Danish Prime Minister Shocked at Lies

From the desk of Hjörtur J. Guðmundsson on Wed, 2006-01-11 00:53

Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen is shocked at the way in which some Muslims are misrepresenting Denmark in the Islamic world. “I am speechless that those people, whom we have given the right to live in Denmark and where they freely have chosen to stay, are now touring Arab countries and inciting antipathy towards Denmark and the Danish people,” Rasmussen told journalists yesterday.

Rasmussen was responding to the recent visits by certain imams, Muslim intellectuals and representatives of Danish Muslim organizations who toured a number of Muslim countries to “explain” the Danish cartoon affair to local political and religious leaders and media. The affair started last September when the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten published 12 cartoons of Muhammad.

Meanwhile, after last week’s rejection of their complaint by the public prosecutor, Danish Muslim organisations have announced that they will take the newspaper to the European Court of Human Rights over the controversial publication. Islam forbids the depiction of the Muslim prophet. Carsten Juste, the editor of Jyllands-Posten repeated late last week that the daily will not apologise for publishing the cartoons: “We will not apologise, because we live in Denmark under Danish law, and we have freedom of speech in this country. If we apologised, we would betray the generations who have fought for this right, and the moderate Muslims who are democratically minded.”

Rasmussen said he did not want to use the word “treason,” as Pia Kjærsgaard, leader of the Danish People’s Party, has done to describe the Danish Muslims’ visit to the Arab countries. Rasmussen said treason has a certain legal reference and should only be used in appropriate circumstances. He also stressed the necessity of a proper tone in the debate from all parties, but at the same time he said, with a reference to the words of Kjærsgaard, that Denmark had a tradition of wide ranging freedom of expression and one should tolerate the use of this freedom. “As Prime Minister I will not evaluate what other people say nor judge what is proper. The courts decide when someone crosses the line,” he added.

In the Danish Parliament there is general indignation at the Arab visits by the Muslim representatives. However, instead of using strong words the government has decided to ask Danish embassies to correct the misinformation. Previously Rasmussen had urged the Muslim representatives to correct the misinformation themselves. These, however, claim the wrong information did not come from them and that it is therefore not their responsibility but that of the „international press’“.

Meanwhile the 12 cartoons were published on Tuesday in the Norwegian Christian newspaper Magazinet “in support of the freedom of expression.” Magazinet has received much feedback since publishing the cartoons and the overwhelming majority of it has been positive, thanking the newspaper for its initiative in defense of freedom of expression. Much of it has come from Denmark, but also from e.g. Sweden, Great Britain, Canada and the United States. Yesterday the Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet also published the cartoons on its website.

„We are ourselves a nation that has been exposed to increasing Muslim violence against freedom of expression,“ said Vebjørn K. Selbekk, the editor of Magazinet, and referred to the 1993 murder attempt on Willam Nygaard, the Norwegian publisher of Salman Rushdie’s Satanic Verses. Consequently, Selbekk said, Norway has a special responsibility to confront this problem. He said that Norwegian illustrators were tending towards the same self-censorship as their colleagues in Denmark. They do not dare to depict Muhammad for fear of a violent Muslim reaction.

Drawing cartoons of Muslim religious leaders suffices to become the target of threats and even death threats, as Morten M. Kristiansen, illustrator at the Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang, has experienced. He says he often received remarks from Christians when he depicted Jesus Christ and from Muslims when depicting their religious leaders, but in recent years the Muslim remarks have turned into threats.

“We cannot tolerate this in a democratic society,” said Selbekk. Asked if he was himself afraid of reprisals he said: “We have gone astray if we begin to concede on this issue out of fear. Many have already done much to prevent this problem from being hushed up. We hope that by publishing the cartoons we can do our bit.”

Update 14 January 2006

More on this topic:

Jihad Against Danish Paper, 22 October 2005

Cartoon Case Escalates into International Crisis, 27 October 2005

Out of the Iranian Frying Pan into the Danish Fire, 29 October 2005

Pigs Do Not Fly, 17 November 2005

Bounty Offered for Murdering Cartoonists, 4 December 2005

UN to Investigate Racism of Danish Cartoonists, 7 December 2005

Dispatch from the Eurabian Front, 9 December 2005

Europe Criticises Copenhagen over Cartoons, 21 December 2005

Cartoon Case: EU and UN Call Denmark to Account, 28 December 2005

Danish Cartoon Affair: Letter from a Muslim, 31 December 2005

Danish Muslims Divided over Cartoon Affair, 8 January 2006

nutcase (3)

Submitted by Atlanticist911 on Tue, 2009-03-31 18:03.

@ marcfrans

 

What are you implying?

 

 

@ traveller

 

 

Kindly let marcfrans know from me that, although I have been fortunate enough to visit the site of the Battle of Thermopylae, I never met King Leonidas, OR the bloke who betrayed him!

Danny Kaye!

Submitted by marcfrans on Tue, 2009-03-31 17:11.

 

Danny Kaye, mon Dieu (Great Scot)!  You must be an old man, Atlanticist. 

I guess, the ability to laugh with the stupidities of man (especially of presumed civil servants) must be a prerequisite for reaching (your) 'old age'.

And, yet, treachery is serious business.  

 

@ Atlanticist911

Submitted by traveller on Tue, 2009-03-31 17:44.

I hate you. As soon as I saw the reaction of marcfrans I went on the link and since I am in a french speaking country I received the killer: this video is not to be seen in your country. Christ almighty, Danny Kaye banned in a french speaking country.

Another nutcase masquerading as a 'civil servant'

Submitted by marcfrans on Tue, 2009-03-31 16:12.

Apparently, the Danish intelligence service employed at least 1 'civil servant' who had no qualms about disclosing "secret reports".  That is, of course, a predicament that other Western governments face as well, and that helps explain the difficulties that open democratic societies encounter in their struggles with the world's authoritarians and totalitarians.  I guess there is no need to place a link here to 'movies' depicting what happened in Saddam's Iraq to civil servants disclosing "secret reports" (or simply suspected of disclosing such reports).  

This presumed 'civil servant' seems perversely proud to reveal (anonymously, of course) his treachery. And where does he do this? Well, he does it in the context of an article that describes some of the difficulties that the Danish authorities faced in trying to maintain freedom of speech (the hallmark of democracy) in the face of intimidation and murder originating from islamist fascists. Now, isn't that a supreme kind of irony, and an illustration of the stupidities of which 'man' is capable?

Five years ago, when I was

Submitted by patsanreal on Tue, 2009-03-31 08:44.

Five years ago, when I was employed by the Danish defence intelligence service (the equivalent of the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency), I disclosed secret reports, mostly copied from documents received from the U.S. and the U.K., revealing that Fogh Rasmussen lied intentionally to the Danish parliament, when he claimed to have firm intelligence documenting that Iraq under its former dictator Saddam Hussein was defying U.N. resolutions demanding it to cease its WMD programs and allow for inspections. download movies canadian rx drugs canada rx pharmacy canada rx pharmacy canadian online rx

What IS accordant however,

Submitted by drugan on Fri, 2009-01-09 08:20.

What IS accordant however, is the new account about the "lies"...

A
Danish daily, Ekstra Bladet, has gotten its easily on the affidavit
accepting handed out in the Middle-East by "danish" muslims.

It
seems the caricatures printed by Jyllands-Posten, as able-bodied as
those printed by Weekendavisen, weren't abhorrent enough. The "Danish"
muslims brought 3 pictures of alien origin. 1 showed the astrologer
with a pigsnout, addition showed the astrologer as a affectionate of
pedophile devil and the third showed a praying muslim accepting anally
abused by dog during prayer.

Ekstra Bladet is currently alive on
advice the arabic argument of the papers, so I assumption we can
apprehend to apprehend of added lies, and in greater detail, anon
enough. hd movies cheap

Weight Loss

balder

Submitted by peace on Sun, 2006-02-19 21:02.

if u r proud of yourself and want more innocents to be put in jails and uSA to invade more islamic countries..what can i say to u...who is the real terroist here..u r a hopeless case..
i hope any wise man here to reply to u.
althoughi doubt that

To Balder Re: Peace

Submitted by A New Believer on Mon, 2006-02-20 20:38.

Ah Balder according to peace it is only the opinion of wise men that count.. no Women. And what would make you wise Balder.. if you accepted islam and all its tenets, it lies and fallacies. Then I suppose you would be wise.. So I ask you.. Will you stand here with thiis stupid idiotic, woman who acording to muslim men has no brain if I tell you most assuredly that there is nothing there for you to believe or even to accept. Because I count you as a fellow human being and a brother.. I am proud of my Danish brother and I tell you this. I would rather be considered nothing by them than a wise woman. Hopes you will not be wise either *winks*

Odin be Praised! Baldur Save Us!

I don't think we can call

Submitted by Balder on Mon, 2006-02-20 21:06.

I don't think we can call Peace a wise woman. But look at the bright side she fills out the hole in Darwings theories. The missling link that binds man to the ape. She don't understand the woman has the same intellectual capabilites as a man. There as many wise women as men.

Q) Why do Muslim men grow a beard...
A) To look like their mothers..

To Balder

Submitted by A New Believer on Mon, 2006-02-20 22:48.

*holds my sides laughing hard* Please , please I am going to need a box of tissues

Odin be Praised! Baldur Save Us!

I'm proud.

Submitted by Balder on Sun, 2006-02-19 21:18.

I guess the next Islamic country will be Iran. We will need to hit them before they got the bomb. Preventive strikes is the way to go.
The only problem I can see is the need for larger prison camps, where the wost potential terrorists can be stored.

to codymega

Submitted by peace on Sun, 2006-02-19 20:30.

you said;If there is a way of life to take a person, backwards, then Islam it is, as the 22 Arab countries have abundantly proven. Which Muslim country adequately provides the basic necessities of life for its people - none?
sure when muslisms by your confesstion here were living in spain for over tahn 700 years ,they were able to to provide more than enough for life for its people....
it is logic..is not it? admitt that...
atthat time no one could even dare to invade ,occupy or take a muslim as detainee in one of your shamfull jails...

Jails are full of Muslims

Submitted by Balder on Sun, 2006-02-19 20:54.

How can you see any positive things in the 700 years of plundring Spanish soil. I'm happy that Charlemagne together with Olgier the Dane defeated the Muslims at battle of Roncesvalles. Otherwise we would have suffered the same fate as the brave Spanish people.

US and it's allied invaded muslim countries and put hundreds of crimminals/terrorist in Guantanamo Bay prison. It can be done :-) It will be done in the future..

Isolated instance

Submitted by Bob Doney on Sun, 2006-02-19 20:16.

Yes, OK. One or two isolated instances..... I'm sure, though, that there must have been vigorous demonstrations against each and every one of them by moderate Muslims who would clearly be offended by such goings-on done in the name of Islam. Haven't there?

Bob Doney

Action needs to be taken

Submitted by Arthur (not verified) on Sun, 2006-01-15 13:23.

These cartoons should be published prominently in every newspaper, shown on every TV channel, and posted all over the internet. The only way to combat these facists is to use our greatest weapons - our voices - to spread freedom.

THIS is why the middle east MUST be reformed. The Enlightenment MUST be spread to the Middle East. (and if you don't know what the Enlightenment is, look it up in Wikipedia, because that is what we are fighting for - Jefferson, Smith, Voltaire, etc.).

to arthur

Submitted by peace on Sun, 2006-02-19 20:11.

be happy u already spread your western Enlightenment through abougharib and gauntanmo jail.
are not people ashamad even for a second ..do u have blood.

The usual double standards.

Submitted by Balder on Sun, 2006-02-19 20:28.

There exist a double standart in some "western" countries. US and UK media have no problem showing abu-grail pictures. Brits beating up crimminals. Jews pictured as blood sucking creature. Cartoons mocking Jesus. Muslim pigs in Iran burning the Christian Cross.
But showing a innocent cartoon where a so-called prophet has a bomb in a turban, that's impossible because it can offend the voilent islamofacist. They media in US and UK are hyppocrits !!!

Glad I'm on contenental Europa where we have free speech. Proud of being Danish !

balder

Submitted by peace on Sun, 2006-02-19 20:43.

u r really show your own double standard and.
do i extract from your words that you feel upset when u see the cross burnt or what...

your intolerant is clearly shown by your attck of BBC because it just has its own opinion and u attack clinton because he said an opinion which u donot like.....so you attck anyone who says any opinion which is just different from yours as if u r the right side and all others are without mind and mistaken....

u even attack UK due to BBC.....
be proud of yourself and of your narrow minded MR...u will never changed..
u r just an example of taht italian minister who wore the T shirt with the awful cartoon

Enlightenment

Submitted by Bob Doney on Sun, 2006-01-15 14:34.

The Enlightenment MUST be spread to the Middle East.

Yes, indeedy. But it might be an idea to try to spread it in Europe and America first. If the West can't get it, why should the Middle Easterners? Remind me again, how many Americans believe in alien abduction? And how many people follow their horoscopes?

Bob Doney

Hmm... My comment didn't

Submitted by DanishDynamite (not verified) on Thu, 2006-01-12 12:29.

Hmm... My comment didn't make it through it seems. Let me try again.

From the interviews of Anders Foght Rasmussen I've seen on this subject, I'd say a more proper translation would be "amazed" instead of "shocked". But it's a minor thing and not really relevant.

What IS relevant however, is the new news about the "lies"...
A Danish daily, Ekstra Bladet, has gotten its hands on the papers being handed out in the Middle-East by "danish" muslims.
It seems the caricatures printed by Jyllands-Posten, as well as those printed by Weekendavisen, weren't offensive enough. The "Danish" muslims brought 3 pictures of unknown origin. 1 showed the prophet with a pigsnout, another showed the prophet as a kind of pedophile devil and the third showed a praying muslim getting anally abused by dog during prayer.
Ekstra Bladet is currently working on translating the arabic text of the papers, so I guess we can expect to hear of more lies, and in greater detail, soon enough.

If you wanna view the 3 pitures of unknown origin, you can find them on the following links, although the quality is quite poor:
http://ekstrabladet.dk/grafik/nettet/tegninger38.jpg
http://ekstrabladet.dk/grafik/nettet/tegninger39.jpg
http://ekstrabladet.dk/grafik/nettet/tegninger40.jpg

Dunno if my previous comment

Submitted by DanishDynamite (not verified) on Thu, 2006-01-12 12:21.

Dunno if my previous comment made it through, but I should probably have said pictures instead of caricatures with regard to the 3 of unknown origin.