Muslim Clerics Demand Apology, And Change In EU Laws
(Scroll Down for updates. Post bumped from yesterday to Saturday morning.)
(Hat-Tip: Little Green Footballs)
ONLY an official apology by the Danish government to all Muslims for offence caused by the prophet Mohammad cartoons would prompt the lifting of the boycott of Danish goods, Muslim preachers said.
An official apology “is absolutely necessary ... because your government has not dealt with them (Muslims) respectfully,” Islamic scholar Tareq al-Suweidan told a conference hosted by the Government in an attempt to ease tension over the drawings.
The cartoons, first printed by a Danish paper last year and later reprinted elsewhere, provoked a storm of protests among Muslims, attacks on three Danish embassies and a boycott of Danish goods in some countries that has hit dairy exports.
If there is no apology, “the scholars of Islam and myself ... I am running an Islamic satellite TV channel, we will encourage people to continue the boycott,” Suweidan said. ...
Suweidan said his argument was not with the Danish cartoonists, who are under police protection after being threatened, but with their government. “We are not angry because some of your cartoonists have drawn our beloved prophet. We are aggravated because of the way your government has mishandled this situation,” he said.
Above is a bald-faced lie. The Muslims were upset that the cartoonists had drawn pictures of Mohammed. That prompted many a bloggers to grab a hold of Zombie's site showing all of the depictions of Mohammed that have been found throughout history. But, after being confronted with such proof that they were lying, it has changed to the lie above; that they were not offended by that, but rather the fact that the government had not apologized. That, of course is another lie as the Danes did apologize for upsetting the Muslims. They just did not issue an apology on behalf of the paper that printed them int he first place.
The centre-right Danish government has refused to apologise on behalf of the newspaper saying it cannot influence the free press, but it acknowledged that many Muslims had felt gravely insulted by the controversial drawings.
Suweidan, a Kuwaiti, said the Norwegian Government had apologised after a Norwegian newspaper printed the cartoons in January. “If they (the Danish Government) had just done that, the problem would not have arrived,” he said.
In Norway the editor of the paper Magazinet apologised to Muslims for hurting them by printing the cartoons, while the Government defended free speech but regretted the insult.
Both Muslim clerics supported free speech but accused the western world of applying double standards.
“We want the laws in Denmark and the European Union to be changed, either to have free speech for everyone including on the Holocaust and anti-Semitism, or to change the law to respect religious figures like Mohammad,” Suweidan said.
Yes, I am sure that the Muslim clerics would enjoy a law allowing them to slander and insult Jews. Anti-Semitism has been on the rise in Europe for a few years now. And I am sure that they would relish the fact that their idea of "free speech" could be instituted in the EU and Denmark. However, I doubt they will ever let this truly become a two-way street. But, As Charles points out, the AP spun this story differently than the excerpt from The Daily Telegraph above.
“We feel there are forces of extremism which are aiming to light fires and transform Denmark from a peaceful country to a country which will suffer from conflicts,” said Amr Khaled, an Egyptian preacher known for his youthful style and his sermons applying Islam to day-to-day modern life. ...
“We request an official apology from your government to the Muslim nation and to the Muslims in Denmark,” said Tariq al-Suweidan, an Islamic scholar from Kuwait. He also demanded that the European Union enact a law “that forbids the insult to religious figures.” ...
“We don’t agree on burning flags ... or attacks on embassies, BUT we are not willing to sit and do nothing,” al-Suweidan said, defending the boycott. “We’re sending a very strong message. If the Danish people do something about it, the boycott will stop.”
Veiled threats and lies. They do not agree on burning flags yet when we see demonstrations in the Middle East, what is always at the center of any burning, smoldering fire? Yes, flags. Be they American, or Israeli, or whomever, the radical protesters love to burn flags. And what of that law forbidding the "insult" to religious figures, hmm? Will it include religious figures such as Christ? How about Buddha? The Taliban and their extremists wasted little time destroying centuries-old statues of Buddha in Afghanistan in March of 2001. The Taliban had decreed they were "unIslamic" and "idolatrous." So much for freedom of religion. And that is why I question their statement regarding the law forbidding the insulting of a religious figure. Radical Islam destroyed two statues, dating back to the 4th or 5th Century, and now they want a law forbidding such desecration? That sounds fishy to me.
It is a nice gesture for the moderates to step up and call for an end to the protesting and the boycott. But, I honestly do not trust this. The threats are more than evident, and there is nothing to prevent a rturn to this sort of behavior the next time someone offends the Muslims. I can understand their dislike of insults directed to someone that they venerate. However, they could take a tip from the West.
As a Catholic, I am offended by people who insult my religion or myself by either making art that is a direct insult to my religion, such as "Piss Christ," or like Michael Newdow, they attempt to usurp a foundation of this nation. This nation was founded on Judeo-Christian beliefs. It was evident in the Constitutional Conventions, in communication via letter with one another, and even in presidential addresses. Yet, people like Newdow want it all removed; offended are they at the very mention of God. I am offended that a minority of people wish to remove the utterance from anything connected to the government. The majority disagrees with them, and their offense is their problem. Not ours. BUT, I do not go out and violently protest either the art, or moonbats like Newdow. I state my opinion, and I move on. I have more important things to deal with in my life than wasting my time with such frivolities. Maybe the Muslims ought to give it a try once in a while, and the world might appreciate them more for that than for them immediately resorting to violence at the drop of a hat.
The Bunny ;)
ADDENDUM:
Little Green Footballs, the site that gave us the initial story also gave this update on the demands made by the Muslim clerics:
Jyllands-Posten, March 10, 2006
EU-Ministers considering Arab demands
It may no longer be enough to just combat discrimination, a presentation document at meeting of EU-ministers says.
As a pendant to the Muhammed-affair, the Foreign Ministers of the EU are considering complying with Arab demands to “fight defamation of religion.”
So far the EU has voted against these kinds of proposals at meetings of the UN General Assembly, but they are now considering reversing that. So a written presentation document aiming at bettering the relations between Europe and the Islamic countries.
- It raises the question of whether, considering recent events, we should reconsider the EU’s approach to these matters at the UN General Assembly, the document says.
The Islamic Conference, the OIC and the Arab League have demanded guarantees that the Muhammed-affair will not be repeated.
As if that were not enough, we also have a piece from a full transcription of an with EU Foreign Commissioner Benita Ferroro Waldner from Agora:
Commentator: Why couldn’t you just put the Muhammed-affair to rest?
BFW: Because I don’t think this was a sporadic incidence. I think it was the peak of an iceberg, if you want. It showed a frustration among Moslems. And I think what we have to do is really engage with them, clearly speaking up about our fundamentals but also see where is, so to say, the border of that, the limit of that. And I think the limit of our Freedom of Speech is there where, indeed, the freedom of “the other” starts and where we have to show a responsibility and a respect and also tolerance for each other. But I also see it as a two-way street.
This is precisely the sort of capitulation that Mark Steyn warned everyone about in this piece which Thomas and I disseminated thoroughly together. Europe is willing to cave into the Muslims because they are complaining about too much freedom of speech. Honestly, we would never condone such a move in this country. Our freedom of expression--our freedom of speech--is so inherent within our society that the thought of agreeing that some speech is off limits would drive people insane.
Europe seems to be on the slippery slope of appeasement. Despite what has been done to the EU so far from radical Islam, I would say it is time for Europe to stand up in the face of the animals preaching this hate; a rhetoric born out of oppression itself. For Europe to buckle and succumb to such veiled threats is telling, especially to the United States. It should show the entire nation what Europe is willing to surrender for peace.
And for that reason, I do not want to hear one more word regarding an erosion of civil liberties in this nation. Ours are not slipping away, and even if they were, they surely are not moving at the speed of Old Europe's.
The Bunny ;)
(Scroll Down for updates. Post bumped from yesterday to Saturday morning.)
(Hat-Tip: Little Green Footballs)
ONLY an official apology by the Danish government to all Muslims for offence caused by the prophet Mohammad cartoons would prompt the lifting of the boycott of Danish goods, Muslim preachers said.
An official apology “is absolutely necessary ... because your government has not dealt with them (Muslims) respectfully,” Islamic scholar Tareq al-Suweidan told a conference hosted by the Government in an attempt to ease tension over the drawings.
The cartoons, first printed by a Danish paper last year and later reprinted elsewhere, provoked a storm of protests among Muslims, attacks on three Danish embassies and a boycott of Danish goods in some countries that has hit dairy exports.
If there is no apology, “the scholars of Islam and myself ... I am running an Islamic satellite TV channel, we will encourage people to continue the boycott,” Suweidan said. ...
Suweidan said his argument was not with the Danish cartoonists, who are under police protection after being threatened, but with their government. “We are not angry because some of your cartoonists have drawn our beloved prophet. We are aggravated because of the way your government has mishandled this situation,” he said.
Above is a bald-faced lie. The Muslims were upset that the cartoonists had drawn pictures of Mohammed. That prompted many a bloggers to grab a hold of Zombie's site showing all of the depictions of Mohammed that have been found throughout history. But, after being confronted with such proof that they were lying, it has changed to the lie above; that they were not offended by that, but rather the fact that the government had not apologized. That, of course is another lie as the Danes did apologize for upsetting the Muslims. They just did not issue an apology on behalf of the paper that printed them int he first place.
The centre-right Danish government has refused to apologise on behalf of the newspaper saying it cannot influence the free press, but it acknowledged that many Muslims had felt gravely insulted by the controversial drawings.
Suweidan, a Kuwaiti, said the Norwegian Government had apologised after a Norwegian newspaper printed the cartoons in January. “If they (the Danish Government) had just done that, the problem would not have arrived,” he said.
In Norway the editor of the paper Magazinet apologised to Muslims for hurting them by printing the cartoons, while the Government defended free speech but regretted the insult.
Both Muslim clerics supported free speech but accused the western world of applying double standards.
“We want the laws in Denmark and the European Union to be changed, either to have free speech for everyone including on the Holocaust and anti-Semitism, or to change the law to respect religious figures like Mohammad,” Suweidan said.
Yes, I am sure that the Muslim clerics would enjoy a law allowing them to slander and insult Jews. Anti-Semitism has been on the rise in Europe for a few years now. And I am sure that they would relish the fact that their idea of "free speech" could be instituted in the EU and Denmark. However, I doubt they will ever let this truly become a two-way street. But, As Charles points out, the AP spun this story differently than the excerpt from The Daily Telegraph above.
“We feel there are forces of extremism which are aiming to light fires and transform Denmark from a peaceful country to a country which will suffer from conflicts,” said Amr Khaled, an Egyptian preacher known for his youthful style and his sermons applying Islam to day-to-day modern life. ...
“We request an official apology from your government to the Muslim nation and to the Muslims in Denmark,” said Tariq al-Suweidan, an Islamic scholar from Kuwait. He also demanded that the European Union enact a law “that forbids the insult to religious figures.” ...
“We don’t agree on burning flags ... or attacks on embassies, BUT we are not willing to sit and do nothing,” al-Suweidan said, defending the boycott. “We’re sending a very strong message. If the Danish people do something about it, the boycott will stop.”
Veiled threats and lies. They do not agree on burning flags yet when we see demonstrations in the Middle East, what is always at the center of any burning, smoldering fire? Yes, flags. Be they American, or Israeli, or whomever, the radical protesters love to burn flags. And what of that law forbidding the "insult" to religious figures, hmm? Will it include religious figures such as Christ? How about Buddha? The Taliban and their extremists wasted little time destroying centuries-old statues of Buddha in Afghanistan in March of 2001. The Taliban had decreed they were "unIslamic" and "idolatrous." So much for freedom of religion. And that is why I question their statement regarding the law forbidding the insulting of a religious figure. Radical Islam destroyed two statues, dating back to the 4th or 5th Century, and now they want a law forbidding such desecration? That sounds fishy to me.
It is a nice gesture for the moderates to step up and call for an end to the protesting and the boycott. But, I honestly do not trust this. The threats are more than evident, and there is nothing to prevent a rturn to this sort of behavior the next time someone offends the Muslims. I can understand their dislike of insults directed to someone that they venerate. However, they could take a tip from the West.
As a Catholic, I am offended by people who insult my religion or myself by either making art that is a direct insult to my religion, such as "Piss Christ," or like Michael Newdow, they attempt to usurp a foundation of this nation. This nation was founded on Judeo-Christian beliefs. It was evident in the Constitutional Conventions, in communication via letter with one another, and even in presidential addresses. Yet, people like Newdow want it all removed; offended are they at the very mention of God. I am offended that a minority of people wish to remove the utterance from anything connected to the government. The majority disagrees with them, and their offense is their problem. Not ours. BUT, I do not go out and violently protest either the art, or moonbats like Newdow. I state my opinion, and I move on. I have more important things to deal with in my life than wasting my time with such frivolities. Maybe the Muslims ought to give it a try once in a while, and the world might appreciate them more for that than for them immediately resorting to violence at the drop of a hat.
The Bunny ;)
ADDENDUM:
Little Green Footballs, the site that gave us the initial story also gave this update on the demands made by the Muslim clerics:
Jyllands-Posten, March 10, 2006
EU-Ministers considering Arab demands
It may no longer be enough to just combat discrimination, a presentation document at meeting of EU-ministers says.
As a pendant to the Muhammed-affair, the Foreign Ministers of the EU are considering complying with Arab demands to “fight defamation of religion.”
So far the EU has voted against these kinds of proposals at meetings of the UN General Assembly, but they are now considering reversing that. So a written presentation document aiming at bettering the relations between Europe and the Islamic countries.
- It raises the question of whether, considering recent events, we should reconsider the EU’s approach to these matters at the UN General Assembly, the document says.
The Islamic Conference, the OIC and the Arab League have demanded guarantees that the Muhammed-affair will not be repeated.
As if that were not enough, we also have a piece from a full transcription of an with EU Foreign Commissioner Benita Ferroro Waldner from Agora:
Commentator: Why couldn’t you just put the Muhammed-affair to rest?
BFW: Because I don’t think this was a sporadic incidence. I think it was the peak of an iceberg, if you want. It showed a frustration among Moslems. And I think what we have to do is really engage with them, clearly speaking up about our fundamentals but also see where is, so to say, the border of that, the limit of that. And I think the limit of our Freedom of Speech is there where, indeed, the freedom of “the other” starts and where we have to show a responsibility and a respect and also tolerance for each other. But I also see it as a two-way street.
This is precisely the sort of capitulation that Mark Steyn warned everyone about in this piece which Thomas and I disseminated thoroughly together. Europe is willing to cave into the Muslims because they are complaining about too much freedom of speech. Honestly, we would never condone such a move in this country. Our freedom of expression--our freedom of speech--is so inherent within our society that the thought of agreeing that some speech is off limits would drive people insane.
Europe seems to be on the slippery slope of appeasement. Despite what has been done to the EU so far from radical Islam, I would say it is time for Europe to stand up in the face of the animals preaching this hate; a rhetoric born out of oppression itself. For Europe to buckle and succumb to such veiled threats is telling, especially to the United States. It should show the entire nation what Europe is willing to surrender for peace.
And for that reason, I do not want to hear one more word regarding an erosion of civil liberties in this nation. Ours are not slipping away, and even if they were, they surely are not moving at the speed of Old Europe's.
The Bunny ;)
posted by Syd And Vaughn | 2:53 AM
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