Let's boycott Danish & Norwegian goods

Palestinians burn a Danish flag outside Gaza's EU building, in protest at the publication of cartoons caricaturing the Prophet Muhammed.

On 30 September 2005, the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten was insensitive and stupid enough to publish a series of 12 caricatures which showed the Prophet Muhammad as a stereotypical Islamic terrorist.

Islamic tradition bars any depiction of the prophet, even respectful ones, out of concern that such images could lead to idolatry. These cartoons were downright insulting and offensive: One drawing showed the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) wearing a turban shaped as a bomb with a burning fuse; another portrayed him with a bushy gray beard and holding a sword, his eyes covered by a black rectangle; and a third pictured a middle-aged prophet standing in the desert with a walking stick in front of a donkey.

The drawings were reprinted on 10 January 2006 by Norwegian evangelical newspaper Magazinet in the name of defending free expression, renewing Muslim anger.

The Jyllands-Posten reported that two illustrators who produced the cartoons had received death threats. The daily published the series of caricatures, after a writer complained that nobody dared illustrate his book about Muhammad.

Instead of issuing an abject and unconditional apology, the newspaper has remained belligerent. It gave a weak apology for "wounding the sensitivities of Muslims," but said it was testing the boundaries of expression about Islam. At the same time Jyllands-Posten maintained its right to print what it likes.

"We must quietly point out here that the drawings illustrated an article on the self-censorship which rules large parts of the Western world," the paper said. "Our right to say, write, photograph and draw what we want to within the framework of the law exists and must endure - unconditionally!"

The ambassadors of 10 Muslim countries (including a number of Arab countries, Pakistan, Iran, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Indonesia) sent a joint letter of complaint to the Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, asking him to take a stance on the issue.

Rasmussen refused to intervene and responded by merely stating that Denmark had a free and independent press. He said he could not tell newspapers what to print - or what not to. In his New Year's speech, Mr Rasmussen fell just short of an apology speaking of responsibility in exercising freedoms of speech.

Unsurprisingly, neither semi-apologies seem to have been accepted in a Muslim world which sees any depiction of the prophet as blasphemous.

A Saudi man shops at a supermarket in Jeddah where empty shelves read "Sorry! We don't sell Products made in Denmark".

There are now fears that the incident could affect Danish businesses. The Danish company Arla Foods, one of Europe's largest dairy producers, has placed advertisements in Middle Eastern newspapers to try to stop a boycott of Danish produce in Muslim countries.

Arla Foods said earlier last week that its customers in Saudi Arabia appeared to have stopped selling its dairy produce and had begun a boycott of Danish goods. Finn Hansen, a divisional director with Arla, on Thursday said "We fear that we will be hit by a wave of consumer anger." He added that there had been calls for boycotting Danish products in Friday prayers and on Saudi television and in newspapers.

"We are certainly afraid this will spread across Saudi Arabia and affect our business," he said.

Palestinians burned Danish flags on the streets of Gaza

There were street protests both in Denmark and in Muslim countries following the publication of the cartoons.

The Confederation of Danish Industries has now appealed to Jyllands-Posten to print an apology for having commissioned the drawings.

Saudi Arabia has recalled its ambassador to Denmark "for consultations in light of the Danish government's lack of attention to insulting the Prophet Muhammad by its newspapers."

Kuwait's state-supported supermarkets on Friday, 27 January announced a boycott of Danish products, and the Foreign Ministry called in a regional Danish ambassador to protest caricatures in a Danish newspaper that have been deemed insulting to Islam's prophet.

The Jordanian Foreign Ministry on Friday, 27 January summoned the Danish honorary consul in Jordan to discuss the controversial cartoons deemed insulting to Prophet Mohammad and Islam.

Iran's Foreign Minister said on Friday, 27 January he had written to his counterparts in Denmark and Norway to protest over the publication of "ridiculous and revolting" cartoons.

Libya has said it is closing its embassy in Denmark in protest. "Because the Danish media had continued to show disrespect to the Prophet Muhammad and because the Danish authorities failed to take any action on that, Libya decided to close its embassy in Copenhagen," the Libyan Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

On the popular level, several Islamic organisations are conducting a campaign on the Internet for the boycott of Danish and Norwegian products.

---

February 01, 2006 16:20 PM
PPIM Urges Govt To Send Protest To Denmark

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 1 (Bernama) -- The Muslim Consumers Association of Malaysia (PPIM) Wednesday called on the government to send a note of protest to the Embassy of Denmark over cartoon illustrations depicting Prophet Muhammad in a newspaper published in the country which had angered Muslims throughout the world.

PPIM project coordinator Noor Nirwandy Mat Noordin said as an Islamic country, Malaysia should not be silent over actions by any quarters which insulted the prophet and Islam.

"We hope the government will send a memorandum soon and demand an apology from the government of Denmark for the action by a newspaper publisher in its country," he told Bernama today.

As chairman of the Organisation of Islamic Conference , he said, it was Malaysia's responsibility to fight against any act considered as an insult to the prophet and Islam.

A best-selling newspaper in Denmark, "Jyllands-Posten," had on 30 September 2005 published 12 cartoon illustrations of the prophet, including one wearing a turban in a shape of a bomb with a burning fuse.

This angered Muslims worldwide and the situation became worse when the cartoon illustrations were reprinted in the Christian magazine Magazinet in Norway on 10 January 2006.

Copyright 2003-2006 Azlan Adnan Legal Notice