Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy

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Page three of Jyllands-Posten's culture section from 2005-09-30 with the twelve drawings of Muhammad.

The Muhammad Drawings are twelve editorial cartoons of the Islamic prophet Muhammad which were printed in the Danish daily newspaper Jyllands-Posten on September 30, 2005 (and later in the Norwegian Christian newspaper Magazinet), including one suggesting he had a bomb in his turban. The drawings are satirical illustrations accompanying an article on self-censorship and freedom of speech. They were also meant to highlight the allegation by the Danish writer Kåre Bluitgen that no artist was willing to illustrate a children's book about Muhammad without remaining anonymous, out of fear of revenge from extremist Muslims because depicting Muhammad is prohibited in Islam (see aniconism).

While the newspaper maintains that the drawings were an exercise in free speech, many Muslims in Denmark and further afield viewed them as a provocation. Two newspaper cartoonists were reportedly driven into hiding after death threats were issued against them and the paper revised and heightened its security procedures. The foreign ministries of eleven Islamic countries demanded action from the Danish government, and Libya eventually closed its embassy in Denmark in protest after the government refused to censure the newspaper or apologise. A large and successful consumer boycott was organized in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. International Islamic organizations have demanded United Nations sanctions against Denmark.

Background

Debate about self-censorship

On 2005-09-17, Danish newspaper Politiken ran the article "Dyb angst for kritik af islam" ("Deep fear of criticism of Islam"). The article cited how the writer Kåre Bluitgen was turned down three times, before an anonymous artist accepted the task of illustrating Bluitgen's book on Muhammad "Koranen og profeten Muhammeds liv" ("The Qur'an and the prophet Muhammad's life"). Kåre Bluitgen is cited in the article for the following:

One said no with reference to the murder in Amsterdam of the film instructor Theo van Gogh, while another said no with reference to the episode against the educator at the Carsten Niebuhr Institute in Copenhagen.

In October 2004, an educator was beaten by five persons who expressed dissatisfaction with the fact that the educator had read from the Qur'an for non-muslims at a lecture at the Niebuhr institute at University of Copenhagen .

The matter of the artist's self-censorship subsequently caused much debate. It was brought up that comedian Frank Hvam had stated that he did not dare "take a piss on the Qur'an on TV" and that translators of an Islam-critical essay collection also wanted to be anonymous due to fear of the consequences.

Publication of the drawings

On 2005-09-30, Jyllands-Posten published an article titled "Muhammeds ansigt" ("Muhammad's face"). The article consisted of 12 satirical drawings of the prophet Muhammad and an explanatory text, written by Jyllands-Posten's editor of culture, Flemming Rose:

"The modern, secular society is rejected by some Muslims. They demand a special position, insisting on special consideration of their own religious feelings. It is incompatible with temporal democracy and freedom of speech, where you must be ready to put up with insults, mockery and ridicule. It is certainly not always equally attractive and nice to look at, and it does not mean that religious feelings should be made fun of at any price, but that is less important in this context. [...] we are on our way to a slippery slope where no-one can tell how the self-censorship will end. That is why Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten has invited members of the Danish editorial cartoonists union to draw Muhammad as they see him. [...]"

The 12 drawings were drawn by 12 different caricaturists, after an invitation from Jyllands-Posten for around 40 different artists to give their interpretation on how Muhammad may have looked. The 12 drawings are very different:

• Muhammad as a wanderer, with a donkey.
• The face of Muhammad as a part of the Islamic star and crescent symbol, his right eye the star.
• One shows a nervous caricaturist, shakingly drawing Muhammad while looking over his shoulder.
• Another shows Kåre Bluitgen, wearing a turban with the proverbial orange dropping, with the inscription "pr stunt". An "orange in the turban" is a Danish proverb meaning "a stroke of luck." In his hand is a stick drawing of Muhammad.
• An Arabic looking boy in front of a blackboard, pointing to the Arabic chalkings, which translate into "the editorial team of Jyllands-Posten is a bunch of reactionary provocateurs". The boy is labelled "Mohammed, Valby school, 7.A", implying that this Muhammed is a Danish second-generation immigrant rather than a prophet.
• The most controversial drawing shows Muhammad with a bomb in his turban, with a lit fuse and the Islamic creed written on the bomb.
• Another drawing shows Muhammad with a knife and a black beam in front of his eyes. He is flanked by two women in burkas.
• Muhammad standing on a cloud, greeting dead suicide bombers with "Stop, stop, we ran out of virgins!", an allusion to the promised reward to martyrs.
• Two angry Muslims charge forward with sabres and bombs, while Muhammad addresses them with "Calm now, friends, all being said, it is just a picture drawn by an infidel Southjute", Jutland being the provincial part of Denmark.
• Muhammad standing with a halo resembling a crescent moon.
• An abstract drawing of crescent moons and Stars of David, and a poem on oppression of women. The poem goes in the lines of: "Prophet! daft and dumb, keeping woman under thumb"
• A police line-up of Muhammad, Jesus, Buddha, Kåre Bluitgen, Danish nationalist politician Pia Kjærsgaard and others, with the witness saying: "Hm... I can't really recognize him..."

One or more of these drawings have been shown in Jyllands Posten before this date, without drawing major criticism, according to the JP chief editor.

Islamic art

Main article: [[:aniconism and Islamic art]]

Islamic tradition bans any depiction of the prophets either in drawing or statues, even respectful ones, out of concern that such images could lead to idolatry, and thus worshipping of Muhammad instead of the One God. However, some Muslims do not subscribe to this and several representations of Muhammad in Islamic art do in fact exist. Certain historical attempts have been made depicting Muhammad as a merchant and attempts to draw the prophet showing the prophet's face were extremely rare; depictions were mostly practiced by the Ottomans from Turkey. In modern times however more and more controversial depictions have started to take place as a consequence of the ease of the Internet.

International consequences

On 2005-10-19 eleven ambassadors from Islamic countries, including Algeria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Morocco, Pakistan, Palestine, Libya, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey sent a letter to Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen requesting a meeting and for him to distance himself from hate speech, including remarks by MP Louise Frevert, Culture Minister of Denmark Brian Mikkelsen, and nationalistic radio Radio Holger. Rasmussen declined, saying that the government could not interfere with the right to free speech, but said that cases of blasphemy and discrimination could be tried at the courts .

On 2005-12-29 the Arab League criticised the Danish government for its handling of the affair. Foreign minister Per Stig Møller responded, saying that the situation had been misrepresented.

In late January, 2006, Saudi Arabia and Libya recalled their ambassadors and Libya has said it will close its embassy in Denmark . The embassy of Pakistan in Copenhagen told the Danish prime minister, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, to penalise the cartoonists. The controversy produced labour strikes and protests in Pakistan and Kashmir. In Bahrain MPs called for an extraordinary session of parliament to discuss the cartoons, while protestors set Danish dairy products ablaze. Al Menbar MP Mohammed Khaled has demanded that Arab leaders take action: "We are stunned by the silence of the Arab leaders. They don't tolerate any criticism against them, yet allow others to insult the Prophet." Thousands of Palestinians protested and gunmen in Gaza threatened violence against any Scandinavians in the area. citation needed

Franco Frattini, the vice-President of the European Commission, called the publication of the twelve cartoons "thoughtless and inappropriate" in a time when animosity towards Islam is on the rise. According to Frattini, the EU Commissioner for Justice, Freedom, and Security, the cartoons foment hostility against Islam and foreigners:

Honestly, these kinds of drawings can add to the growing Islamophobia in Europe. I fully respect the freedom of speech, but, excuse me, one should avoid making any statement like this, which only arouses and incites to the growing radicalisation.

When speaking in Qatar, former U.S. president Bill Clinton condemned the Danish cartoons, comparing historical anti-semitism in Europe with alleged anti-Islamic feeling today: "So now what are we going to do? ... Replace the anti-Semitic prejudice with anti-Islamic prejudice?"

In late January, 2006, Danish flags and Norwegian flags were burned in streets across the Middle East. The Danish foreign ministry advised Danes to take care when travelling in Muslim countries. Demonstrations were held in Baghdad to protest the creation of the pictures. At the same time the Danish government learned that a fatwa had been declared against the Danish troops stationed in Iraq. The government is not certain what the fatwa will entail, but has heightened security for the troops.

Boycotts

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In early January the Egyptian government threatened Denmark with a boycott of Danish products, but did not carry out its threat. However, people in Saudi Arabia called for a boycott on 2006-01-20, and carried out the boycott on Danish products starting 2006-01-26. The boycott primarily targeted dairy products produced by Arla Foods, but has also hit other products. The boycott has spread to Kuwait where the country's largest retail-chain, Coop, owned by the state, has taken all Danish products off the shelves. This has lead to the organisation of Danish industries sending an open letter to Jyllands-Posten where they state that the paper should comment on these events because they feel their members are caught in a 'battle' between religious movements and the paper.The newspaper has reacted to the letter and said that "Dictatorships should not dictate what Danish newspapers are to draw and write". They also feel they've already given an apology to the Muslims for offending them.

The Foreign Minister of Denmark, Per Stig Møller, stated that the boycott has not been initiated by the Saudi Arabian government. The Danish dairy-company Arla Foods launched a massive ad-campaign in Saudi Arabia, trying to improve their reputation and stop the boycott. This happened after their sales in Saudi Arabia almost came to a complete stop. The text for the ads has been written by the Danish ambassador in Saudi Arabia, Hans Klingenberg and includes passages from the Prime Minister of Denmark's New Year's speech. Arla exports account for almost 380 million Euros a year. .

In Scandinavia

A small Norwegian Christian magazine, Magazinet, printed the drawings after getting authorization from Jyllands-Posten and it led to a great debate in Norway as well. A Norwegian man made a threat against the lives of the people at the magazine, but later claimed, when faced by the police, that it was just a prank. Some Swedish newspapers have considered printing the drawings as well. The Norwegian Foreign Ministry sent a letter to their ambassadors in the Middle East stating that one of the pillars of the Norwegian society is freedom of speech, but they expressed regret that Magazinet did not respect Muslims' beliefs. Major newspapers in Norway had printed facsimiles from Jyllands-Posten and reproduced all the caricatures in their online versions, but Magazinet reproduced them all in print.

On 2006-01-30, an Islamic organisation, the Mujahedeen Army, called for terror acts against "all available targets" in Denmark and Norway. On the 2006-01-31 bombthreats were made against the newspaper's offices in Århus and Copenhagen.

Reactions pro Denmark

Conservatives, neo-conservatives, strict adherents to the freedom of speech and American weblogs have initiated an American Buy Danish Goods campaign, which is supposed to counter the boycott from Middle east countries.

Opinions in Denmark

The general opinion in Denmark is that the drawings do not violate any blasphemy laws but are promulgating religious hatred. Most people feel that Jyllands-Posten should not apologise for printing the drawings, and that their apology for upsetting Muslims is sufficient. A recent poll from Epinion for Danmarks Radio, the national broadcasting company of Denmark, showed that 79% of Danes believe that the Prime Minister of Denmark should not apologize to the Muslims and 62% believed that neither should Jyllands-Posten.

The organisation named Islamic Society in Denmark wanted the case put forward for a trial to determine whether the publication of the drawings had violated any laws, but the case was dismissed by the public prosecutor before it went to trial, because he found there was no basis for such a trial.

The question of whether the drawings should have been printed in the first place has been discussed a lot in Denmark from letters to the editors of news publications, to national television, to open debate meetings at high schools and universities. The controversy arises from several sources:

• Most Islamic traditions forbid representations of the prophet Muhammad.
• The satirical nature of the drawings was not considered respectful, especially one that shows Muhammad with a bomb in his turban and therefore suggests a link between Islam and terrorism.
• The drawings upset the Muslim community in Denmark at a time when relations between Muslims and mainstream society are strained.

The Islamic Society in Denmark has proposed that a three day celebration of Muhammad should be held in Denmark, putting a focus on the prophet's life. They further proposed that this be coordinated in part by the Islamic Society, Jyllands-Posten, and at least some of the five universities in Denmark. This was declined by the universities, as they do not take part in religious activities.

Rumours and misinformation

When the Islamic Society in Denmark toured the Middle-East to create awareness about the cartoons, they also brought 3 additional images. The first of the three additional pictures, which are of dismal quality, shows Muhammad as a pedophile demon, the second shows the prophet with a pig snout and the third depicts a praying Muslim being raped by a dog.

Akhmad Akkari, spokesman of the 21 Danish Muslim organizations which organized the tour, explained that the three drawings had been added to “give an insight in how hateful the atmosphere in Denmark is towards Muslims.” Akkari claimed he does not know the origin of the three pictures. He said they had been sent anonymously to Danish Muslims. However, when Ekstra Bladet asked if it could talk to these Muslims, Akkari refused to reveal their identity. These images had however never been published in Jyllands-Posten. The society also allegedly exaggerated its membership and the hardships of Muslims in Denmark, for instance claiming to represent 200,000 angry Muslims, when the actual number was in fact less than 15,000. .

BBC World also aired a story showing one of the three non-published images, on 2006-01-30, and wrongly claimed it had been published in Jyllands-Posten.

Other rumours of misinformation include the statement that Jyllands-Posten is a governmentally owned newspaper.

Timeline

• 30 September - The drawings are printed in Jyllands-Posten.
• 8 October - The Islamic Society in Denmark demands that Jyllands-Posten apologise to all Muslims and withdraw the drawings.
• 19 October - Eleven ambassadors request a meeting with the Prime Minister of Denmark, and want him to take legal actions against Jyllands-Posten. The Prime Minister refused to meet the ambassadors, on the grounds that he cannot take legal actions against Jyllands-Posten.
• November-December - A delegation of Imams from the Islamic Society in Denmark travel to the Middle East in order to get reactions towards the drawings.
• In November another Danish newspaper WeekendAvisen published another 10 satirical pictures of the Prophet.
• 7 December - Labour strikes begin in Pakistan in response to the drawings.
• 19 December - Twenty-two former Danish ambassadors criticise the Danish Prime Minister for not meeting with the 11 ambassadors in October.
• 29 December - The Arab League criticises the Danish government for not acting in the matter.
• 1 January - The Danish Prime Minister makes his yearly speech, emphasising that both religion and Freedom of Speech are respected in Denmark.
• 10 January - The Norwegian christian newspaper Magazinet publishes the drawings.
• 26 January:
  • Saudi Arabian people begin boycotting Danish products.
  • Saudi Arabia recalls its Ambassador.
  • The Norwegian government apologises that Magazinet published the drawings, but reiterates the government has no power over the free press.
• 28 January:
  • Danish ambassador in Saudi Arabia is interviewed by American AP-TV, where he criticises Jyllands-Postens lack of judgement and knowledge of Islam, even though the Danish government has not spoken on the matter.
  • OIC states that the Danish government should immediately have condemned the drawings.
• 29 January:
  • Libya closes its embassy in Denmark.
  • The Danish government announces that Denmark's ambassador to Saudi Arabia only expressed his own opinion in the January 28th interview with AP-TV. The government support party, Dansk Folkeparti, demands he be reprimanded.
  • The Danish ambassador in Jordan is summoned for a hearing.
  • The president of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai calls the printing of the images a mistake, and hopes that this will lead to the media being more responsible and respectful in the future.
  • The Flag of Denmark is burned in Nablus and Hebron in Palestine.
  • Yemen's parliament condemns the images.
  • OIC (Organization of Islamic conferences) heads to the UN with a resolution that forbids attacks on religious beliefs.
  • Bahrain condemns the images.
  • Syria also condemns the images.
  • A new denial-of-service attack on Jyllands-Postens homepage. The first happened on January 27.
  • Ekstra Bladet reveals that a Danish Muslim association spreading the story in the Middle East, has claimed that it represents 200,000 Danish Muslims. Its actual membership number is around 15,000.
  • Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement gives Danes, Norwegians and Swedes 48 hours to leave the Gaza Strip.
  • Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades gives Danes and Swedes 72 hours to leave the area.
• 30 January:
  • Jyllands-Posten sends out an apology in both Danish and Arabic. Apologising, not for the printing of the drawings, but for hurting the feelings of Islamic society (Look below for English translation of the apology).
  • Armed Palestinians from the Fatah take over an EU office as a protest against the drawings.
  • The Prime Minister of Denmark says that he personally distances himself from the drawings, but reiterates that the government cannot intervene in what the media writes.
  • The Egyptian parliament encourages consumers to boycott Danish products
  • The European Union backs Denmark, saying that any retaliatory boycott of Danish goods would violate world trade rules.
  • The Danish Red Cross says that it will evacuate some workers in Yemen and the Gaza strip after receiving threats.
  • Jyllands-Posten sends out a second open letter, this time both in Arabic, Danish and English, trying to clear up several misunderstandings, and once again apologizing for hurting the feelings of the Islamic society.
• 31 January:
  • Following a live televised interview on Al-Jazeera, it is reported that the "apology for any offence caused" made at the opening of the interview by Flemming Rose, Jyllands-Posten's cultural editor, was not translated into Arabic.
  • The Danish Muslim association is satisfied with yesterday's apologies from Jyllands-Posten and the Prime Minister, and say they now will help improve the situation. They claim to be deeply sorry and surprised the case got this far.
  • A bomb threat against Jyllands-Posten led to evacuation of the two offices in Aarhus and Copenhagen.
  • Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades has denied that the threat against scandinavians were true.
  • The foreign ministers of seventeen Islamic nations renew demands for the Danish government to punish the authors of the cartoons, and to "ensure that it doesn't happen again."
  • The Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen held a press conference in both Danish and English, where he repeats, that he urges Danes not to take any action that could worsen the situation. He urges muslims in Denmark to take actions that can improve the situation. He also repeats, that freedom of expression is a vital part of the Danish society, and that the Danish government is not in a position to have any influence on what the press is printing. He stated that he wants to come back to a situation of dialogue, based on the friendship, that has existed for a long time between Denmark and the muslim world. The prime minister has been asked by the TV sender Al Jazeera to be in a program, but has not yet decided whether he will accept.
  • Bahrain's parliament demands an apology from Denmark's head of state, Queen Margrethe II as well as the government. Unless the demands are filled they urge an official boycott of Danish goods, and cutting off oil exports of 159,000 barells per day, in association with other GCC members.
  • Hamas leader Adnan Asfour demands Denmark to punish the 12 artists and Jyllands-Posten.[1]

Main Source:

Open letters from Jyllands-Posten

Two open letters have been published by Jyllands-Posten on its website, both in Danish and Arabic versions, and the second letter also in an English version. (See External links)

First Letter

Honoured citizens

Allow me the opportunity to correct some misunderstandings regarding the drawings of the prophet Muhammad, which have now lead to a boycott of Danish products in your country.

The drawings were published four months ago as a part of a Danish debate about freedom of speech – a right that we cherish in Denmark.

The initiative has been interpreted as a campaign against Muslims in Denmark and throughout the world. I must categorically repudiate that. It was not our intention to offend anyone’s beliefs. That it happened anyway was unintended. We have regretted that many times in the course of the last few months. Both in our own newspaper, in other newspapers, on TV, in the radio and in international medias. We have at the same time carried out meetings with representatives of the Muslim society in Denmark. They have taken place in a positive and constructive spirit, just like we also seek to establish a rewarding dialogue with the Danish Muslims in other ways.

We are sorry that the affair has reached the present magnitude and we will therefore repeat, that we did not have intentions of offending anyone, and that we like the rest of the Danish society respect religious liberty.

Sincerely, Carsten Juste Editor-in-chief

Second Letter

Honourable Citizens of The Muslim World

Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten is a strong proponent of democracy and freedom of religion. The newspaper respects the right of any human being to practise his or her religion. Serious misunderstandings in respect of some drawings of the Prophet Mohammed have led to much anger and, lately, also boycott of Danish goods in Muslim countries.

Please allow me to correct these misunderstandings.

On 30 September last year, Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten published 12 different cartoonists' idea of what the Prophet Mohammed might have looked like. The initiative was taken as part of an ongoing public debate on freedom of expression, a freedom much cherished in Denmark.

In our opinion, the 12 drawings were sober. They were not intended to be offensive, nor were they at variance with Danish law, but they have indisputably offended many Muslims for which we apologize.

Since then a number of offensive drawings have circulated in The Middle East which have never been published in Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten and which we would never have published, had they been offered to us. We would have refused to publish them on the grounds that they violated our ethical code.

Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten attaches importance to upholding the highest ethical standards based upon the respect of our fundamental values. It is so much more deplorable, therefore, that these drawings were presented as if they had anything to do with Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten.

Maybe because of culturally based misunderstandings, the initiative to publish the 12 drawings has been interpreted as a campaign against Muslims in Denmark and the rest of the world.

I must categorically dismiss such an interpretation. Because of the very fact that we are strong proponents of the freedom of religion and because we respect the right of any human being to practise his or her religion, offending anybody on the grounds of their religious beliefs is unthinkable to us.

That this happened was, consequently, unintentional.

As a result of the debate that has been going on about the drawings, we have met with representatives of Danish Muslims, and these meetings were held in a positive and constructive spirit. We have also sought in other ways to initiate a fruitful dialogue with Danish Muslims.

It is the wish of Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten that various ethnic groups should live in peace and harmony with each other and that the debates and disagreements which will always exist in a dynamic society should do so in an atmosphere of mutual respect.

For that reason, Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten has published many articles describing the positive aspects of integration, for example in a special supplement entitled The Contributors. It portrayed a number of Muslims who have had success in Denmark. The supplement was rewarded by the EU Commission.

Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten takes exception to symbolic acts suited to demonise specific nationalities, religions and ethnic groups.

Sincerely yours

Carsten Juste

Editor-in-Chief

Comparable incidents

The controversy is one of several in later years resulting from the conflict between Western ideas of free speech, and Islamic reaction to blasphemy. In 1989, British author Salman Rushdie was sentenced to death for blasphemy by Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini for Rushdie's depiction of Muhammad as a businessman in his novel The Satanic Verses. Khomeini offered a $3 million reward to anyone carrying out the sentence against Rushdie. The post-Khomeini Iranian government promised only in 1998 not to carry out the sentence. Rushdie stayed in hiding under police protection for several years.

In December 2002, Pulitzer Prize winner Doug Marlette published a drawing that showed Muhammad driving a Ryder truck, with a nuclear rocket attached. He received more than 4,500 e-mails from angry Muslims, some with threats of death and mutilation.

In 2004, Dutch film maker Theo van Gogh and Ayaan Hirsi Ali created the 10-minute movie Submission. The film is about violence against women in Islamic societies. It shows four abused naked women, wearing see-through dresses. Qur'anic verses unfavourable to women in Arabic are painted on their bodies. After the movie was released, both van Gogh and Hirsi Ali received death threats. Van Gogh was murdered on 2004-11-02, in Amsterdam. His throat was slit, and he was then stabbed in the chest. Two knives were left implanted in his torso, one pinning a five-page note to his body. The note (Text) threatened Western governments, Jews and Hirsi Ali (who went into hiding). The note also contains references to the ideologies of the Egyptian organization Takfir wal-Hijra. The murderer Mohammed Bouyeri, a 26-year-old Dutch citizen, was born in Amsterdam, well-educated and apparently well-integrated. Bouyeri had ties with the Dutch Hofstad Network.

See also

• Blasphemy in Islam

External links

• The Brussels Journal - Jihad Against Danish Newspaper
• Page showing the Muhammad pictures at Newspaper Index
• Mohammed Image Archive (historical depictions of the Prophet Muhammad)
• The EU Commission's vice-chairman, Franco Frattini (on this issue)
• Template:Da icon The official home-page of Jyllands-Posten
• The letter to the Prime Minister from the Muslim ambassadors (PDF)
• First open letter in Arabic to the Muslims of Saudi Arabia from Jyllands-Posten (PDF)
• Second open letter to the Muslims of Saudi Arabia from Jyllands-Posten
  • In Arabic (PDF)
  • In English