Allow me to comment on this as a Danish citizen.
Allow me to comment, as another Danish citizen.
A Danish newspaper, who have been at the forefront of an ongoing hetz against immigrants and especially muslims,
I read it regularly - they are definately right-wing, but "hetz" I don't recongnize.
published a number of cartoons depicting Mohammed in ways that can only have been meant to express contempt.
The newspaper claims that they weren't meant to offend anywone. They were meant as a provocation of danes on the subject of self-censoring and reluctance of dealing with islam for fear of reprecussions.
The reaction to the cartoons, prove that they were merited, as I'm sure most danes won't critisize, make fun of or deal with islam for a long time to come. Unless they are willingly looking for trouble.
Further, if you have been following Danish news, you will know just how vitriolic and hatefilled the debate has been there for a very long time;
Again you're overdoing it. The debate is way to intolerant for my taste, but not excatly hate filled.
and this is prominent politicians we're talking about.
Only one Danish political party is really "anti" on the subject of immigrants, muslims etc. I'll concur that this party is getting a suprisingly and somewhat scary large amount of votes.
This has even been commented on in foreign news, with horror and disgust. To a moslem depicting the profet is totally forbidden, apparently, which the newspaper in question certainly knew;
They probably did. I didn't. To a muslim, is it also forbidden for someone else to depict mohammed? Why do they get to decide this for everybody?
and not surprisingly a group of Danish moslems vented their anger in their home countries.
And for good measure venting some pictures that weren't even printed in Denmark. Telling that the Danish queen - unpolitical as she is - called for opposition to islam. These people speak danish and live in denmark. They clearly knew better. They might not have expected such a huge reaction though.
This Abu Laban (imam living in Denmark) character said on danish television (in english) that he was actively working to smooth the waters and solve the conflict. The same evening he was on al-jahzerra encouraging boycots and general nastiness against Denmark. And this guy is likely to be in Denmark for humanitarian reasons. I wonder what his actual motives are.
Personally I think it could have been defused then and there if the newspaper or the prime minister had had the decency and backbone to simply apologize;
The newspaper did. According to wikipedia the exact text was this:
In our opinion, the 12 drawings were sober. They were not intended to be offensive, nor were they at variance with Danish law, but they have indisputably offended many Muslims for which we apologize.
after all, there is such a thing as simple politeness, and no one would need to give up fundamental freedoms etc. How much would it actually have cost anybody if our PM had said something like: 'It is not Danish policy to insult people of other cultures, and I apologize for the distress these insensitive pictures have been published. However, I can not dictate what the newspapers print'? Not a thing.
The prime minister can't apologize for something he had nothing to do with. But the other stuff you mention he said preatty much excactly. Where have you been the last two weeks?
Instead there has been a load of stilted nonsense about 'freedom of speech' - what a load of crap. Freedom is not the right to get away with whatever you do - there is a responsibility for all your actions as there should be. If you kick a hornets' nest, you'll get stung.
Well the innocent looking ball turned out to be a hornets nest. Freedom of speech is important. Just consider the fact that the newspaper has now demonstrated that we actually don't have freedom of speech when it comes to islam etc. The people with ak-47's and fire bombs seem to call the shots on that issue for now.
How many other subjects would you accept to be restrained from expressing your opionion on? What if the freedom-of-speech-police came after everybody that expresses that freedom of speech isn't very important?
So, to sum it up: Denmark is festering in xenophobia and inflamed rhetoric;
Your're all rhetoric.
a newspaper decides to try to cash in on stirring up the shit and behave a spoiled brat; instead of being mature and apologize,
They did apologize.
the West is spiteful. Whatever one may think of the moslem world, this is simply not an honourable way to behave.
The people boycotting Denmark or lighting up embasseys over this aren't exactly honourable, are they?
Why aren't anyone burning the Egyptian and Morrocan embassies - newspapers in both countries printed the cartoons as well.
I realize that way most muslims are peaceful and not like this. But every single one of those reasonable, peaceful muslims should be yelling lound and hard at the extremists for giving muslims a bad image. They are confirming the point of the cartoons, by letting the bad guys take the picture.
Somebody should go after these "black sheep". But everybody, including most of the western world, either shuts up or goes after Denmark - the small and harmless boy in class...
-qabi
