Mohammad cartoons provoked vital debate

This was one of the offensive cartoons.

Muhammad cartoons editor: There's a problem with Muslims in Europe

Flemming Rose, culture editor of Danish paper that published cartoons of Muslim prophet which led to riots, says clashes were attempt by Muslims to impose Islamic law on non-Muslim countries. He tells Ynet way to fight intolerance is by freedom of expression, not by limiting it.

from ynetnews.com
Published: 04.22.09, 09:10
Israel News

Flemming Rose, culture editor of the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten which published 12 cartoons depicting the Muslim Prophet Muhammad in 2005 that led to an outbreak of riots in the Muslim world in which over 50 people were killed, says he feels no remorse for his decision – but could not give a straight answer as to whether he would do it again.

Rose is currently in Israel as guest of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In an interview with Ynet on Tuesday he said, "If I said I wouldn't do it again, it would send a very bad message to those who committed crimes and intimidations, and would in fact be telling them: If you keep this up, we will do whatever you want.

"If I do say that I would publish the cartoons again, in light of what happened, people will think I am cynical and don't consider the repercussions of my actions.

The crisis that was dubbed "the Muhammad cartoons controversy", broke out in two rounds. The first was in 2006, after Muslim clerics spoke out against the publication of the 12 Muhammad cartoons in Denmark. The second time was in February 2008, after no less than 18 different newspapers published the most famous of the drawings, that depicted the prophet with a bomb in his turban, in response to a foiled attempt on the lives of the illustrators.

'Don't just tell the story - show it'

When asked why he decided to publish the cartoons, Rose said, "Not to insult the Muslims. It was in response to the spreading self censorship with regards to Islam. It started with a discussion on a children's books about Muhammad, whose author could not find an illustrator for it. One person was willing to do the drawings, but demand to remain anonymous, and later admitted this was out of fear of the Muslims' reactions.

Former Mossad Director Efraim Halevy, who heads the Hebrew University's Shasha Center for Strategic Studies and will host the open discussion to which Rose was invited on Wednesday, said, "They were actually trying to politicize a religious issue."

According to Rose, the riots that broke out following the publications stemmed from "Muslim immigration to Europe and the fact that there are Muslims who don't want to be integrated… There's a problem with Muslims in Europe and it must be dealt with – but limiting freedom of expression is not the solution.

"There are those who viewed the cartoons that I published as a form of incitement, but I don't think a statement should be measured by the response it yields, especially if the response is irrational and stupid."

Rose said it was paradoxical that Arabs and Muslims were "mad at us, when you look at the cartoons they publish in their newspapers. We have also published some of them, but only to discuss them, and not to give them support."

The editor said he and his newspaper had apologized to the Muslims who took offense to the cartoons, but stressed that he could not apologize for the publication itself. With regards to his personal life, he said nothing has changed.

"Denmark is a peaceful country. There was a time after the crisis that I had to take extra precautions, but that is in the past. I never felt threatened – or that I have to be silent."
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NATO selects Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen as Secretary General

NATO praises Obama, but pledges FEW Afghan troops.

It was not immediately clear how the selection of Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen as Secretary General would affect the war effort.

Rasmussen upset many Muslims when he refused to apologize for the 12 drawings of the Prophet Muhammad - including one of which showed the prophet wearing a turban shaped as a bomb (shown here)

Apr 4, 2009
from Breitbart.com
By SLOBODAN LEKIC
Associated Press Writer

STRASBOURG, France (AP) - European leaders enthusiastically praised President Barack Obama's new Afghan strategy at a NATO summit Saturday but held their ground on a central disagreement and offered only military trainers and extra security forces for upcoming elections.

Violent anti-war protests that marred the alliance's 60th anniversary celebrations were a stark reminder that much of Europe has no appetite for the other, costlier half of Obama's Afghan equation: more combat troops.

"I am pleased that our NATO allies pledged their strong and unanimous support for our new strategy," Obama said. "We'll need more resources and a sustained effort to achieve our ultimate goals."

As protesters battled police outside, NATO risked angering Muslims around the world by giving the post of secretary-general to the prime minister of Denmark, who fueled anger three years ago by backing a Danish newspaper's right to publish cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. The 28 leaders at the summit also approved measures to repair ties with Russia—virtually frozen since the Russo-Georgian war in August.

Afghanistan is seen as a crucial test of the power and relevance of the alliance, which was founded at the height of the Cold War to counterbalance the Soviet Union and now is struggling against a rising insurgency far beyond its borders.

The escalating war has highlighted doubts in Europe about the ability of NATO's 58,000 troops to stem the Taliban insurgency. Worries about casualties and costs have contributed to opposition to a conflict many Europeans see as an unnecessary distraction during economic crisis.

Despite a security crackdown on both sides of the Franco-German border, thousands of anti-war protesters fought running street battles with police, setting ablaze a hotel and a customs post and forcing the leaders' spouses to cancel a visit to a nearby cancer hospital.

During the summit, jointly co-hosted by France and Germany as a symbol of European unity, Obama briefed NATO leaders about his new strategy aimed at stabilizing Afghanistan while rooting out Taliban and al-Qaida hard-liners in both Afghanistan and Pakistan.

After the meeting, Obama heralded what he called "concrete commitments" from NATO allies on Afghanistan, saying their agreement to send up to 5,000 more trainers and police was "a strong down payment" toward securing the country.

Obama's new strategy has him adding 21,000 U.S. troops to an American force of 38,000.
The White House said NATO countries agreed to send 3,000 personnel on short-term deployments, to help stabilize Afghanistan before elections in August. An additional 1,400 to 2,000 will provide training for Afghanistan's national army.

NATO's outgoing Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said the alliance would set up a trust fund for the Afghan National Army, and provide monitoring and liaison teams that would work with Afghanistan's fledgling security forces.

The alliance must ensure "no more terrorist danger emanates from Afghanistan," German Chancellor Angela Merle said.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown echoed Obama's argument that Afghanistan was key to Europe's security.

Now we are working to build a successful, democratic Afghanistan and that will be that our streets will be safer in Britain," he said. "With important presidential elections to come in the next few months we must not allow the Taliban to disrupt the democratic process."

It was not immediately clear how the selection of Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen would effect the war effort. Fogh Rasmussen's candidacy for NATO's top civilian post was initially opposed by Turkey, whose leaders pointed out that the choice would antagonize predominantly Muslim Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Fogh Rasmussen appeared arrogant to many Muslims, when he refused to apologize for the 12 drawings of the Prophet Muhammad—including one of which showed the prophet wearing a turban shaped as a bomb—that sparked angry protests in 2006 throughout the Middle East and South Asia.

NATO said it had agreed to address various Turkish "concerns." Turkey said its requests had included the closure of a Kurdish satellite television broadcaster based in Denmark; the establishment of contacts between NATO and Islamic countries; appointment of a Turk as an aide to Fogh Rasmussen, and senior NATO command positions for Turkish generals.

Fogh Rasmussen denied making undue concessions to the Turks, and pledged to improve relations between NATO and the Muslim world.

"I will make a very clear outreach to the Muslim world and do my utmost to ensure a positive cooperation and intensified dialogue with Muslim countries," he told a news conference after the summit.

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