A look at examples of Muslim anger in recent years over perceived affronts to Islam

Muslim anger over perceived Western insults to Islam has exploded several times, most recently in protests this week against U.S. diplomatic posts in the Middle East. The violence, fueled mostly by religious zealots, reflects the tension between Muslims and the secular West that followed the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Here are some of the most serious incidents:

MUHAMMAD CARTOONS

The September 2005 publication by the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten of cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad unleashed a wave of violent protests by Muslims, who believe any image of their religion’s founder is forbidden. Dozens of people were killed in weeks of protests that included violent attacks against Danish missions in Syria, Iran, Afghanistan and Lebanon. At least six people were killed in a June 2008 suicide bombing at the Danish embassy in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad. Al-Qaida claimed responsibility, citing anger over the cartoons. The Danish government described the Muslim backlash as the country’s worst international crisis since World War II.

SATANIC VERSES

British author Salman Rushdie’s 1988 novel, "Satanic Verses,” inspired in part by the life of Muhammad, won kudos from critics in Britain but prompted outrage among many Muslims, who considered it slanderous. Deadly riots against the book erupted in Islamabad, Pakistan and Mumbai, India, and the book was banned in South Africa, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and several other countries. Iran’s Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a religious edict in 1989 calling for Rushdie’s death, leading the writer to live in hiding for a decade. Although Rushdie was never physically harmed, his Japanese translator was stabbed to death in 1991 and his Italian translator was injured in a stabbing that same year (...)