Agora

The latest news about Imam Ahmed Akkari and his death threats against Naser Khader of the social liberals.
As I reported in this post, Imam Ahmed Akkari on tape recorded with a hidden camera by French Journalist Mohammed Sifaoui made a remark about killing Danish Social Liberal Member of Parliament Naser Khader. There’s been some doubt about the correct translation of the words, as Uriasposten reports here. To give you the possibilities, below is a translation of Uriasposten’s list of the various translations of the original remarks in Arabic:

DR Nyheder (from Arabic): “If he becomes the Minister for Foreigners or… Minister for Integration or for Foreigners… won’t two men come and blow up him and his Ministry?”
TV2 (subtitles, from Arabic): “If he becomes Minister for Integration, I wonder if two men won’t go and blow up him his Ministry?”
TV2 (from French): “If he becomes Minister for Integration, oughtn’t there be two who paid him a visit and blew up him and his Ministry?”
Jyllands-Posten(presumably from French): “If he becomes the Minister for Foreigners or Integration, oughtn’t one send out two guys to blow up him and his ministry?”
Ekstra-Bladet (incorrect headline): “Why don’t we blow up Nader?”

Finally, from the latest interview with Mohammed Sifaoui in Politiken:

I wonder if a couple of men oughn’t to go see if one can blow him up…

Personally, I tend to think the French journalist got it right - he reports that he used three different Arab translators from Lebanon, which is where Ahmed Akkari is from. Akkari clearly (in jest or otherwise) considers Naser Khader such a menace that he wouldn’t mind if he was blown up.

That out of the way, the latest news in Ahmed Akkari’s case is this:

Saturday, March 25 in the 22:30 edition of the Deadline programme on DR, Ahmed Akkari was interviewed about the case. Having finished a repeat of his non-excuse for calling for the death of a Danish elected parliamentarian, the interview proceeded:

INTERVIEWER: What are you ging to do - you’ve already done something - but what more do you want to do to reassure Naser Khader?
AKKARI: I think I am going to write a letter and address it to him personally - more in person than the open letter I’ve written. But people need not worry about this unproportionally and turn it into more than it is. Any person can, under some conditions, say saomething that one doesn’t have intent of doing or mean in the same way. It was presented in the studio as if I am saying tyhat someone should go get him, but I think what I perhaps thought or expressed was that if he gets that ministry, if he isn’t going to get enough problems with what will follow from that in the form of critique. That may have been said in a way that was very unfortunate and which has resulted in this.
INTERVIEWER: I’d like to know — Earlier today I talked to Fati el-Abed who is a cofounder of Democratic Moslems - he is functioning as a kind of spokesman for Naser Khader who right now has chosen to not talk to the press. I want you to hear what Fati el-Abed said:
Fati el-Abed: Naser Khader has does not wish - at all - to speak to Imam Akkari. Neither now nor later. The dangerous about Imam Akkari’s remarks is twofold: First, that it is not the first time he wishes for something like that. We don’t think this, we know this. Secondly, that he is influential, many look to him [for leadeship], many listen to him and that is why it is dangerous. And I hope he knows that.
INTERVIEWER: Ahmed Akkari, that was three significant items. One, that Naser Khader doesn’t want to know of you, he doesn’t want you to contact him. Two, that you, apparently, on an earlier occasion said something that Naser Khader sees as threatening. Three, that you have bigger influence - so he says - than many Danes know of, in the Moslem community. What say you?
AKKARI: About item number one, it is of course his choice. I only did it to try to reassure him.
INTERVIEWER: So you can live with the fact that Naser Khader wishes to have no contact with you?
AKKARI: Easily. I don’t think I will become more different.. or that something happens. It’s only for his sake, because I’ve heard he is depply shaken by something he need not be shaken about. About item number two, I haven’t heard about. You’re welcome to give me something to refresh my memory about this. About the last item, I would like to say that if Fati thinks people look to me [for leadership], and listen to me, I would like to say clearly that both for now and later, now that I have the chance, that I call for everyone to both not say such things [as I said], whether it be in jest or in earnest and we have nothing against saying that we have made an error. We aren’t holy men, come to earth to pass judgement. We are people just as everybody else. We have a role to play in a special situation to help people as Imams. But it’s OK to say that you’ve made a mistake and that people shouldn’t follow you in your errors.
INTERVIEWER: That remark, no matter how you interpret it, which you did make, was interpreted as if you don’t, at all, like a person such as Naser Khader. How do you view him? Is he dangerous for Islam?
AKKARI: No, we disagree with Naser Khader on very many points [of policy] and very many Moslems say “what is this? Why don’t we make a mass demonstration to show who our real champions are, here in Denmark.” So it’s one thing to disagree, it’s another thing entirely to be for violence. We’ve prosecuted this case through our lawyer, we’ve prosecuted it through the courts of law and through the political, you see? We wrote a letter to the Minister for Culture at the outset. And that shows that we understand perfectly who we are addressing in this cartoon affair, and I don’t think we are for any kind of violence. But allow me to point out in this context that it is really too bad that the only stories that are shown, when we finally get to see some stories about this, is stories like this one. We’ve just been to the conference in Bahrain….
INTERVIEWER: We’ll return to that. I just want you to answer in short: Is Naser Khader dangerous for Islam?
AKKARI: I don’t fell he is dangerous for Islam because Islam is bigger than Naser Khader, than me, than anyone else. It is Islam which gives space, it is not Islam which is given space. All cases have shown that Islam turns out to be the one that is bigger and to which people give themselves. We are person, who can act in the one way or the other, do right or wrong. I think Naser Khader should reevaluate some of his opinions and harsh criticisms, because I really think he is being used. I think he is being used…..
INTERVIEWER: Is he a puppet, is that what you say?
AKKARI: In a way he is, some people are trying to evade something here.
INTERVIEWER: Who?
AKKARI: There are several parties that carry a responsibility in this affair, the least of which is not Jyllands-Posten who right now, is made out to be a completely innocent party from whom nothing is demanded as much….
INTERVIEWER: Are you sayin that he is channeling them?
AKKARI: No, not in that way, but we have several parties in this. The main parties have been the newspaper, the government and us as a third party. We have tried many things, the latest of which was at the conference in Bahrain, with good results… partially good results. The government has been very delayed in its action. And then there’s Jyllands-Posten which does not respond in any real way, in a way that would help. We’ve seen Arla, who’ve been in the Middle-East for forty years, who’ve never been addressed as second-rate citizens in any way. And it’s opinions like that we need to hear because everyone needs to carry their proper share of responsibility in this society.

He then went on a whine-binge, whining about how unfairly he’s been treated. My stomache wasn’t up for translating and transcribing that.
On March 25, it was also annnounced that the two Danish Imams would be questioned Monday, March 27.
Come March 27 at 10 O’Clock, Imam Ahmed Akkari was questioned by the Danish police with the rights of an accused. No formal indictment was presented. Per Larsen of the Copenhagen Police said:

Wheather it is punsihable or not, investigating this may have a good, old-fashioned preventive effect. It’s an important signal to send. It seems positively absurd to have thoughts like that. That’s why it is useful to debate this. Whether the charges can bear an indictment the investigation will have to show.

That was the state of things Monday. You might’ve thought it wise to keep your trap shut if you were Ahmed Akkari, but unfortunately for Ahmed Akkari, you’re not. This Wednesday he suffered another “misstatement” when he told Al Arabia that the Danish Foreign Ministry has prohibited the Imams from speaking out about the conference in Bahrain they recently attended. From TV2 Nyhederne, Wednesday, playing a clip from Al Arabia, translated from the subtitles:

We’ve just been questioned by the police and we weren’t indicted in connection with that. In Denmark we were prohibited from speaking about the conference. The Danish Foreign Ministry has prohibited everyone from speaking speaking about the conference before an official translation of the conference’s conclusions is available.

In the same segment Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Møller, speaking from the Faroe Islands, denies the truthfulness of that:

It’s pure rubbish. I don’t know of anything of the sort. We aren’t in contact with and we haven’t been in contact with the travelling Danish Imams. So I don’t understand that he said this to Al Arabia

Ahmed Akkari responds:

I think it was said in the wrong way. What I wanted to say was that this subject isn’t discussed in Denmark. I’ve asked Al Arabia to issue a correction.

The Spokesman on Foreign Issues for the Liberal Party, Jens Hald Madsen comments:

Honestly, I think we are all of us getting tired with Akkari’s frequent lies. I think the people and the media ought to just ignore him in the same way all other village idots are ignored.