Fri 10 Feb 2006
1. The newspaper publishing the cartoons apologized on Jan 31, about 10 days ago.
2. Danish ambassador in Bagladesh, has apologized on behalf of his governmnet.
Now what else we can demand?
Shut the newspaper?
Hang the editors and the cartoonist?
The cultural editor has already been sent to indefinite leave.
The cartoonist is reportedly hiding in fear of life.
How we want to punish those reponsible for publishing the cartoons?Does Denmark have any law to do so?
We are liberal and progressive , always campaign for abolishing draconian anti freedome of speech laws. We demand that all the laws, those can be used to punish a journalist, cartoonist or artist should cease to exist.
Eaxctly that is probably the case of Denmak. They probably don’t have any law to punish a someone for opinions published in a newspaper.
Now more demands are coming to punish Denmark as a whole. Danish embassies are being arsoned, torched. Danish products are being boycotted.
.
The newspaper that publised the cartoons is apparently a right wing newspaper. Why punish all of Denmark for for the crimes committed by a handful? Isn’t it confusing? We, in one hand, blame the west for punishing the whole Muslim community for crimes committed by one Osama Bin Laden, and at the same time are doing the same mistake. Boycotting all danish products, punishing all of Denmark for crimes committed by a handful. It isn’t right. Should all of Bangladesh be punished for all what is written in Inqilab or Shangram or even janakantha?
Sevral years ago, Indian artist MF Hussein fell in the wrath of Hindu zealots for drawing a nude painting of an Hindu Goddess. Did India Hang M F Hussein? How would the rest of the world feel if India gave in to the street demands of right wing Hindus and did punish M F Hussein?
Before we burn Danish Flags, call for boycott of danish products, lets remember a friend of need.,DANIDA, the Danish International developement Agency. Bangladesh has been one of the main recipients of Danish assistance since its independence in 1971. Disbursements in Bangladesh increased from 144 million DKK in 1995 to 202 million DKK in 2004. Even in terms of foreign investment in Bangladesh, Denmark ranks 14th in 2002, way ahead of our ummah friends like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Malaysia etc.
It is true, what the Danish newspaper did is nothing but a blatant display of arrogance and hypocrisy recently being observed in a group of western population.
And it is harmful in more than one way. This event has given the cornered, transientltly contained violent Islamist groups in Bangladesh and rest of Muslim world a chance to come out of the hiding hole again. ” Khatme Nobuot”, the violence loving Islamist party held a huge rally in Dhaka today and their leaders delivered fiery sermons which were visible all over the electronic media in Bangladesh.
We have to remember, it is the time to remain calm. Lets not protest arrogance, ignorance and stupidity with greater display of arrogance, ignorance and stupidity. Lets cease this opportunity and educate the west about the teachings of Islam, the religion of peace. Lets educate them how Islam strictly rules against images of God or prophet. Lets teach west the rationale behind forbidding the idolization of Muhammad.
And at the same time while we protest the pencil caricature in a Danish newspaper, lets also show the guts to protest the caruicature using human bodies and blood in the streets of muslim countries. What is more henious? A cartoon or the suicide bombing of school bus, killing innocent children in Iraq? Or the bombing in wedding reception in Jordan? Or kidnapping of journalist Jill Carroll and force her into wearing Hijab and threat her of slaughtering?What justifies killing fellow Muslims because they are Shi’ite or Ahmadiya or Sunni of a different sect? Why collective muslim conscience is so quite in protesting those crimes?
-Rumi.
February 11th, 2006 at 12:49 pm
The article calls to attention important factors surrounding the event. However, I feel that it is confusing to lump together issues that were brought up in the last part. Each of the incidences have their own context, and while I am not saying that you don’t have a valid point in bringing them up, I feel it is sorely misplaced and diverts attention away from a very focused event. It is counterproductive to call for self-introspection (your call to the Muslim ummah to challenge their own double standards) and show legitimate protest for this particular event in the same breathe.
February 11th, 2006 at 8:08 pm
i think that boycott could have been a good way to show our protest. However, boycotts usually dont last. How many of us would be willing to not buy Danish milk in Bangladesh?
February 11th, 2006 at 11:23 pm
Personally I do not support violence what Muslims of present day are doing. But if we do not react and let them go, then day after tomorrow they or others will try to do something more stupid. I also think that boycott could have been a good way to show our strong protest without violence. And do you know Mr. Rumi? Desnish president didn’t apologize before this product avoiding. Would you please let me know then what to do instead?
I personally think the resignation of the newspaper editor and the home minister of Denmark and the formal apology by Danish President should be enough for the Muslim World.
I am extremely sorry that I could not catch your main point when you brought up different contexts together.
February 12th, 2006 at 7:39 am
I have an incomplete list of Danish products/brands that can come under boycott in my blog. http://www.iwrnews.org/tasneem/archives/55
February 12th, 2006 at 7:48 pm
Novera,
if the rightwing columnist Ann Coulter writes something against the Muslims (which she did here, can we expect the home minister of America to resign? Just like individual columns or editors do not represent the govt or the country over in the US, why should it be any different for the Danes?
Asif
February 13th, 2006 at 3:33 pm
The objective of the Danish paper was to see if the Muslims are still behaving like reactive simians, and to their amazement, they have discovered that it is the case. It is worst amongst those, beyond the Arabian shores, who were converted to Islam. Bangladesh is a good example of this.
February 13th, 2006 at 4:02 pm
Boycott? for what? I don’t underestand onething. There are thousand of corruption happening everyday in our country. There are so many innocent diying everyday in Bangladesh.We don’t care and dont have time to look at those but look at you all how much time we are spending to boycott Denish stuff.Is it really somthing major?Samething happen when SALMAN RUSHDY wrote his satanic verses. What happen to him what could possible have done? That is the main problem in our ISlamic society.We all by some how dominated by fundamentalist and the funniest thing is we are the people open a Human Rights Organization. Wonderfull.
February 13th, 2006 at 7:39 pm
I don’t understand one thing. Why would we boycott Danish product? In a free society the Government cannot intervene in Freedom of Press. We have seen a bad example of this. It is no way a Danish evil, it’s a evil newspapers ploy to stir up emotions. When Govt. has control over newspapers even worse things happen. Remember Ershad
February 15th, 2006 at 6:33 am
just as freedom of speech is exercised here in the heartlands of europe. so must we exercise our consumer rights. we do not have to endorse danish products, simply avoid them. this is the protest that will best represent our islamic community.
furthermore violence and islam are two words easily banded together. protest with cash. not with violence.
February 19th, 2006 at 4:55 am
Provocations lead to the cartoons, so even muslims in Denmark were responsible.
In other words it is a result of mistrust between muslims and non-muslims. Because of your anger and your protests a lot of people, muslims as well as non-muslims in Denmark have taken actions to solve the problem.
So, fight for your Prophet, but with intelligence.
February 26th, 2006 at 3:18 am
It is good danish cartoonist realize, that what he did. we muslims want peace and nothing. There is sect between us but in the time we become one hand.
February 27th, 2006 at 6:49 am
Most Respected Readers,
Being followers of Muhammad (SAW).
We Should take action as much as one can do.
for example i can stop using products at my home. alhamdo lillah i have started.”
Not more 365 days you can give loss o 362 millions dollars to Denmark. i think it will be great punishiment if we start from today. One Mobilephone company from Norway in Pakistan is suffuring from Denmark Stupidies and ppl are closing their phone connections day by day and soon u will hear it is closed.
We also stress our governments to take a proper action so that ppl donot protest on public places in this way the enemy of islam taking advantage of the situation 2 in one.
You will be amazed to know the shit decision of EU, to read Click this link or copy to ur browser
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4716398.stm
Muhammad Zubair
Lahore Pakistan
March 1st, 2006 at 4:26 pm
In a secular democracy, people have the right to make fun of God. That’s what the Danish cartoonists did. What is so wrong with it?
March 1st, 2006 at 5:46 pm
Nothing is wrong with that, but if people are hurt by it, then they have the right to protest against it too, in a dissent way. Freedom applies to all. I just wan’t the fight for the Prophet to become a fight against mistrust. It is in this case wrong to make some specific responsible for the cartoons. The fight against mistrust can also gain support from non-muslims in the world. If islamic countries had taken that intelligent approach against Denmark at the beginning, then many newspapers wouldn’t have reprinted the cartoons.
March 1st, 2006 at 6:04 pm
Sorry, decent not dissent.
March 2nd, 2006 at 6:46 pm
Bo, well said! Since you are in Denmark, can you tell me how are things in Denmark among general populace?
March 3rd, 2006 at 8:59 am
I will try, but of course, I do not have the complete overview or statistical information to back up my point of view.
Well, I think people in generally now act more responsible. Most of us, moslims as well as non-moslims understand now from where, the mistrust originates.
First of all it originates from selective information, then generalisations and then some statistical facts. To that you can add a few lies but not many, because it is not so easy to get away with lies in an open democratic society in the long run.
We have some religious leaders claiming that they speek for all moslims and that the constitution and our ligislation really don’t apply to moslims because they have the Queran. Such a point of view creates mistrust against moslims, unless some other moslims take a stand and openly declare that these people are not speaking for me.
That has happened now. And these moslims have gained support from a lot of etnic danes. Further more it has turned out, that these religous leaders only have a fraction of supporters among moslims. But on the other hand the fraction is not so little, that it can be ignored.
A moslim politician who in the past found it acceptable to support extreme anti-western point of views has now taken an initiative to bring moslims and etnic danes more together. We also had a moslim demonstration for peace and co-existance.
A lot of etnic danes have rallied behind the national party, obviously because they feel that our country is under attack. That party is against Islam, but that is only because they have become a victim of selective information. In the long run they will have to moderate their point of view, since the moslim minority will become more and more favorable for the danish society, especially if they get an education.
The nationalists also know that there is a line they cannot cross. For instance they have kicked out certain extremists, who think it is alright to discriminate moslims, because these people think that moslims somewhat are evil and things like that. In other words they know, that this is not the right approach to solve our problems.
In a forum on the internet were I like to debate, people have a least for a while stoped bashing moslims with generalisations.
In my country a lot of people business people and intellectuals have found it right to support the moslims point of views.
That has prolonged the debate beyond, what anybody finds reasonable and we waste a lot of resources and time because of that. The boycot is now only a small part of that.
However, there is an European dimension to the whole story. In many european countries the moslim minorities are much larger and the mistrust between moslims and non-moslims might be greater in these countries. Who knows what would happen if something similiar should break out in these countries. 2000 cars were recently burned in France in wild demonstartions. Maybe it is not so bad that Denmark deals with this conflict. Though, it is strange, since our problems are small.
March 4th, 2006 at 2:04 pm
Bo
what you say seems to draw an interesting parallel with what was happening to the Jewish community in Europe not so long ago.
March 4th, 2006 at 5:43 pm
Not really, but I see your point. First, the social and economical situation in Europe is different than the one Germany faced in 1930-, and the jews were easy victims, since they are a small people, without so many supporters outside Europe at that time. Second, we all are aware about the historical facts and act acording to these. Third, we have a democracy, and our opposition does their best to point out the weak sides of our goverments policy. In Denmark we also have moslim politician locally and in our parlament.
Anyway, I have never understood the critism against the jews at that time. We didn’t have the same problem in my country.
On the other hand minorities often have difficulties in defending them selve, so it is absolutely wise to look into the matter and try to understand what is going on.
But as I see it, some religious leaders need the mistrust to non-believers. Without the mistrust they are powerless.
But mistrust is bad for business. Wealth is created through cooperation, which means that one has to like everybody, and one has somewhat to trust his neighbour.
I am quite sure we will end up solving the problem, and maybe our aproach will spread to the rest of Europe. However, it will take some time (It took almost 100 years before the Jews really were accepted in my country, but today it will not take that long), and because of the many minorities, extremists and religious groups we have in Europe, there will be some conflicts to come. I therefore think, it is unavoidable that from time to time, cases will pop up in Europe which can be interpretated as an insult to Islam, the Prophet or something else. You should in these cases be very carefull about what you do, because a lot of people are speculating in your reaction, and some are good at it. But if you act wisely, a lot of people will help protecting the honour of the Prophet, not because they are scared of what to come, but because of the greater good.
March 14th, 2006 at 5:27 am
We must understand that all non muslims are one group. they all are one but we muslims are divided in to parts. so i suggest here that we must do Istaghfar and then we should make ourselves as stronger as we can with our own culture of Islam and then we should invite all non muslims to accept Islam and if they creat problems then we should start Jihad aganinst those who are hurddles in the way of God.
March 14th, 2006 at 9:10 am
I really cannot see how, I and other danes are united with the Chinese even when they are non-muslims. Just to take an extreme example. We are not even united internally. That’s the reason why we have democracy, if not, one party would have been enough.
If you really think, that Islam somehow can give me more and others happiness and wealth and can prove it, then I will more or less automatically make use of it, just as I make use of many other values in my life for my own good, and,if not I will reject it. However, I don’t think you are a muslim.