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Iranian Prez Names Cartoon Price

Throwing fuel onto the flames of the cultural fires burning as a result of what many have termed "hypocritical" Muslim overreactions to cartoons that first appeared in a newspaper in Denmark last September depicting Islam`s prophet-founder Muhammad, Iran`s president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said this week that the United States and Europe should pay a price for the publication of the cartoon.

"Now in the West insulting the prophet is allowed, but questioning the Holocaust is considered a crime," he continued. "We ask, why do you insult the prophet? The response is that it is a matter of freedom, while in fact they (who insult the founder of Islam) are hostages of the Zionists. And the people of the U.S. and Europe should pay a heavy price for becoming hostages to Zionists."

Observers note that there is little mention in the world press about the many intolerant depictions of Jews in the Arab-Islamic media over the past decades since the start of the Arab-Israeli conflict. And Ahmadinejad hasn`t been without controversy himself for using the same sort of intolerance he is currently railing against in his anti-Israel, anti-Europe rhetoric. He has been at odds with many in the international community after saying last year that Israel should be "wiped off the map" and that the Holocaust was a "myth." A newspaper in Iran recently called for a cartoon contest about the Holocaust.