Islam" and "The cartoons are proof of Western enmity against Islam."

The Muslim group's spokesman Mohammad Ismail Yusanto said the publication of the caricatures, which first appeared in a Danish newspaper and subsequently in other mainly European newspapers, was part of a "war on Islam."

"This is not just an insult against out prophet. Before this, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark has called for opposition to Islam," he told AFP, referring to passages from the queen's official biography published last year.

From Tehran, Cairo, Istanbul and Nairobi to Kuala Lumpur and Islamabad, protesters had taken to the streets Friday after traditional prayers as politicians scrambled for answers to a crisis that has exposed cultural and religious divisions.

Police in Egypt fired rubber bullets and tear gas, while Kenyan police also used tear gas as a few rallies turned violent, but there was no repeat of the mayhem that has so far left 13 people dead worldwide.

Muslims regard images of the prophet as blasphemy, and the reaction has raised searching questions on where to draw the line between religious rights and free speech.

Denmark's ambassador to Syria quit Damascus with his staff, the foreign ministry said late Friday, citing an "unacceptably low level" of official Syrian protection at the mission, which had been ransacked the previous weekend.

European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana will seek to repair ties strained over the furore during a five-stop Middle East trip next week, aides said.

They said he would meet leaders in Saudi Arabia and then Egypt, Jordan, the Palestinian territories and Israel.

In Algeria, Islamic scholar Mustapha Cherif, a former minister, called for dialogue between the world's peaceful forces and for resistance "by civilized, legitimate and peaceful means".

In a contribution to the government paper El Moudjahid Cherif said the "vulgar" cartoons had led to "overkill and vague theories by those who believe in the shock of civilizations".

Cherif, who specifically identified Muslim fundamentalists and European Islamophobes, also warned that the row could lead to a crisis between the two sides of the Mediterranean.

"The OIC member countries expect the EU to identify islamophobia as a dangerous phenomenon to be scrutinized and combated as is the case with xenophobia and antisemitism," the council said in a statement to AFP Saturday.

Europe had to create "appropriate mechanisms of surveillance and to look again at its legislation with the aim of preventing in the future repetition of recent unfortunate events," the statement said.

The EU's senior foreign policy official, Javier Solana, is due to meet OIC secretary-general Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu in Saudi Arabia on Monday in an attempt to defuse the crisis triggered by Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten's publication of 12 Mohammed drawings almost five months ago.

Considered by Muslims to be blasphemous, the cartoons were reprinted worldwide as the row exploded into an international incident pitting Western ideas of freedom of expression against Islamic beliefs.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid said his country as IOC head supported Iran's demand for a special meeting of foreign ministers.

"I think many countries are worried. The idea is how do we contain these feelings and emotions," he told reporters at an international conference.

Denmark said it had closed its embassies in Iran and Indonesia and ordered its diplomats to leave following "concrete threats" against its staff.

The closures follow that of its Syrian embassy on Friday and of its consulates in Lebanon and Tunisia.

Lars Thuesen, spokesman for the ministry's crisis unit, said the ambassadors and their staff had gone to other countries that Denmark did not wish to identify.

Muslims marched peacefully in several European cities Saturday as organisations sought to distance their outrage from violent protests in recent weeks which saw Danish and Norwegian diplomatic missions set on fire.

In Germany, about 2,000 people marched on the Danish consulate in Duesseldorf, while about 1,200 people protested in Berlin and about 130 in the northern city of Leer.

In London, where recent protests aroused controversy through some of the slogans used and the simulation of a suicide bomber's vest, between 3,500 and 10,000 people marched, according to police and organisers' estimates.

The mayor of London Ken Livingstone backed the protest.

"I am supporting this event because, unlike much of the media coverage, it will allow the views of the mainstream Muslim community to be properly heard," he said.

In France, where satirical weekly Charlio Hebdo republished the 12 cartoons last week, about 7,000 people demonstrated in Paris and more than 2,200 marched in the eastern city of Strasbourg, according to police.

"We want to show by demonstrating peacefully and legally that we have been deeply hurt by the publication of these caricatures," Union of Muslim Associations spokesman Faycal Menia told AFP in Paris.

An estimated 100 took part in Amsterdam in an unauthorised but peaceful demonstration, about 1,000 marched in Berne, in Switzerland, while other protests took place in Ireland, Austria and Belgium.

In Chad in central Africa police used tear gas to break up a demonstration in the capital Ndjamena. Two vehicles were set alight but calm had returned by early afternoon. In Asia, about 500 Muslim protestors rallied in the Indonesian capital Saturday, calling the cartoons part of a "war on Islam."

Members of Hizbut Tahrir (Party of Liberation) Indonesia massed in Jakarta's central traffic circle, waving signs that read "Stop propaganda against Islam" and "The cartoons are proof of Western enmity against Islam."

In Algeria, Islamic scholar Mustapha Cherif, a former minister, called for dialogue between the world's peaceful forces and for resistance "by civilized, legitimate and peaceful means."

In a contribution to the government paper El Moudjahid Cherif said the "vulgar" cartoons had led to "overkill and vague theories by those who believe in the shock of civilizations."

Cherif, who specifically identified Muslim fundamentalists and European Islamophobes, also warned that the row could lead to a crisis between the two sides of the Mediterranean.

Danes should "leave Indonesia as soon as possible" because of "a significant and imminent danger for Danes and Danish interests in Indonesia", the foreign ministry said.

Denmark also said it had shut its embassies in Iran and Indonesia in response to "concrete threats" against staff, having already closed diplomatic outposts in Syria, Lebanon and Tunisia.

In Afghanistan Danish charity ASF Dansk Folkehjaelp pulled 10 of its staff out of the country after a senior Taliban leader offered gold rewards up to 100 kilos for anyone killing a Dane or one of the cartoonists.

Mollah Dadullah said 100 volunteers were ready to carry out suicide bombings in retaliation over the publication of the caricatures in the conservative Jyllands-Posten newspaper last September.

Considered by Muslims to be blasphemous, the cartoons were reprinted worldwide as the row exploded into an international incident pitting Western ideals of freedom of expression against Islamic beliefs.

The Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) on Saturday urged the European Union to crack down on "Islamophobia", saying it should be equated with xenophobia and anti-Semitism.

"OIC member states expect the EU to identify Islamophobia as a dangerous phenomenon and observe and combat it like in the cases of xenophobia and anti-Semitism," the council representing 57 Muslim nations said in a statement.

It suggested "creating suitable observance mechanisms and revising its (EU's) legislation in order to prevent the recurrence of the recent unfortunate incidents in the future" -- echoing other Muslim calls for the West to outlaw religious irreverence.

The EU's senior foreign policy official, Javier Solana, is due to meet OIC secretary-general Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu in Saudi Arabia on Monday in an attempt to defuse the crisis.

More Muslims marched in Europe Saturday, although organising bodies sought to distance their outrage from the violent protests that saw buildings housing Danish and Norwegian diplomatic missions set on fire in Damascus and Beirut last weekend.

In Germany, which has Europe's second biggest Muslim population behind France, about 2,000 people marched on the Danish consulate in Dusseldorf, 1,200 people protested in Berlin and about 130 in the northern city of Leer.

In London, where at a previous demonstration protesters waved placards calling on those who insult their religion to be butchered, between 3,500 and 10,000 people marched, according to police and organisers' estimates.

London mayor Ken Livingston said he supported the event because it would "allow the views of the mainstream Muslim community to be properly heard."

In France, about 7,000 people demonstrated in Paris and more than 2,200 marched in the eastern city of Strasbourg, according to police.

Two French Islamic groups, including umbrella organisation the French Muslim Council, announced they would take legal action against two French newspapers that reproduced the Danish drawings.

There were other protests in the Swiss city of Berne, in Ireland, Austria, Belgium and the northern Spanish city of Bilbao, and four were arrested in an Amsterdam protest.

In Montreal, Canada, about 500 people marched behind a banner saying "No to insults to our prophets Mohammed, Jesus, Moses".

Protests in Africa and Asia were smaller than on Friday. Police in the central African country of Chad used tear gas to break up a demonstration in the capital N'Djamena, while about 500 Muslim protestors rallied in the Indonesian capital, calling the cartoons part of a "war on Islam".

In Algeria, Islamic scholar and former government minister Mustapha Cherif called for dialogue and resistance "by civilized, legitimate and peaceful means".

Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen too, sought dialogue, saying he would meet members of a new group called Democratic Muslims on Monday to discuss the community's integration.

"Our aim is to show that there are a lot of Muslims in Denmark who are saddened to see their country being vilified abroad and who seek dialogue, not confrontation," group founder Fathi el-Abed told AFP.

In a country renowned for its tolerance and openness, the social crisis and the betrayals carried out by the old working class organizations have opened the way for the emergence of political forces which systematically encourage xenophobia and racism. The newspaper Jyllands-Posten has played a prominent role in this process.

Last autumn Jyllands-Posten assigned 40 prominent Danish caricaturists to draw the Prophet Muhammad. Twelve responded and the results were published on September 30. The project was deliberately designed to provoke.

According to the cultural editor of the newspaper, Flemming Rose, it was aimed at “testing the limits of self-censorship in Danish public opinion” when it comes to Islam and Muslims. He added: “In a secular society, Muslims have to live with the fact of being ridiculed, scoffed at and made to look ridiculous.”

When the anticipated reaction by the Muslim community failed to arise, the newspaper continued its campaign, determined to create a full-scale scandal. After a week had gone by without protest, journalists turned on Danish Islamic religious leaders who were well known for their fundamentalist views and demanded: “Why don’t you protest?” Eventually, the latter reacted and alerted their co-thinkers in the Middle East.

At this point the head of the Danish government, Andres Fogh Rasmussen, and the xenophobic Danish People’s Party, which is part of the ruling coalition, swung into action. Fogh Rasmussen demonstratively turned down appeals by concerned Arab ambassadors for talks to clarify the issue. Even after 22 former Danish ambassadors appealed to the prime minister to hold discussions with the representatives of Islamic states, Rasmussen maintained his stance, arguing that “freedom of the press” could not be a topic for diplomatic discussion.

The chairperson of the Danish People’s Party, Pia Kjaersgaard, insulted Danish Muslims who complained about the caricatures, publicly denouncing them as national traitors because they supposedly placed their religious beliefs above free speech.

From the start, the campaign had nothing to do with “free speech” and everything to do with the political agenda of the Fogh Rasmussen government, comprising of a coalition of right-wing neo-liberals and conservatives, together with the Danish People’s Party.

The latter rose to prominence in the 1990s when all of the country’s bourgeois parties—including the then-governing Social Democrats—responded to a mounting social crisis with xenophobic campaigns. The People’s Party declared at the time that Islam was a “cancerous ulcer” and “terrorist movement.” Kjaersgaard, notorious for her racist outbursts, declared that the Islamic world could not be regarded as civilized. “There is only one civilization, and that is ours,” she said.

Fogh Rasmussen, at that time the chairman of the right-wing Venstre party, adopted much of the racist demagogy of the People’s Party. In the election campaign of 2001he demanded, among other things, that “criminal foreigners” be thrown out of the country within 48 hours.

His campaign utilized an election poster featuring pictures of Muslim criminals to suggest that all Muslims were violent. Venstre won the election and, together with the traditional conservative party, formed a minority government, which was supported by the extremist People’s Party.

Danish politics lurched far to the right. The country’s immigration laws were drastically tightened, while spending for development aid was cut back. In the Iraq war, which was opposed by the majority of the Danish population, Fogh Rasmussen lined up behind the Bush administration and sent a contingent of Danish troops to help occupy the country.

The campaign unleashed by Jyllands-Posten is a continuation and intensification of this reactionary trajectory, aimed at bolstering the xenophobic policies of the government and strengthening its support for US imperialism.

The caricatures themselves are patently racist. They suggest that every Muslim is a potential terrorist. Reports and pictures of outraged Muslims protesting the defamation of their prophet are used to reinforce this slander.

Official politics and the media throughout Europe are increasingly preoccupied with such agitation. Muslims are collectively held responsible for acts carried out by terrorist groups, although they bear no responsibility for them. In the German state of Baden-Württemberg, Muslims seeking to stay in the country must answer a catalog of questions probing their religious beliefs.

Television news presenters regularly malign Muslims for being prepared to protest against the defamation of Muhammad, but not against acts carried out by terrorist groups in the name of Islam, suggesting that they secretly support such acts.

A campaign is emerging to depict Islam as an inferior culture that is incompatible with “Western values.” There are clear parallels here to the anti-Semitic caricatures that were spread in the 1930s by fascist newspapers such as the Nazi Stürmer. The depiction of Jews as sub-humans served as the ideological preparation for the Holocaust.

Today the systematic defamation of Muslims is being used to prepare public opinion for new wars against countries such as Iran and Syria—wars which will be even more brutal than the Iraq war, and could well involve the use of nuclear weapons.

It is no coincidence that it was the Jyllands-Posten that took up this initiative. The newspaper is notorious for its declarations of support for the Nazis in the 1930s, and has played a key role in Denmark’s recent shift to the right.

With editorial offices in the rural area of Arhus, Jyllands-Posten remained a relatively insignificant provincial newspaper until the beginning of the 1980s. At that time it began an aggressive policy of expansion. It bought up smaller regional and local newspapers and launched a price war with the two established newspapers in the Danish capital—Berlingske Tidende and Politiken—and rapidly built up its circulation to 170,000, becoming the biggest circulation newspaper in the country.

In the 1990s the decidedly conservative paper increasingly developed into a mouthpiece for openly xenophobic, right-wing forces. Nearly a quarter of the editorial board was dismissed, and the quality of the paper sank as its aggressiveness rose.

Shortly before the publication of the Muhammad cartoons, Jyllands-Posten ran a headline reading, “Islam is the Most Belligerent.” The newspaper ran an exposé about an alleged Muslim death-list of Jewish names—until it emerged that the whole thing was a fabrication.

One year ago the editor-in-chief resigned because the newspaper carried a report, in the midst of an election campaign, alleging the systematic abuse of welfare rights by asylum-seekers. The sensational charges were published against his will.

The notorious right-wing sympathies of Jyllands-Posten are no secret. The Süddeutsche Zeitung describes it as “a newspaper with an almost missionary zeal, boasting that it has been successful in breaking the ideological and political grip of left-wing liberals over Danish society.” According to the Süddeutsche Zeitung, it would be “an inadmissible simplification” to equate Jyllands-Posten with the People’s Party, but they are certainly “fellow combatants in the broader sense.”

The FrankfurtRundshau writes: “Connoisseurs of Danish media will note with no little irony that it is precisely Jyllands-Posten which is now considered to be a beacon for free speech, i.e., the most right-wing of the Danish newspapers, which normally thrashes anyone who dares to advance a different point of view.”