DENMARK faced the full fury of the Muslim world yesterday as a long-simmering
row over newspaper cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad finally erupted.
There were street demonstrations and flag-burnings in the Middle East. Libya
joined Saudi Arabia in withdrawing its ambassador from Copenhagen. Islamic
governments and organisations, including the Muslim Council of Britain,
issued denunciations and a boycott of Danish goods took hold across the
Muslim world.
The Danish Government warned its citizens about travelling to Algeria, Egypt,
Jordan, Lebanon, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Syria, and withdrew aid workers
from the Gaza Strip.
Last night EU foreign ministers issued a statement in support of Denmark, and
the European Commission threatened to report any government backing the
boycott to the World Trade Organisation.
The fury echoed the outcry that followed the publication in 1988 of the Salman
Rushdie novel The Satanic Verses. The trigger for the latest clash
of cultures was the publication by the Danish newspaper Jyllends-Posten
on September 30 of 12 cartoons of Muhammad. A biographer of the prophet had
complained that no one would dare to illustrate his book, and the newspaper
challenged cartoonists to draw pictures of the prophet in a self-declared
battle for freedom of speech.
One submission showed Muhammad wearing a bomb-shaped turban; in another he
tells dead suicide bombers that he has run out of virgins with which to
reward them. Any portrayal of Muhammad is blasphemous in Islam, lest it
encourages idolatry.
In October ambassadors from ten Muslim countries complained to Anders Fogh
Rasmussen, the Danish Prime Minister, who refused to interfere with the
press’s freedom.
But the issue began to boil this month after the cartoons appeared in Magazinet,
a Christian newspaper in Norway, and on the website of the Norwegian
newspaper Dagbladet.
Imams denounced Denmark from their pulpits, the Arab press inflamed pent-up
Muslim anger at the West and last Friday the Saudi Government recalled its
ambassador, but still Mr Rasmussen refused to apologise. He condemned
attempts to “demonise people because of religious beliefs”, but argued: “The
Government can in no way influence the media.”
By yesterday governments across the Arab world were responding to public
outrage. Libya closed its embassy in Denmark and the Egyptian parliament
demanded that its Government follow suit. The Kuwaiti and Jordanian
governments called for explanations from their Danish ambassadors. President
Lahoud of Lebanon condemned the cartoons, saying his country “cannot accept
any insult to any religion”. The Justice Minister of the United Arab
Emirates said: “This is cultural terrorism, not freedom of expression.” In
Gaza, gunmen briefly occupied the EU office in Gaza and warned Danes and
Norwegians to stay away. Palestinians in the West Bank burnt Danish flags.
The Islamic groups Hamas and Hezbollah and the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood
demanded an apology.
Supermarkets in Algeria, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Qatar, Tunisia, the
United Arab Emirates and Yemen all removed Danish produce from their
shelves. Arla Foods, a Danish company with annual sales of about $430
million in the Middle East, said that the boycott was almost total and
suspended production in Saudi Arabia.
The Muslim Council of Britain, whose leaders are to meet the Danish ambassador
tomorrow, deplored the newspapers’ refusal to apologise for printing
“sacrilegious cartoons vilifying the Prophet Muhammad”.
Bill Clinton, the former US President, added his voice, telling a conference
in Qatar that he feared anti-Semitism would be replaced with anti-Islamic
prejudice. He condemned “these totally outrageous cartoons against Islam”.
Per Stig Moeller, Denmark’s Foreign Minister, insisted in Brussels last night:
“We condemn blasphemy. We want respect for religions. But we cannot
intervene. We have sent explanations but, as we have said before, freedom of
expression is a matter for the courts, not for the Government.”
A spokesman for Peter Mandelson, the EU Trade Commissioner, said that if the
Saudi Government had encouraged the boycott of Danish goods, Mr Mandelson
would take the matter to the WTO.
Carsten Juste, editor-in-chief of Jyllends-Posten, which has hired
extra security after staff received death threats, said that the drawings
“were not in violation of Danish law but have offended many Muslims, which
we would like to apologise for”. He added that the drawings were “sober and
were not meant to be offensive” to Muslims.
ISLAMIC CONFLICT
- 1988 Ayatollah Khomeini issues fatwa against Salman Rushdie
after publication of The Satanic Verses
- 2001 The author Khalid Duran faces mass condemnation from
Muslims for his book which sought to explain Islam to Jews, culminating
in alleged death threats for his apostasy
- 2002 Fatwa issued against the Nigerian journalist Isioma
Daniel after she suggested that Muhammad might approve of the Miss World
contest
- 2004 Extremist kills the Dutch director Theo Van Gogh after
he made Submission, a ten-minute film about the abuse of Muslim
women featuring Koranic verses written on female bodies
- 2005 Swedish museum is forced to remove a painting depicting
a couple making love while covered in verses from the Koran
FROM NEWSPAPER CHALLENGE TO DIPLOMATIC INCIDENT
September 30, 2005 Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten
publishes 12 cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad
October 20 Ambassadors of ten Muslim countries complain to
Danish Prime Minister. Jyllands-Posten reports that
illustrators have received death threats
November 14 Jamaat-e-Islami, a Pakistan-based group, protests
in Islamabad
January 10, 2006 Cartoons reprinted by Magazinet, a
Norwegian newspaper
January 26 Saudi Arabia recalls its ambassador and initiates
boycott of Danish goods
January 27 Thousands denounce the cartoons during Friday
prayers in Iraq
January 28 Danish company Arla places adverts in Middle
Eastern newspapers to try to stop boycott of its produce
January 29 Jyllands-Posten prints a statement in
Arabic saying the drawings were published in line with freedom of
expression and not a campaign against Islam. Palestinians burn Danish
flags and Libya announces it will close its embassy in Denmark
January 30 EU says it will take World Trade Organisation
action if boycott persists. Several Islamic groups, including Hamas and
the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, call for worldwide boycott of Danish
products. Masked gunmen in storm EU office in Gaza
Lastest news
www.dagbladet.no/kultur/2006/01/10/454375.html
