Rotten judgment in the state of Denmark

[IndianaGreen]

Rotten judgment in the state of Denmark

The Danish paper that printed the cartoons wanted to stir up trouble -- and
the government wanted a culture war. They got more than they bargained for.

By Jytte Klausen

Jyllands-Posten, the Danish paper that originally published the 12
caricatures, has a circulation of about 175,000 and is Denmark's largest
paper. The paper's main offices are in Aarhus, the country's second-largest
city, on the outskirts of town in an area zoned for industrial use. The
building resembles a well-kept small manufacturing plant, but inside
everything is white and pleasant. It is where I grew up, and in my family the
paper still sits on our coffee tables. But don't let the blond wood deceive
you. Jyllands-Posten is a conservative paper and it has always minded the
religious and political sensitivities of its readership, the Lutheran farmers
and the provincial middle class.

<snip>

The cartoons started out as a gag, the kind you do when the news is slow.
Flemming Rose, the paper's culture editor, decided last summer that he was fed
up with what he described as the spreading "self-censorship" on matters
related to Islam, so he solicited cartoonists for drawings of "how they saw
the Prophet." On Sept. 30, 12 cartoons were published under the
headline "Mohammed's Face." Rose cited a statement by a Danish stand-up
comedian, who had complained that he was afraid to make fun of Mohammed on TV.
A children's book author complained that he could not get anyone to illustrate
his book about Mohammed. Another example of Islamic pieties' crushing
influence on free speech was that three theaters had put on shows deriding
George Bush, but none Osama bin Laden. Cartoons are an important anti-
totalitarian expression, Rose wrote, and therefore the paper had asked 40
Danish cartoonists to draw their image of Mohammed. Only 12 responded. Rose
implied that some of those who did not respond were infected by self-
censorship.

This all would have been very well if the paper had a long tradition of
standing up for fearless artistic expression. But it so happens that three
years ago, Jyllands-Posten refused to publish cartoons portraying Jesus, on
the grounds that they would offend readers. According to a report in the
Guardian, which was provided with a letter from the cartoonist, Christoffer
Zieler, the editor explained back then, "I don't think Jyllands-Posten's
readers will enjoy the drawings. As a matter of fact, I think that they will
provoke an outcry. Therefore, I will not use them." When confronted with the
old rejection letter, the editor, Jens Kaiser, said, "It is ridiculous to
bring this forward now. It has nothing to do with the Muhammed cartoons." But
why does it not? Can you offend Muslim readers but not Christian readers? "In
the Muhammead drawings case, we asked the illustrators to do it. I did not ask
for these cartoons," Kaiser said. "That's the difference."

And therein lies the truth. The paper wanted to instigate trouble, just not
the kind of trouble it got. And in this mission it acted in concert with the
Danish government. "We have gone to war against the multicultural ideology
that says that everything is equally valid," boasted the minister of cultural
affairs, Brian Mikkelsen, in a speech at his party's annual meeting the week
before Rose's cartoon editorial last fall. Mikkelsen is a 39-year-old
political science graduate known for his hankering for the "culture war." He
continued, "The Culture War has now been raging for some years. And I think we
can conclude that the first round has been won." The next front, he said, is
the war against the acceptance of Muslims norms and ways of thought. The
Danish cultural heritage is a source of strength in an age of globalization
and immigration. Cultural restoration, he argued, is the best antidote.

http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2006/02/08/denmark/print.html

[cliss]

1. I couldn't help it.....something's rotten in Denmark.

Seriously though, what is the matter with those damn Danes? They didn't even apologize for their bad taste. And several people have lost their lives in the scuffles.

Shame on you, "rehabilitated Vikings".

[ShockediSay]

2. 'Incitement' is not free speech

protected, BTW.

[madrchsod]

3. i read something on a aryan site yesterday

that was pretty close to what this author is saying. of course many said that it was a "jewish plot" but several posters researched and found out the paper wasn`t yet the Aryan code word "culture war" explains just who the audience they were aiming at. i`m leaning to the fundamental islamic leaders needed something to keep control of their followers and the paper conveniently filled their needs. from what i have read in the last few days about this issue, we here in the states also have fallen into the same trap that the moderate islamic population have fallen into. both have been trapped by our mutual fundamentalists who wish to impose their moral crusade to ban anything they deem as immoral or an affront to their beliefs. the fundy`s in the usa don`t riot and burn ,they just pressure the corporations and the government to produce the same effect.

[Wilms]

4. I hadn't realized the cartoons were commisioned.

That's particularly troubling.

[IndianaGreen]

5. Read the press release by the Confederation of Danish Industries

that I posted here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=103x189588