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If they [Danish/French] want
to defend their freedom of _expression_, then Muslims should also be able to
exercise their freedom by boycotting products of French, Danish [please add to this list], withdrawal of ambassador, cancel
trading agreement etc. After all, they are facing uncontrollable forces
!!
From: Media Watch
Sent: Wednesday, February 01, 2006 1:29 PM
Subject: French Paper Reprints Explosive Danish Cartoons French Paper Reprints
Explosive Danish Cartoons
Additional Reporting by Hadi Yahmid, IOL Correspondent PARIS, February 1, 2006 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) Adding fuel to an already raging fire, a French newspaper Wednesday, February 1, reproduced a controversial set of caricatures decried in the Muslim world as blasphemous to prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and originally published in Denmark. Paris daily France Soir said it had decided to reprint them "not from an appetite for gratuitous provocation, but because they constitute the subject of a controversy on a global scale which has done nothing to maintain balance and mutual limits in democracy, respect of religious beliefs and freedom of _expression_," reported Agence France-Presse (AFP). "These 12 drawings could appear anodyne," but their publication, "which has tested the limits of the freedom of _expression_ in Denmark, has engendered a wave of indignation at anger in the Muslim world". It said in its editorial that the the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamic Jihad, Syria, the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) and the Arab ministries of foreign affairs now blame the free secular and democratic world of publishing a dozen caricatures. Now they want an apology from a society characterized with freedom of _expression_ and religion at a time when they deny their peoples the right to free speech. It continued: We will give no heed to their objections and insist on drawing pictures of Muhammad, Jesus and Buddha, which has everything to do with the freedom of _expression_ we do enjoy in our society. Published last September by the Danish mass-circulation Jyllands-Posten, the 12 cartoons included portrayals of the Prophet wearing a time-bomb shaped turban and showed him as a knife-wielding nomad flanked by shrouded women. Initially passing with little comment, they were later reprinted in a Norwegian magazine, prompting an international uproar and calls for an apology from leading Muslim scholars and politicians alike. The newspaper apologized for offending Muslims by publishing the cartoons, saying, These cartoons were not in violation of Danish law but have irrefutably offended many Muslims, and for that we apologize. Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen expressed alarm Tuesday at the wave of anger in the Muslim world prompted by the caricatures. "We are up against uncontrollable forces. It will take a huge effort to calm things down," he told Danish media after the offices of the paper which first published the controversial cartoons were evacuated following a bomb scare. Punishment
But the furor in the Arab and Muslim worlds after the apology is far from being over with Arab interior ministers saying Denmark should punish the newspaper. "We ask the Danish authorities to take the necessary measures to punish those responsible of this harm and to take action to avoid its repeat," the ministers said in a statement carried by Reuters. The statement came at the end of two-day meeting in Tunis to discuss ways of strengthening cooperation against terrorism in the region. Muslim scholars and other opinion leaders in the Muslim world also asked for the newspaper to be punished to avoid the publication of a similarly offensive material in future. Diplomats said it would be a political blunder for the ministers who are at the forefront of the fight against extremists to avoid the issue of the Danish cartoons and appear unenthusiastic defenders of Prophet Muhammad. Arab commentators dismissed the argument that Danish traditions of tolerance and respect for press freedoms barred the government from taking action against the newspaper. "Why do they talk about democracy and freedom of _expression_ just when the issue concerns Islam? If it concerns other religions the facts will change", said Amr Moussa, the Arab League chief, who attended the gathering. Malaysian Protest Also an influential Malaysian Muslim organization Wednesday urged the government to protest to Denmark over the caricatures. The Muslim Consumers Association of Malaysia, which claims 100,000 members, also called on Copenhagen to apologize over the 12 cartoons. "As a Muslim country we do find this kind of thing is insulting our feelings," said Noor Nirwandy Noordin, project coordinator from the group which spearheaded a high-profile boycott of Thai goods over the treatment of its Muslim minority. "We want the Malaysian government, our prime minister, to send a protest to Denmark," he told AFP. "Denmark has to send through their embassy a formal apology letter to the Muslim community in Malaysia ... it is necessary for them to apologize to every Muslim country in the world." An apology will "send a message or signal to other countries to respect other religions," added Noordin. The Muslim world's two main political bodies -- the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) and the Arab League -- said Sunday, January 29, they were seeking a UN resolution, backed by possible sanctions, to protect religions in response to the furor. Danish embassies in the Middle East have been the scenes of protests, a Danish flag was burnt by angry Palestinian demonstrators in Gaza and Gulf retailers pulled Danish products off their shelves. *************************************************************************** {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] -------------------------------------------------------------------------- All views expressed herein belong to the individuals concerned and do not in any way reflect the official views of IslamCity unless sanctioned or approved otherwise. If your mailbox clogged with mails from IslamCity, you may wish to get a daily digest of emails by logging-on to http://www.yahoogroups.com to change your mail delivery settings or email the moderators at [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the title "change to daily digest".
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