DENMARK: Muslims say it is time to forgive Danish cartoonist for depicting Prophet Mohammad

Record ID: 353378

  • Title: DENMARK: Muslims say it is time to forgive Danish cartoonist for depicting Prophet Mohammad
  • Date: 4th January 2010
  • Summary: COPENHAGEN, DENMARK (JANUARY 03, 2010) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF PEOPLE AND CARS IN STREET IN MUSLIM COMMUNITY, IN COPENHAGEN DISTRICT OF NOERREBRO MUSLIM WOMAN CARRYING SHOPPING BAGS IN STREET VARIOUS OF SHOPS WITH SIGNS WRITTEN IN ARABIC MUSLIM WOMAN WAITING IN FRONT OF SHOP MUSLIM PEOPLE WALKING IN STREET (SOUNDBITE) (English) MUSLIM GIRL, RINA IDRAHIN, SAYING "What
  • Embargoed: 19th January 2010 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Denmark
  • Country: Denmark
  • Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement,Religion
  • Reuters ID: LVA4KS7I01DQA7C9LGBTOTFG628C
  • Story Text: Muslims in Copenhagen on Sunday (January 03) said it was time to forgive the Danish cartoonist for his 2005 caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad, which caused outrage in the Muslim world.
    Their comments come in the wake of an attempted attack on Karl Westergaard's life by a Somali man who broke into his home.
    "People maybe overreact a bit, I mean, they're burning the Danish flag, you know, and I think that's silly and that is not the way to, you know, solve these problems. So, I don't know, he shouldn't have drawn them but also people are overreacting," said Rina Idrahin, a Muslim who lives in the Copenhagen suburb of Noerrebro.
    Armed with an axe and knife the 28-year-old Somali broke into Westergaard's home in the town of Aarhus just before midnight (local time) on Friday (January 1). Westergaard, who in 2005 depicted Prophet Mohammad with a bomb in his turban, pushed a panic button, fled to a safe room and was unhurt when police arrived.
    "The person who actually tried to kill that person is completely wrong. I mean, it is in the past now, that cartoon thing is a long time ago. It's history now so he should forget about this," said local resident Muhammad Usman.
    "This is not the way to make him understand that that was not the right thing to do. So I think that it is wrong," Usman added about Westergaard's drawings.
    Westergaard has been under police protection since his caricatures of the Prophet led to death threats. This protection might now be strengthened, Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, which first printed the Mohammad cartoons, reported on Sunday.
    Danish Member of Parliament for the Conservatives, Naser Khader, founded the movement, Democratic Muslims, when the controversy of the Mohammad cartoons broke out.
    "It's four, five years ago the cartoons were published in the newspaper but the Islamist, the jihadist, the terrorist never forget. So, because it's four, five years ago, it doesn't mean that it's over," Khader said.
    "I think it's very important that the Muslim world starts to accept criticising their religion. You know, a religion that accept to be criticised, it's a strong religion. A religion that doesn't accept to be criticised, it's a weak religion," Khader added.
    Denmark's Muslim community makes up about three percent of the 5.5 million population. Muslims that Reuters spoke to in Copenhagen said it was time to put the controversy of the cartoons behind them. Khader said their stance could be seen in relation to Danish society.
    "The majority of the Muslims are also Danish and they understand and accept the freedom of speech. But you have a few who are Islamists. You can never go in dialogue with them. For them the dialogue is to accept wholly their ideology," he said.
    The Somali man who broke in to Westergaard's home is suspected of having links to Somalia's al-Shabaab militant group and al Qaeda.
    Hours after the attack he appeared in court on a stretcher with a hand and leg in plaster casts due to gunshot wounds from a police officer who had narrowly dodged the axe thrown at him by the intruder who was trying to evade arrest.
    The accused did not speak in court but denied charges of trying to kill Westergaard and a police officer through his lawyer. He was charged with two counts of attempted murder and is due back in court on January 27.
    The cartoonist's young granddaughter was in the house during the attack, but was unhurt.
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