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Denmark and Jyllands-Posten: The background to a provocation

By Peter Schwarz
10 February 2006

Last autumn Jyllands-Posten assigned 40 prominent Danish caricaturists to draw the Prophet Muhammad. Twelve responded and the results were published on September 30. The project was deliberately designed to provoke.

When the anticipated reaction by the Muslim community failed to arise, the newspaper continued its campaign, determined to create a full-scale scandal. After a week had gone by without protest, journalists turned on Danish Islamic religious leaders who were well known for their fundamentalist views and demanded: “Why don’t you protest?” Eventually, the latter reacted and alerted their co-thinkers in the Middle East.

At this point the head of the Danish government, Andres Fogh Rasmussen, and the xenophobic Danish People’s Party, which is part of the ruling coalition, swung into action. Fogh Rasmussen demonstratively turned down appeals by concerned Arab ambassadors for talks to clarify the issue. Even after 22 former Danish ambassadors appealed to the prime minister to hold discussions with the representatives of Islamic states, Rasmussen maintained his stance, arguing that “freedom of the press” could not be a topic for diplomatic discussion.

The chairperson of the Danish People’s Party, Pia Kjaersgaard, insulted Danish Muslims who complained about the caricatures, publicly denouncing them as national traitors because they supposedly placed their religious beliefs above free speech.

From the start, the campaign had nothing to do with “free speech” and everything to do with the political agenda of the Fogh Rasmussen government, comprising of a coalition of right-wing neo-liberals and conservatives, together with the Danish People’s Party.

The latter rose to prominence in the 1990s when all of the country’s bourgeois parties—including the then-governing Social Democrats—responded to a mounting social crisis with xenophobic campaigns. The People’s Party declared at the time that Islam was a “cancerous ulcer” and “terrorist movement.” Kjaersgaard, notorious for her racist outbursts, declared that the Islamic world could not be regarded as civilized. “There is only one civilization, and that is ours,” she said........

GZ Tan

come back sometime... you have good arguments.

Robert,

You totally lost me on your last posting.
When did I ever attack your faith or others on these forums?
All my postings are the same and the same goes for my blogspot.
Is this the same Robert?

To all right thinking Australians and non dhimmified western countries. The time sadly is approaching when we shall have to deport islam and its peoples from our sunny shores.
You would no more take a dangerous dog into your house, so why would we bring these obviously dangerous people to our country, its ludicrous.Theres no such thing as moderate muslims only those that have not answered the call to jihad.
The hoohaa about the silly cartoons has only served to open the wests eyes to the dangers of this sadistic religion.
If there were a referendum tommorow there would be a good chance youd all be loaded on a boat and sent back to what ever awful hell hole you came from.
PS: mohummed was a child molesting, raping, murderous bastard and probably a pig defiler.
Cop that.....

Thank you, R0bert, for a good laugh. I have been rather ill lately and needed a good belly laugh.

My personal jury is out regards to FH - how do you explain his blogspot? While some of his posts have become a little more prickly lately - with the bullying from the C.C.'s (christian contingent), who can blame him? They are intolerant and rude. I do hope that FH is not an MM.

Which brings me to your theory that the C.C.'s are indeed a plot to make christians look bad. Has a lot of merit. And answers a lot of questions. I think you may be right.

Good thinking 86

There is hope for goodness and niceness yet.

LOL

99

Hi Scout,

I guess you got a point my last few postings sounded a bit more annoyed than usual. I cannot believe the agressive hateful attitude of some people on these forums who claim to be Christians!

Robert,

I wasn't aware of any of my postings could offend you. Apologies if you were.
I am not sure if your last posting was out of anger or just denial of a fact that there are nasty people on these forums whose primary focus is Islam bashing.

As for your comment on re poor helpless Muslims, I think I managed to sustain a logical, theological and nation building arguments with a lot of people on these forums. Many other Muslims came to these forums for a short while then just gave up from the level of prejudice they experienced.

Peace,