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January 9, 2006
Denmark: Muslim Cartoons Cause Minister To Contact Arab League
From the Copenhagen Post from Friday. Denmark's foreign minister, Per Stig Moller (pictured) spoke by phone to Amr Moussa, secretary general of the Arabic League, to attempt to ease tensions between Denmark and the Islamic world.
The problems with Denmark's Muslim relations soured when newspaper Jyllands-Posten invited artists to submit proposed illustrations for a book on the prophet Mohammed, and printed 12 of these. The reason why the pictures were commissioned was that, in September, a book being published on Islam by Kare Buitgen had found no illustrators willing to dare draw images for its pages.
It is traditionally considered forbidden by Islam to depict Mohammed, and various groups were incensed by the illustrations selected for publication in Jyllands-Posten. Carsten Juste, editor of the paper, has said he does not set out to offend Muslims, but will not repudiate their publication.
The newspaper was even criticised by the vice-president of the EU Commission, Franco Frattini.
Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the Danish prime minister, has consistently supported the freedom of speech expressed by Jyllands Posten and the illustrators, some of whom have received death threats. Ambassadors from 11 Muslim nations wrote to Rasmussen, but he refused to see them, and would not condemn the newspaper's decision to publish the cartoons.
At a New Year's address to the nation, Rasmussen tried to show that he understood the Muslim view. The speech, which was also translated into Arabic, was viewed as a positive step by Muslims.
As a result of Per Stig Moller's conversation with Amr Moussa, the two have agreed that in future the newspaper's decision to publish the pictures should not interfere with relations between Denmark as a nation and the Arab League.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at January 9, 2006 8:45 PM
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