Why those cartoons enraged the Muslim world.

• Author: Friedman, Thomas L.
• Position: Offense to religions - Brief article

I have no doubt the Danish cartoons mocking the Prophet Muhammad have caused real. offense to many Muslims. But there's something in the worldwide Muslim reaction that is excessive, and suggests that something else is at work. The explosion of rage is not just about some Western insult. It's also about an Eastern failure. It is about the failure of many Muslim countries to build economies that prepare young people for modernity--and all the insult, humiliation, and frustration that has produced. Today's world has become so wired together, so flattened, that you can't avoid seeing just where you stand on the planet--just where the caravan is and just how far...