Below is the purported "apology" of Jyllands-Posten.
Read it carefully. In essence, it says...
"I'm not sorry I poked your eye out, I'm just sorry
I didn't know it was going to make you so mad."
Carsten Juste...? Apology NOT accepted.
--
G. Waleed Kavalec
-------------------------
Honourable Fellow Citizens of the Muslim World
Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten is a strong proponent of democracy and
freedom of religion. The newspaper respects the right of any human
being to practise his or her religion. Serious misunderstandings in
respect of some drawings of the Prophet Mohammed have led to much
anger and, lately, also boycott of Danish goods in Muslim countries.
Please allow me to correct these misunderstandings.
On 30 September last year, Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten published 12
different cartoonists' idea of what the Prophet Mohammed might have
looked like. The initiative was taken as part of an ongoing public
debate on freedom of _expression, a freedom much cherished in
Denmark.
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.
Since then a number of offensive drawings have circulated in The
Middle East which have never been published in Morgenavisen Jyllands-
Posten and which we would never have published, had they been
offered to us. We would have refused to publish them on the grounds
that they violated our ethical code.
Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten attaches importance to upholding the
highest ethical standards based upon the respect of our fundamental
values. It is so much more deplorable, therefore, that these
drawings were presented as if they had anything to do with
Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten.
Maybe because of culturally based misunderstandings, the initiative
to publish the 12 drawings has been interpreted as a campaign
against Muslims in Denmark and the rest of the world.
I must categorically dismiss such an interpretation. Because of the
very fact that we are strong proponents of the freedom of religion
and because we respect the right of any human being to practise his
or her religion, offending anybody on the grounds of their religious
beliefs is unthinkable to us.
That this happened was, consequently, unintentional.
As a result of the debate that has been going on about the drawings,
we have met with representatives of Danish Muslims, and these
meetings were held in a positive and constructive spirit. We have
also sought in other ways to initiate a fruitful dialogue with
Danish Muslims.
It is the wish of Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten that various ethnic
groups should live in peace and harmony with each other and that the
debates and disagreements which will always exist in a dynamic
society should do so in an atmosphere of mutual respect.
For that reason, Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten has published many
articles describing the positive aspects of integration, for example
in a special supplement entitled The Contributors. It portrayed a
number of Muslims who have had success in Denmark. The supplement
was rewarded by the EU Commission.
Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten takes exception to symbolic acts suited
to demonise specific nationalities, religions and ethnic groups.
Sincerely yours
Carsten Juste
Editor-in-Chief
***************************************************************************
{Invite (mankind, O Muhammad ) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom (i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching, and argue with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.}
(Holy Quran-16:125)
{And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes in His Oneness)," and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] invites (men) to Allah's (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I am one of the Muslims."} (Holy Quran-41:33)
The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "By Allah, if Allah guides one person by you, it is better for you than the best types of camels." [al-Bukhaaree, Muslim]
The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also said, "Whoever calls to guidance will have a reward similar to the reward of the one who follows him, without the reward of either of them being lessened at all."
[Muslim, Ahmad, Aboo Daawood, an-Nasaa'ee, at-Tirmidhee, Ibn Maajah]
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