Khaleej Times Online – Time to heal
Khaleej Times Online
Time to heal
BY HAWAZEN NASSIEF
10 April 2006
Time to heal
BY HAWAZEN NASSIEF
10 April 2006
ALARMED by the developments that took place in the Muslim world following the publication of the blasphemous cartoons in Denmark, a group of young Muslims, including myself, flew to Denmark in February to initiate a peaceful dialogue and promote mutual understanding.
The trip was facilitated by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and gained enormous publicity in Copenhagen. We interviewed Ministers, lawyers, businessmen, journalists, Danish Muslim leaders, and a Muslim comedian in an attempt to understand how the Danes viewed the issue. To explain why the caricatures resulted in such violent reactions, we participated in discussions, interviews, lectures, and a Press conference.
The visit revealed that the whole issue developed the way it did because of the existing communication gap between Muslim and Western societies. For example, the crisis could have been avoided had the Danish prime minister agreed to meet the 11 Muslim ambassadors who proposed a settlement back in October 2005. The belated regret from Jyllands-Posten, the newspaper that published the cartoons, only apologized for offending Muslims, not for publishing the caricatures. Both these initial reactions fuelled the crisis.
Existing ideological and cultural dissimilarities led to the current misunderstanding as well. Denmark is a secular country in which religion does not play a major role in the public space. In such a profane atmosphere, it was very hard for Danes to understand the importance of religion to Muslims. Meanwhile, Muslims cannot conceive the separation between state and religion. Further, the use of humour and mockery to bring political and social problems into public attention is very common in the Danish culture. The mocking of Muslim religious or political figures, however, is not very common in Muslim countries due to governmental or religious restrictions.
At the same time, the general belief in the Muslim world that the Danish Prime Minister, as a representative of the people, is responsible for their actions and has the authority to restrict them, does not apply in the case of Denmark. In fact, any interference with the Press on the part of the prime minister is considered an illegal extension of his authority. Yet, the lack of action or apology on the premier’s part led many in the Muslim world to believe that attacking Islam is in fact an official government policy. Although freedom of speech is a fundamental right in Islam, it is nearly non-existent in the Muslim world. As a result, the idea of a newspaper publishing an article which is completely inconsistent with a stated government policy or a prime minister with no power over the Press is inconceivable to many Muslims.
Observations helped conclude that freedom of expression is sacred in Denmark and the fear of losing it is evident in the Danish society. This, in turn, explains the consensus against any kind of restriction even when freedom entails satire. For Danes, this guarantees freedom, but at the same time, they can be held accountable for their actions. Section 140 of the Danish criminal code protects the religious doctrines and acts of worship, of any lawfully existing religious community. Moreover, section 266(b) of the Danish penal code protects religious feelings against scorn and degradation. However, only a court can decide whether something that has been published constitutes a criminal offence or not.
It is worth mentioning here that that the Danish Liberal Party, currently in power, and the Danish People’s Party, which has a strong representation in parliament, are considered anti-Muslim by many in Denmark. Jyllands-Posten, the biggest newspaper in Denmark, is also considered Islamophobic. However, just like all media in Denmark, it is independent and has no relation to the Danish government. Yet, the visit to Denmark did not give the impression that Muslims are being discriminated against. On the contrary, Muslims emphasized that they are treated fairly. In fact, Islam is taught in schools without any governmental interference and Muslims from all backgrounds and sects are free to practice their religion without fear of persecution.
One of the main conclusions from the visit, therefore, is that Muslim and Danish media share a great deal of responsibility for the way things developed. The Muslim media focused mainly on the negative developments and spread false information. There was also a lack of information about Denmark’s peaceful nature, its traditions, and its support for the Palestinian plight, for example. The Danish media is equally responsible too. Following 9/11, Muslims have been represented in a negative light and this added to the existing Islamophobia in Denmark and Europe in general.
Islamophobia is influenced by the fact that Muslim extremists are given a wider space in the media while a fair, moderate representation of Islam is seldom visible. The cartoon controversy is therefore clearly a case where personal interests and certain political agendas come in the way of fair and unbiased representation.
Jyllands-Posten published the caricatures to reaffirm the superiority of freedom of expression above censorship in Denmark. The culture editor commented next to the cartoons that Muslims’ demand of special consideration is incompatible with contemporary democracy and freedom of speech and that in a secular, modern society Muslims must learn to put up with insults, mockery and ridicule. However, according to the Chief Prosecutor in Denmark, there is no free and unrestricted right to express opinions about religious subjects. Three of the caricatures implied that Islam is a terrorist and violent religion which is a very serious accusation that could not be tolerated.
This shows that there are alternative ways of handling this crisis. One of them is through the European legal system. Although the case against Jyllands-Posten was consecutively dismissed by the regional and chief prosecutors, Muslims can still take the case before the European Court of Human Rights. The violence and the attacks on embassies only pave the way for those who claim that Muslims are violent and allow right-wing politicians in Denmark to play on the fears of the people. This, in turn, negatively affects the status of all the Muslims in Denmark.
The visit underlined the fact that we are living in a world in which religious extremism, hatred, and intolerance are increasingly claiming innocent lives. In this context, anyone who tries to hinder global understanding and tolerance by rousing religious hatred should be prosecuted. Unfortunately, the current crisis negatively affected Muslims and Danes alike. This underscored the need for a dialogue at all levels in order to promote better mutual understanding. The introduction of laws that safeguard people’s dignity and religious beliefs from being degraded is another important step to consider and it is for the media to be more politically, ethically, and economically responsible.
The outrage and publicity caused by the publication of the cartoons is also symptomatic of how, in the current globalised world, modern technology allows articles, words and publications to travel freely around the globe and thus cause tensions in unprecedented ways. The fact is that anything happening in a country is no longer an isolated event, but rather global in nature. As such, there is a definite need to begin to comprehend the broader implications of the impact of a certain news item, an opinion or a caricature. More consideration needs to be given to the sensitivities of people if one is to avoid clashes between civilisations.
Hawazen Nassief is an Assistant Researcher, GCC-EU Relations Program, at the Gulf Research Center in Dubai.