From BBC
| Danish plea for calm on cartoons | |||||||
Mr Rasmussen again apologised for any offence but insisted his government was not responsible for newspaper articles. The cartoons, first seen in a Danish paper, have sparked violent protests and boycotts across the Muslim world. Editors of a Jordanian and a French newspaper who chose to republish the cartoons have been dismissed. One of the cartoons shows the Prophet wearing a headdress shaped like a bomb, while another shows him saying that paradise is running short of virgins for suicide bombers. Islamic tradition bans depictions of the Prophet or Allah. Ambassadors summoned
In an interview with the Dubai-based al-Arabiya channel, Mr Rasmussen called on all parties to avoid escalating the row.
"I have sent a very strong appeal to everyone in Denmark that though this dispute may raise many strong feelings, everybody should take the responsibility to ensure peaceful co-operation in Denmark," he said. Mr Rasmussen said the issue has gone beyond Denmark to become a clash between Western free speech and Islamic taboos.
Denmark has summoned ambassadors in Copenhagen to talks on the row on Friday. Syria and Saudi Arabia have already withdrawn their envoys. Danish companies are already feeling the pinch of Muslim boycotts. Dairy firm Arla Foods said on Thursday it was laying off 125 staff in Denmark. Although the cartoons originated in Denmark's Jyllands-Posten paper, they have been reprinted in newspapers in Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain - all saying they were expressing free speech.
In Jordan, an independent tabloid, al-Shihan, reprinted three of
the cartoons on Thursday, saying people should know what they were protesting about. In a separate article, the newspaper's editor, Jihad Momani, urged the world's Muslims to "be reasonable" in their response to the drawings. The paper's publishers sacked him hours later over the "shock" he had caused, Jordan's official Petra news agency reported. There has been widespread anger over the cartoons among Muslim nations and communities. Norway closed its mission to the public in the West Bank in response to threats from two militant groups against Norwegians, Danes and French people. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak warned that the decision to publish the cartoons
could encourage terrorists. Afghan President Hamid Karzai strongly condemned their publication, saying it was "an affront... for hundreds of millions of people". Hundreds of students demonstrated in the Pakistani cities of Lahore and Multan, burning flags and effigies of the Danish prime minister. EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson also criticised the European papers which re-ran the cartoons, saying they were "throwing petrol onto the flames of the original issue and the original offence that was taken". Bomb threat The row intensified on Wednesday when France Soir, alongside the 12 original cartoons, printed a new drawing on its front page showing Buddhist, Jewish, Muslim and Christian holy figures sitting on a cloud, with the caption
"Don't worry Muhammad, we've all been caricatured here."
France Soir's editor, Jacques Lefranc, was dismissed by the paper's French-Egyptian owner after the decision to publish the cartoons. But journalists at France Soir stood by their editor's decision on Thursday, printing a front page picture and editorial in which they strongly defended the right to free speech. The man named to replace Mr Lefranc in an interim role, Eric Fauveau, said he would not take up the post. Mr Fauveau called the dismissal of Mr Lefranc "inopportune". Jyllands-Posten has
apologised for causing offence to Muslims, although it maintains it was legal under Danish law to print the cartoons. | |||||||
| In quotes: Reaction to cartoons | ||
As the row intensifies, governments and world leaders have been giving their reaction. Here is a selection of comments from political leaders around the world. HOSNI MUBARAK, Egyptian President HAMID KARZAI, Afghan President ANDERS FOGH RASMUSSEN, Danish Prime Minister AHMED QUREIA, Outgoing Palestinian Prime Minister Prince NAYEF, Saudi Interior Minister PHILIPPE DOUSTE-BLAZY, French Foreign Minister The principle of freedom should be exercised in a spirit of tolerance, respect of beliefs, respect of religions, which is the very basis of secularism of our
country. YURI THAMRIN, Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman FRANCO FRATTINI, EU Justice Commissioner I can understand the feelings of indignation, frustration and sadness of
the Muslim communities over the last few days. Such events do not facilitate dialogue between faiths and cultures. | ||
| Muhammad cartoon row intensifies | |||||
Seven publications in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and Spain all carried some of the drawings. Their publication in Denmark led Arab nations to protest. Islamic tradition bans depictions of the Prophet. The owner of one of the papers to reprint - France Soir - has now sacked its managing editor over the matter. The cartoons have sparked diplomatic sanctions and death threats in some Arab nations, while media watchdogs have defended publication of the images in the name of press freedom. Reporters Without Borders said the reaction in the Arab world "betrays a lack of understanding" of press freedom as "an essential accomplishment of democracy." 'Spiting Muslims' France Soir and Germany's Die Welt were among the leading papers to reprint the cartoons, which first appeared in Denmark last
September. The caricatures include drawings of Muhammad wearing a headdress shaped like a bomb, while another shows him saying that paradise was running short of virgins for suicide bombers. France Soir originally said it had published the images in full to show "religious dogma" had no place in a secular society.
But late on Wednesday its owner, Raymond Lakah, said he had removed managing editor Jacques Lefranc "as a powerful sign of respect for the intimate beliefs and convictions of every individual". Mr Lakah said: "We express our regrets to the Muslim community and all people who were shocked by the publication." The president of the French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM), Dalil Boubakeur, had described France Soir's publication as an act of "real provocation towards the millions of Muslims living in France". Other papers stood by their publication. In Berlin, Die Welt argued there was a right to blaspheme in the West, and asked whether Islam was capable of coping with satire. "The protests from Muslims would be
taken more seriously if they were less hypocritical," it wrote in an editorial. La Stampa in Italy, El Periodico in Spain and Dutch paper Volkskrant also carried some of the drawings. European Muslims spoke out against the pictures. In Germany, the vice-chairman of the central council of Muslims said Muslims would be deeply offended. "It was done not to defend freedom of the press, but to spite the Muslims," Mohammad Aman Hobohm said. Sanctions Correspondents say the European papers' actions have widened a dispute which has grown very serious for Denmark.
The publication last September in
Jyllands-Posten has provoked diplomatic sanctions and threats from Islamic militants across the Muslim world. Foreign Minister Per Stig Moeller has postponed a trip to Africa because of the dispute. Thousands of Palestinians protested against Denmark this week, and Arab ministers called on it to punish Jyllands-Posten. Syria and Saudi Arabia have recalled their ambassadors to Denmark, while Libya said it was closing its embassy in Copenhagen and Iraq summoned the Danish envoy to condemn the cartoons. The Danish-Swedish dairy giant Arla Foods says its sales in the Middle East have plummeted to zero as a result of the row, which sparked a boycott of Danish products across the region. The offices of Jyllands-Posten had to be evacuated on Tuesday because of a bomb threat. The paper had apologised a day earlier for causing offence to Muslims, although it maintained it was legal
under Danish law to print them. Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen welcomed the paper's apology, but defended the freedom of the press. | |||||
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