Prophet Cartoon Reprinted in Danish Papers

Prophet Cartoon Reprinted in Danish Papers

At least 17 Danish newspapers reprinted on Wednesday, February 13, a drawing of a man described as Prophet Muhammad  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ) with a ticking bomb in his turban, a move slammed by Danish Muslims as 'naive'.

"Their plans to kill Kurt Westergaard…are not just an attack on Westergaard but an attack on our democratic culture," Politiken, the centre-left newspaper of reference, said in an editorial.

Two Tunisians and a Dane of Moroccan descent were arrested on Tuesday, February 12, over an alleged plot to kill Westergaard, the 73-year-old caricaturist.

"Regardless of whether Jyllands-Posten at the time used freedom of speech unwisely and with damaging consequences, the paper deserves unconditional solidarity when it is threatened with terror," said Politiken.

"That is why Politiken today prints the drawing, even though at no time have we sympathized with Jyllands-Posten's provocation."

In 2005, Jyllands-Posten commissioned and published 12 drawings satirizing the Prophet, triggering a storm of protests across the Muslim world and straining ties with Muslim countries.

"Freedom of expression gives you the right to think, to speak and to draw what you like no matter how many terrorist plots there are," conservative broadsheet Berlingske Tidende wrote in an editorial.

The newspaper, which had not previously printed the caricature, urged "the Danish media to stand united against fanaticism."

Tabloid Ekstra Bladet meanwhile published all 12 of the original cartoons.

Naive

Danish public opinion appeared divided over the editors' decision to reprint the cartoon.

"There's no point in throwing oil on the fire by reprinting the most provocative caricature," said Johan, a taxi driver in central Copenhagen, told Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Marianne, a designer, said meanwhile that it was "good to stand firm on freedom of expression and not cave in to those who want to stifle it."

Danish Muslims, estimated to number more than 200,000 or three percent of the population, criticized the reprinting of the controversial drawing.

"It is a stupid and naive decision," imam Abdul Wahid Pedersen told the Arabic-language Akhbar Denmark website (Akhbar.Dk).

"They should have sought a much rational way to show solidarity with the cartoonist than this move."

Muslim community leaders on Tuesday distanced themselves from the "plot" with a torrent of statements and condemnations.

Jihad Al-Fra, the head of the Islamic Council in Denmark, described the reprinting as an attempt to fish in troubled water.

"There are parties that want to use this issue to fuel their campaigns against Muslims and the Prophet," he said.

"This is an irrational move. It is a provocation."

The Scandinavian Waqfs urged an astute reaction from Danish Muslims.

"Muslims must not be inflamed by this provocation," said spokesman Qasim Sayed Ahmed.

"The best answer is to ignore it."

On hearing the news that a museum in Copenhagen planned to acquire the 12 cartoons to preserve "a part of Danish history," one Muslim leader said it was time to move on.

Following the 2005 cartoons crisis, Muslim worldwide took many initiatives to remove widely circulated stereotypes about Islam in the West.

Danish Muslims established the European Committee for Honoring the Prophet, a grouping of 27 Danish Muslim organizations, to raise awareness about the merits and characteristics of the Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allah exalt his mention ).

PHOTO CAPTION

Abdul Wahid Pedersen.

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