COPENHAGEN,
November 18, 2005 (IslamOnline.net) – The Muslim minority in Denmark
will send delegations to a number of Muslim countries to meet with
senior officials and prominent scholars on the provocative caricatures
of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) recently published by Denmark's main daily.
"A
delegation will visit Cairo to meet with Arab League Secretary Amr
Moussa and Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Sheikh Mohammad Sayyed
Tantawi," Ahmed Abdel Rahman Abu Laban, a prominent Muslim figure
in Denmark, told IOL Friday, November 18.
He
added that Moussa has been informed of the visit, citing contacts with
his secretary to schedule a meeting.
The
Muslim leader further said that Al-Azhar, the highest seat of learning
in the Sunni world, has been notified of the forthcoming visit.
"The
delegation will also visit Saudi Arabia and Qatar to meet with
renowned Muslim scholar Sheikh Yussef Al-Qaradawi," said Abu
Laban, the imam of the Scandinavian Waqfs mosque.
Twelve
drawings depicting Prophet Muhammad in different settings appeared in
Denmark's largest circulation daily Jyllands-Posten September
30.
In
one of the drawings, the Prophet appeared with a turban shaped like a
bomb strapped to his head.
The
images, considered blasphemous under Islam, have drawn rebuke from the
Muslim minority especially with the paper's adamancy to apologize on
the ground of freedom of expression.
Muslims
Worldwide
"We
want to internationalize this issue so that the Danish government
would realize that the cartoons were not only insulting to Muslims in
Denmark but also to Muslims worldwide," said Abu Laban.
"It
was decided to take such a step because it is wrong to turn a blind
eye to the fact that some European countries discriminate against
their Muslims on the grounds that they are not democratic and that
they can not understand western culture."
He
added that this strategy has been agreed upon by organizations
representing Pakistani, Turkish and Arab Muslims in Denmark.
"There
are more than 1.3 billion Muslims and scores of Muslim organizations
worldwide. We belong to the same faith and share the same
vision."
Abu
Laban made it clear that the ultimate aim was for Muslims in the West
"to have a normal life and to have a correct global and European
vision of Islam"
The
cartoon issue, which is already causing diplomatic tension with some
Muslim countries will be high on the agenda of the upcoming Islamic
summit in Saudi Arabia.
The
ambassadors of eleven Arab and Muslim countries, including Egypt,
Palestine, Turkey, Pakistan, Iran, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Indonesia,
have written a letter to Danish Premier Anders Fogh Rasmussen to
protest the caricatures and demand an official apology from the
newspaper.
Rasmussen
said in a written reply that he would not intervene in the affair, on
the grounds of freedom of expression, but said the diplomats were free
to undertake legal proceedings.
Mobilizing
Danes
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Muslim volunteers inside the Scandinavian Waqfs complex.
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Abu
Laban stressed that Muslims in Denmark will also try to mobilize
support for their case among Danes.
"The
government has been busy with the issue of municipal elections and any
protest would have fallen on deaf ears."
The
Liberal-Conservative coalition, which came to power in 2001, and relay
on the anti-immigrants People's Party for the parliamentary majority,
has not done so well in the polls.
The
pro-immigrants Social Democrats has won more than 40 percent of
possible mayoral posts in the country's local elections, including in
the two biggest cities.
"We
will be organizing seminars and sending messages to as many newspapers
as possible," said the Muslim leader.
"We
are not quite sure how much cooperation we will get but hope to be
able to make our case to the Danish society.
In
mid-October, as many as 5,000 Muslims demonstrated in Copenhagen
against the paper and the drawings.
Danish
Muslims are estimated at 180,000 or around 3 per cent of Denmark's 5.4
million.
Islam
is Denmark's second largest religion after the Lutheran Protestant
Church, which is actively followed by four-fifths of the country's
population.
Provocative
The
Muslim leader lashed out at Jyllands-Posten's claim that the
publishing of the cartoons was only a case of freedom of expression.
"I
told a reporter from the newspaper that they have cheated the people
because they did not open a debate."
He
stressed that the cartoons were meant as an insult to and provocation
of Muslims.
"We
have fled our countries because we were denied freedom of expression
so no one should play this tune with us.
"This
is not a case of freedom of expression," averred Abu Laban.
