Indonesia saw an attack on the Danish Embassy in Jakarta, and the American consulate in Surabaya (and there was another attempt to storm America’s embassy in Jakarta on the 19th). Turkey saw, in addition to large scale protests, the murder of a Catholic priest on the 6th. In Tehran, protesters burned the Danish embassy and stoned the Austrian embassy. In Libya, a little later, protesters set fire to the Italian consulate. Pakistan has seen several huge protests and deadly riots, as well as a tragicomic assault on KFC and Pizza Hut.

Funny how these countries demanding that Denmark crack down on unpopular expression have so much trouble doing so themselves, even when things turn bloody, and even when they see it coming for three months. Not "funny-ha-ha." The other kind.

Which leads to two possible interpretations of the Comic Jihad. These states are unwilling to stop the violence, or they are unable to do so.

The first interpretation suggests that at least some of the states involved in this travesty have manipulated it from the beginning for their own interests. While a lot of blame has rightly fallen on Denmark’s deceptive agitators Ahmed Abu Laban and Ahmed Akkari, they have clearly had the collaboration of receptive states in getting their message out—states that don’t mind cracking down on dangerous thoughts when it suits them. 

Among the signatories of the letter, Iran has the most to gain from radicalizing the Muslim world right now. As America and Israel contemplate military strikes against Iran’s nuclear program, the smart play for Iran is to poison any efforts at cooperation between the United States and countries in the region—and specifically Turkey, which has already refused to serve as a staging area for American troops during the Iraq invasion. If Iran can convince Turkey to withhold its support again, the mullahs will have neutralized our 39th Air Base Wing at Incirlik without firing a shot.

If that state-security scenario sounds too conspiratorial for you, the alternative is no more reassuring: these signatories of the letter know that their nations are not in control at all. Radical Islamists are calling the shots, and there is nothing Islamic states can do to stop them.

If that is the case, it is a surprising and devastating indictment of global Islam. It is one thing for American pundits and politicians to say the Religion of Peace has been hijacked by violent extremists; it’s far more frightening when the warning comes from the governments that know it best.