Agora

This is a feature article from Politiken which appeared this Saturday. The evening of that day, the Democratic Moslems organisation held their general annual meeting, which created quite a stir in Denmark. I will be posting some more articles about this subject. So far it seems that Naser Khader has managed to pull off a spectacular public relations coup for moderate, democratically minded Moslems in Denmark and I must say that I am pleased. If only he were a moderate Liberal instead of a right-wing Social Liberal…

Related posts:
A Prize Immigrant
Danish Imam Abu Laban knew about planned Martyr operation
Danish Imam Ahmed Akkari: Kill Naser Khader
Ahmed Akkari: Latest News

Danish Moslems: Arise and Protest

Feature article from Politiken, April 1st, 2006
By Ibrahim Ramadan

My religion is threatened in this country.

Not because I am a part of a Moslem minority in a Christian country. Not for lack of Mosques. And not by the Danish People’s Party and their stereotypical depiction of Moslems.

My religion is threatened by people who claim to belong to the same faith as I do. Threatened by organisations such as Hizb-ut-Tahrir and by people such as Ahmed Akkari, Abu Laban and Raed Hlayhel who all claim to work to spread the word of God. In reality, they’re working towards another goal entirely - to control what other Moslems should believe, think and do.

Some Moslems in Denmark have accepted the Danish Imams’ words and take strong exception to Naser Khader. They think he has sold out the Arab cultural heritage and that he’s shed Moslem values to become accepted by the Danes.

But what few Moslems in Denmark understand is that Naser Khader more than any other works to ensure that we qua Moslems are seen as assets and aren’t looked down upon as a problem in Denmark.
(more…)

BREAKING NEWS
This just in. One down. One being tackled as we speak. Imam Abu Laban of pig-eared fame apparently knew about a planned “Martyr action” on February 21st. Quoting from my transcript of previously unreleased footage from Mohammed Sifaoui, the journalist who broke the news of Imam Ahmed Akkari’s death threats against Naser Khader. Imam Abu Laban is speaking of a man who plans to execute a martyr operation in connection with the Battle of Khartoon:

{He’s doing everything to get contacts.}
{He’s contacted Amr Moussa and he means to wreak absolute havoc.}
{He wants to join the fray and turn it into a Martyr operation right now.}

Screenshot of Imam Abu Laban before entering the car where he spoke the words that already now spell the doom of his career as a spokesman for Moslems and a citizen of Denmark.

Danish Politicians are shocked.

Marianne Jelved of the Social Liberals:

I find it very unpleasant. Very unpleasant indeed. And I think that Abu Laban, if he wishes to remain in Denmark, ought to consider the rules here.

Helge Adam Møller of the Conservatives:

With 99 percent certainty it’s an act of terrorism to which we are referring. Because a martyr operation is to blow oneself and innocents sky high. Whether it’s in Denmark or someplace else, it’s equally serious. It’s innocents who are killed. He apparently knows something about that. If he hasn’t himself gone to the police, he incurs a colossal responsibility and he is in direct breach of Danish law.
[…]
With 99 percent certainty it’s an act of terrorism to which we are referring. Because a martyr operation is to blow oneself and innocents sky high. Whether it’s in Denmark or someplace else, it’s equally serious. It’s innocents who are killed. He apparently knows something about that. If he hasn’t himself gone to the police, he incurs a colossal responsibility and he is in direct breach of Danish law.

Pia Kjærsgaard of the Danish People’s Party:

I have come to think that all of these more or less festering persons from the Islamic Faith Community should be interrogated, all of them, by the police naturally, and that this matter must be thoroughly investigated because it sounds very scary. And that isn’t something we as politicians should let pass by. Therefore I will talk to the Justice Minister and inquire as to the reaction to this and get her to step in.

Direct link to News footage which is transcribed and translated below. Link to article that describes the news clip.

Note: I plan to post updates below this and just push the transcript lower and lower.
UPDATE 1 MARCH 25 00:52 CET
Photographs of Abu Laban:
Abu Laban at home
Abu Laban preaching. Subtitles say: “These people I call rats in holes.” From this article. The ‘rats’ are Naser Khader and Ayaan Hirsi Ali.
Abu Laban looking smug at a press conference
Abu Laban captured by Mohammed Sifaoui’s hidden camera at home
Abu Laban preaching again. Pointy fingers.

UPDATE 2 MARCH 25 01:07 CET
Gateway Pundit reminds me of his dossier on Abu Laban. Excerpts:

Entertained the “Blind Sheikh” behind the first World Trade Center attacks

Praised Osama Bin Laden after 9-11 Attacks

Preached he “Shed no tears” after 9-11 Attacks

Accused of giving Political support to Osama bin Laden’s network

Accused of giving Financial support to Osama bin Laden’s network

Joined with 225 Islamic Radicals to form Global Jihadist Group in 2003

Said that Theo van Gogh - “Had it coming!”

Called on his flock to Give Their Lives to Global Jihad for Palestinians

Met with Sheikh Qaradawi in Saudi Arabia who has legalized the murder of American soldiers in Iraq

Much more at Gateway Pundit

UPDATE 3 MARCH 25 01:42 CET
Killgore Trout remarks at LGF that he’s still a little unclear about what the quote means. Mohammed Sifaoui explains (from the transcript):

{I didn’t use that piece in my documentary because we assesed -}
{- that we didn’t have enough details to know of whom he was talking -}
{- and whether the operation was to take place in Denmark or somewhere else.}
{But I am convinced that he was speaking of someone -}
{- who was ready to execute a suicide operation.}

Amr Moussa is the Chairman of the Arab League.

—————–
Transcript of DR news programme where Abu Laban talks about his terror ties.

Everything in [] is to describe the general environment of the transcript.
Everything in {} mean I’m translating from the subtitles. Each pair of {}s is a full translation of each subtitle.

[In news studio]

NEWS ANCHOR: Good evening, this is the late TV-Avisen, which will also take a look at this evening’s EU meeting in Brussels.
First, new accusations by the French TV journalist who infiltrated the Danish Imam environment. One of hisrecordings with a hidden camera reveals that Imam Abu Laban speaks of a person who, quoting: “Wants to wreak absolute havoc and conduct a Martyr-operation.” Danish Police plans to question Imam Abu Laban about that as soon as he return from a conference of Imams in Bahrain.

[cut to recording of Danish Imams. Imam Abu Laban in picture.]
(more…)

Note: This first part is just a summary of the article attached to this post. When updates come in, I plan to add them and link to the original articles. The original article is nice to have for reference.

Imam Ahmed Akkari has issued death threats against Naser Khader of the Social Liberals. Naser Khader founded the organisation “Democratic Moslems” in February, as an organisation for moderate, Democracy-minded Moslems to join. See this article for biography and background on the enmity between Naser Khader and the Imams in Denmark.

Today Jyllands-Posten reports that Imam Ahmed Akkari was recorded on a hidden camera by journalist Mohamed Sifaoui of the French TV-Station France 2 which will show a documentary tonight detailing the doings of the Danish Imams. The documentary also reveals that the Danish Imams have been using the affair as a lever to go against their political opponents in Denmark.
Ahmed Akkari is quoted as saying:

If [Naser Khader] becomes the Minister of Foreigners or Integration, why don’t we send out two guys to blow up him and his ministry?

The Danish reaction to this has been consternation and revulsion.
Peter Skaarup of the Danish People’s Party:

It’s pure threats and it only goes to show how crazy these Imams have been acting. I will at once ask the Minister what punishment can be given for making such statements and whether it is a punishable offense,

Jens Rohde of the Liberals:

This is certainly very disturbing and it shows what we’re up against. That’s also why I am worried about what is happening at that conference in Bahrain which Ahmed Akkari is a delegate to

Ahmed Akkari denies:

I’ve never said anything like that about Naser Khader, but they are welcome to try and prove it

UPDATE 1
Politiken reports that Elsebeth Gerner Nielsen of the Social Liberals has reported Imam Ahmed Akkari to the police:

The police must investigate whether the French documentary checks out and whether things are as Jyllands-Posten says. If they are, that statement deserves the harshest condemnations.
[…]
I feel very sorry for my colleague and his family . It’s absolutely horrible that he has to live with threats of murder and must be guarded by the police.

The police say that an inquiry is under way:

From what we know so far, it is relevant to start an inquiry.
[…]
[whether it is punishable] depends on under what circumstances the statement was made. And whether they create real fear and discomfort. The fact that the threats are now being quoted in the media is also relevant.

The police in Berlingske Tidende:

We’re investigating whether there is grounds for prosecuting him for these threats. We need to find out what kind of documentation the journalists have and we need to talk with the persons involved.

Ahmed Akkari now calls it a “joke”:

If they think I have said that, then I must have been jesting.
[…]
You also need to understand, from the context, that I wasn’t being serious because I usually don’t say stuff like that - not even in jest. But sometimes things happen.

This blog would like to remind Ahmed Akkari of the time he beat a little boy till he bled. Was that just “one of those times”?

UPDATE 2
Naser Khader has recovered enough to give a statement to the news agency Ritzau. Ritzaus reports that he is still shaken by the statement but wants to see the documentary and hear what is said in Arabic before he issues a statement.

But this is in any case still very, very discomforting.

Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen has issued a statement:

I only know of the case from the media. But if things are the way they seem, I find reason to express horror that anyone could seriously consider saying that. It’s quite shocking shocking that an elected Danish politician is threatened like that. I assume the police will investigate what’s what in this case and then I count on them to deal with it.

The Vice President of Democratic Moslems, Fathi el-Abed says:

Words are powerful - we learned that from this crisis. I think it’s childish, shocking and reprehensible that he says something and then takes it back because the public gets wind of it.

This is the latest from the police. Per Larsen, Chief Inspector:

This seems to be serious. If the words that have been reported to have been said were said, this is a case of Threats on a Person’s Life. This needs to be thoroughly investigated.
[…]
With the reservation that we must know how the threats were made, it sounds like we might want to interrogate the people who are on their way home from Bahrain.

UPDATE 3
From the ten o’clock TV2 news programme.
Ahmed Akkari by telephone from Bahrain:

If I said that, I think the cirumstances must have been not very serious and only in jest ehh… and I of course clearly distance myself from any thing of this kind and also assure Naser that it isn’t anything I can vouch for.

Foreign Minister Per Stig Møller:

What I’ve seen from the newspapers doesn’t look very nice at all. And if he was joking, he’s got a very bad sense of humour.

Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen:

I think that, in any case - even if one is only toying with the thought of terrorist attacks against elected representatives - it is a gravely serious matter, which one must distance oneself from to the greatest degree. Apart from that, I assume as a matter of course that the Police will make inquiries into this matter.

Peter Lautrup Larsen, TV2’s Resident Political Expert:

Of course [Ahmed Akkari’s remarks] have been noticed. That the Foreign Minister and the Prime Minister feel that they must comment on this, shows that it is something the politicians view very gravely. Even if Ahmed Akkari says it’s just a joke. As the Foreign Minister said; it’s a very bad joke indeed then.

Peter Lautrup Larsen also says that the Prime Minister said off-camera that it’s funny how it’s seemingly okay to joke about something in one context [Ahmed Akkari’s remarks] and not in another context [the Muhammed Cartoons].

UPDATE 4
Hat tip: Uriasposten
The programme will be sent tonight 8.50 on France 2 in the series of programmes known as Envoye-Special (Trans: Special Correspondents). Link to the introduction to the programme here.
Translated:

Caricatures: Beneath the Anger
A report by Mohammed Sifaoui

Following the publication of the caricatures of the Prophet Muhammed, the Moslem world ignited. Ransacked embassies, flag burnings and confrontations between police force and demonstrators caused the death of thirty people.

Following the violent reactions in many countries, several Danish newspapers spoke about manipulation. That is what a team of Special Correspondents wanted to investigate in Denmark.

At the source of the extensive media coverage in the Arab Muslim world: a group of imams. They’re Danish and it is they who gave international significance to what was at the beginning only a simple matter of the press.

The investigation very quickly will show that these Imams are actually islamists. They use the matter of the caricatures to settle a score with Jyllands-Posten, the newspaper which published the drawings. This daily newspaper on several occasions had criticized the goals and activities of these imams. To ignite the Islamic world, these clerics prepared and disseminated to a wide audience a file with accusations against Denmark which didn’t contain only the famous caricatures of Muhammed. It is this file which was sent with the assistance of certain ambassadors to the Moslem authorities of several Arab countries. The imams admit adding these vulgar photographs and insulting drawings which have no relation to the caricatures.

The journalists of the Envoye-Special gained the confidence of some of these imams. These “clerics” do not hide their views. They regard secular people as “enemies” and try to promote a radical Islam.

A report about Mohammed Sifaoui: Journalist penetrated Islamic extremist groups in Paris

UPDATE 5
Berlingske Tidende have been quick to get their correspondent in Paris on the case and have an interview with Mohamed Sifaoui here. Note that Ahmed Akkari is of Lebanese origins.
Translated the good bits:

Are the quotes by Jyllands-Posten correct?
They are entirely correct(…) He said it in Arabic and I had three different persons translate it. I speak Arabic myself, but to exercise due dilligence, I also had it translated by some Lebanese people to be sure.
Ahmed Akkari denies that he has ever been in a car with Sheikh Raed Hlayhel and a French journalist?
I think that the best answer is that you see him for yourself in the car with me filming him with a hidden camera.
In your opinion, was he serious when he said he would blow up Naser Khader?
I don’t know.
Did you ask if he was serious?
I didn’t ask. I didn’t even react. I was there as an observer, I didn’t want to react. I looked out the window while filming and pretended not to follow their conversation. I didn’t want to interrupt their conversation. Since they were talking, I was filming.
It was Akkari and Hlayhel who were talking?
Yes, I pretended not to be there. I didn’t encourage them with questions, nothing at all. I said nothing. I got into the car, they started talking and I was filming. I didn’t ask any questions at all.
How did you gain the trust of the Imams?
I won the trust of Abu Laban first and foremost… (…) Abu Laban was in the other car. He was being filmed by my colleague.

UPDATE 6
Screenshots from the documentary:
Abu Zakaria talking with Mohamed Sifaoui
Ahmed Akkari in the car
Sheikh Raed Hlayhel

Ahmed Akkari has issued a public apology. It’s funny that he has to defend himself with the words that were used to defend the cartoons. Funny in a hilarious way. Really hilarious. “In Denmark there is a tradition for humour, irony, sarcasm and jests…” I don’t believe him, by the way.
Translated from TV2:

No threat to Naser Khader
I have learned that a recording made with a hidden camera has caused much debate in the media in Denmark.

The recording was of a group of people talking and having a good time. The mood was loose and free, and jokes were made. In this mood and spirit I said what has now been understood as a threat against Naser Khader.

I would like to emphasise that my remark carried no serious intent and that Naser Khader of course need not feel threatened by me. It was said in jest only and looking back I see that it may have been a bit out of place and too rough on the edges.

In Denmark there is a tradition for humour, sarcasm, irony and jests and I have often heard jests of an equally jestful nature from many different parties. Not just Moslems.

Both I and other Moslems in Denmark have have always had the position on Naser Khader and his political career that when we feel we must oppose him we do so, but only with words. Unfortunately a cheerful mood can sometimes escalate and I deeply regret that this statement, which was made in jest only, has been taken seriously.

Who only sees jest as jest

And the serious as only serious…

The last part is part of a gruk (kind of a saying) by Piet Hein, which goes so in Danish: “Den som kun tager spøg for spøg, og alvor kun alvorligt, han og hun har faktisk fattet begge dele dårligt”
Translated: “Who only sees jest as jest, and the serious as only serious, he and she has understood both things poorly.”

So which is it? Jest or serious?

When we’re talking about people who supported the September 11 attacks, it is hard for mere mortals to tell the difference.

UPDATE 7
DR.DK has brought a list of statements by politicians about this case. Some of them are new.

Spokesman on Immigrant Politics, Elsebeth Gerner Nielsen, Social Liberals:

Murder threats are not somthing to jest about and particularly not in the current situation. I can’t distance myself enough from those statements. Some things seem to indicate that he is a criminal or in any case insane.

Chairman of Conservatives’ parliament group, Helge Adam Møller:

We have long known that Ahmed Akkari speaks with a forked tongue, but that one of its forks is so poisonous is, after all, a surprise to me.

Coming up in next update: Translation of an article which describes the documentary.

UPDATE 8
Sorry, didn’t get that translation done. This interview came up. From Denmark’s Radio. Link.

Interviewer: Akkari, I would like to begin this with reading to you a quote: “If he becomes the Minister of Foreigners or Integration, why don’t we send out two guys to blow up him and his ministry?” who spoke those words?

Akkari: I don’t recall saying anything either in jest or in earnest. If it happened, it is regrettable and a very crude jest, which I immediately and at once want to express my regrets for and distance myself from.

Interviewer: What is it you find jesting about those words?

Akkari: Perhaps there isn’t anything funny about them. It’s more sarcastic and out of proportions in a light-hearted context… And it’s very unfortunate that something like that is taken seriously because there’s no intent there, at all.

Interviewer: But what might make you - in jest - threaten to murder a prominent Danish politician?

Akkari: Our tongues can, all of us, run to the right or to the left and I think that’s what happened in very simple circumstances where there’s been a slightly humourous situation… and talked a bit to the right or to the left about something funny.

Interviewer: Do we agree that it is serious to threaten a Danish politician with murder?

Akkari: I will write him a letter to insure him that it wasn’t the intent at all… and that I have eh… never wished nor do I wish… I take strong exception to anyone who would plan or think of something like that… Whether it’s in jest or in earnest, it’s totally reprehensible.

Interviewer: What’s your comment on having been reported to the police?

Akkari: Eeehh… I don’t think that anything… comes from that because it’s something that’s totally unserious and something that’s… I take exception to in the most direct way and I also assure Naser that it isn’t something he was meant by.

Interviewer: But if you’re saying that you’ve acted in an irresponsible manner here, how do you imagine Danish Moslems and the Danish population in general respecting you and taking you serious in the future as spokesman for Moslems in Denmark?

Akkari: One thing is what one usually says, another thing is that… anyone can err - we are human, have that as something we were built with that that error may happen so people will have to judge by the whole and not by such a single, unique rather unconcentrated situation in a car where there’s a lot of loose talk.

Interviewer: The last couple of days, I have several times asked you whether you could give me any guarantees that what you’re saying in front of the camera is the same as you’re saying in the nooks while talking to your Moslem brothers. What do you think of the fact that you, time upon time, have told me that you could guarentee that - you weren’t one to talk with a forked tongue, that you’re reliable, that you have but one message: Peace and reconciliation?

Akkari: Eeeh… All people joke about certain things eeeehh… which they usually don’t support… eeeh… or normally say - express that that is their position. I think that’s what happened - there’s come a serious, crude joke which is no more. I have rejected it and taken clear exception to it. It’s nothing I in any way have any intent of doing.

Interviewer: Do you think you can continue on as spokesman for the Islamic Faith Community of Denmark?

Akkari: I think the line is clear and there’s nothing to mix up with this. So.. eh, yes I don’t see that it’s a problem, what’s happened.

Interviewer: But isn’t it hard to have a serious, respected spokesman who goes around and, in jest, threatens to murder Danish politicians?

Akkari: No, because I have threatened to kill nobody and this has been a completely unacceptable situation.

Interviewer: But how do you explain that it happens, that you’re sitting in the company of another Imam and an undercover journalist crack that kind of joke. What makes you crack such a joke?

Akkari: I think it’s been a rather light-hearted situation where people have been talking right and left, and then one can sometimes overdo it in describing a catastrophe, or a problem. So I think that’s all that’s been the meaning of that.

Interviewer: Will there, in the future, be uncovered other quotes where you maybe have threatened other Danish politicians or said anything else, that might contravene your official position of peace and reconciliation?

Akkari: I think that all my official an unofficial positions are of the same cloth, but both you and everybody else can sometimes say and use some words which they normally don’t.. approve of or really mean in conditions of light-heartedness and… I don’t drink [alcohol] but others do and the things one say when there’s a light-hearted mood, that is what happens.

Interviewer: But have you made other, similar, remarks where you’ve threatened to kill other Danish politicians or doing something similarly radical?

Akkari: I couldn’t even remember the reference to that, before you mention it, so I don’t think I have said it, and if I have said that then I take exception to myself and those statements - if there’s something to it - where my tongue was faster than my brain in such a special situation.

Interviewer: How do you think the Danish people should view you after these statements - in jest - about killing a Danish politician?

Akkari: It’s not statements about killing a Danish politician. And I think the people have more reason and sense to understand these kinds of things than one would think.

Interviewer: So you’re certain that the Danish people will forgive what you call an innocent joke?

Akkari: That’s up to them, but I am sure that people see that this isn’t anything to be taken seriously at all.

[Camera changes, interviewer out of picture. Ahmed Akkari seen being interviewed]

Akkari: We have made satire and poked fun at many things and…

[Camera changes back]

Interviewer: Do you understand that it might be hard for Danes to accept that it’s not okay to make caricatures of Muhammed, but that it’s okay to threaten - in jest - to kill a Danish politician?

Akkari: That’s a wrong conclusian and comparison to make of this.

Interviewer: Isn’t it very natural? You’ve been very angry, very offended that your prophet has been offended, but now you’ve - in jest - threatened to kill a politician. How do you think Naser Khader feels today?

Akkari: I hope he feels only safe because we all know that stuff like this is ridiculous and not acceptable. Good.

[Camera moves, another journalist moves in]

Interviewer 2: You were confronted with your statement…

[time lapse in interview]

Akkari: … recorded it, then I must have said it, otherwise I wouldn’t remember it.

Interviewer 2: So you DID say it?

Akkari: If they can document it with a tape, it must have been said, I can’t say more than that.

[another journalist]

Interviewer 3: Do you doubt that you’ve said it? Because they write..

Akkari: Yes, I do. But I don’t have…

[time lapse again, original journalist back in the game]

Interviewer: How do you think your threats against Naser Khader affect the situation for Danish Moslems?

Akkari: I don’t think they have to affect anything, because if we have a public who understand things in proportions, nothing will happen, but if one is very narrow-minded, I do understand how…

Interviewer: But don’t you think you’ve hurt the cause of Moslems in Denmark by threatening to kill a Danish politician?

Akkari: No, I don’t think that will happen, because, as I have said, it’s something that’s.. a unique situation.

UPDATE 9
Naser Khader is considering resigning his mandate in the Danish parliament Folketinget. JP has published a report by Ritzau’s bureau quoting a statement made to TV2’s news programme by Naser Khader saying that he is considering leaving Danish politics following the death threat made by Ahmed Akkari. It says that the last few months have put him under intense pressure and he has had to accept protection by the Police Intelligence Service. According to TV2, Naser Khader has experienced very unpleasant episodes, i.a. confrontations with the Moslem extremist of Hizb-ut-Tahrir and other radical organisations. He has also received death threats by mail.

Therefore he has chosen to take a political time-out before announcing his decision.

Marianne Jelved, the leader of the Social Liberals says to DR about the news that she has had contact with Naser Khader and that:

He and his family are understandably very shaken. They need a bit of peace this weekend. We in the parliamentary group will give all possible support to Naser Khader and his family. I don’t hope that he does that, resigns from politics. It’s unbearable, but I respect that he needs a few days of peace.

Friend of Naser Khader, parliamentarian Morten Helveg Petersen of the Social Liberals says to Politiken:

Naser is the symbol of seperation between religion and politics and that is why this is bigger than just that forked-tongued guy Akkari. As a religious leader he has a responsibility to not create a situation and to not deceive. That responsibility he has failed totally and my fear is that it has an effect in places we don’t know well enough. That’s why there’s cause for concern.

UPDATE 10 MARCH 24 18:41 CET
Naser Khader has issued this statement on his website:

My Situation
March 24, 2006
There’s a lot of speculation about my situation right now. But let me make this clear: I have not gone under ground, nor did I have a nervous breakdown. I need to rest after having endured several months of stress, and I need to be with my family.

Thank you very much for the many mails I have received supporting me and and my family.

Regards,
Naser Khader.

Ekstra Bladet reports that Naser Khader has hired a crisis psychologist to help him. He says to Ekstra Bladet that:

I have said all along that I would overcome the threats, but I just can’t anymore. It’s just become too much.

This blog hopes that Naser Khader gets better. He’s a great man.

Sandmonkey had a post up with a link to the first 6 minutes of the programme yesterday. Before the post was deleted, I snatched the link.

DR.DK reports that Imam Ahmed Akkari is no longer the spokesman for the Islamic Faith Community. Board member of the Islamic Faith Community, Kasaem Said Ahmad:

Akkari cannot be our Spokesman after these remarks.

Akkari didn’t have much to say:

I have no comments to that.

Which is surprising. He usually comments on everything.

Board member and co-creator of the Democratic Moslems organisation, Fathi el-Abed Friday reported the Danish Imam Ahmed Akkari to the Danish police for his statements in the French programme. Elsebeth Gerner Nielsen of the Social Liberals has already done this, making that the second report the police received. These high-profile cases usually generate quite a number of reports in Denmark.

UPDATE 11 MARCH 25 00:01 CET
BREAKING NEWS
Imam Abu Laban of the same group as Imam Ahmed Akkari was caught on tape by Mohammed Sifaoui talking about a person who santed to execute a suicide operation. More here.

UPDATE 12 MARCH 25 00:14 CET
From Sandmonkey, the clip where Imam Ahmed Akkari goes all goofy, talks about killing a Danish Politician. Cracks me up he does. What a joker.

(more…)

Danish politicians have shown a remarkable amount of backbone in the case of Abdul Rahman who is on trial in Afghanistan for having converted from Islam to Christianity. Naser Khader of the Social Liberals and Søren Espersen of the Danish People’s Party suggest military action to free Abdul Rahman may be in order.
(more…)

So far, I have just translated the sections that are important to the case. This was translated into English from the French translation available here (Designation E/CN.4/2006/17, published on February 13th, titled “(Situation des populations musulmanes et arabes dans diverses régions du monde - Rapport soumis par le Rapporteur spécial sur les formes contemporaines de racisme, de discrimination raciale, de xénophobie et de l’intolérance qui y est associée, Doudou Diène)”

Note: Inter alia = among other things
recrudescence = a return of something after a period of abatement
vulgarizing = to make more common/widespread/accepted
(more…)

In response to Arla Foods’ bowing before the dictators of the Middle East, Jens Rohde who is the Political Spokesman for the ruling Liberal party, today suggested that Arla might feel more at home in Teheran.

Interview from Berlingske Tidende, March 21st:

“Arla is free to move to Teheran”
By Morten Henriksen

Interview
Arla is free to move their “main offices to Teheran if they feel like it. There they would be free to do business in a culture with which they are apparently more attuned than the Danish,” says the Political Spokesman of the Liberals, Jens Rohde, in a scathing condemnation of Arla’s latest marketing ploy in the Middle East.
(more…)

UPDATE: DPP requests that all Danish Imam’s statements be recorded. See below.

In a not-so-surprising move by Arla foods of Denmark, those of whining fame when the Battle of Khartoon first set in, Arla has launched a new advertising campaign in the Arab world. That’s not too bad in and of itself. BUT. They’ve decided to go about it by printing this statement in Arab newspapers together with TV commercials:

Arla Foods Distancing itself from the Cartoons

Statement from Arla Foods

At Arla Foods we feel that it is our duty to bring to your attention our position on the unfortunate event which took place a few months ago. We are also addressing the conference for International Support for the Prophet to take place on March 22 and 23 2006 to explain our point of view.

Arla foods distances itself from the act of Jyllands-Posten in choosing to print caricatures of the Prophet Muhammed and we do not share the newspaper’s reasons for doing so.
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I stumbled across this article while reading Polemiken. It’s in German but I have translated it below. Tariq Ramadan clearly doesn’t want to discuss the basics. He also seems very badly adjusted to anyone questioning him and his beliefs. He’s been known to criticise people for their Jewishness and is accused by some of being a master of the long con, Osama bin Laden with patience, waiting for the demographic explosion of the Moslem populations of Europe to take over Europe. What’s a bit frightening is that this man is an advisor to the British government and seems to be generally well received in the intellectual millieu.

In the translation, the links are all mine, the editor’s comments are the newspaper’s.

You’re an Arrogant Man

Weltwoche, ausgabe 47/04.

By Hanspeter Born and Eugen Sorg

Interview with Tariw Ramadan: What was supposed to have been a critical dialogue with the Islamist writer, ended in fiasco.

We looked forward to a stirring, critical second talk with the Islamist author and preacher Tariq Ramadan. The first took place two weeks before this, and after we had reviewed it, we had a few misgivings - with ourselves and with Ramadan. We talked about Islam and terrorism, Iraq, the backwardness of the Arab world, the United Nations, universal values, freedom of opinion, headscarves. Now we had the feeling that our questions were too ordinary and too tentative. And that his answers were too rehearsed, too evasive and too ambigous - without our asking more questions to gain clarity.

This time we wanted to do better. We wanted to be concrete, harder, more personal and, if possible, to prevent empty retorics and charades.We wanted to know Ramadan’s position on the following questions and issues:In the eyes of most Moslems the West is morally inferior. Tolerance is a sign of decadence. The Islamic law of Sharia demands the death penalty for e.g. Homosexuality, female adulterers, atheism, the apostates of Islam, etc. Assuming the following: Ramadan’s daughter goes to the pool in bikini, wants to move together with her boyfriend, her boyfriend is an atheist; Ramadan’s son announces to his parents that he is a gay and has acted on this: What is Ramadan’s response?

Righteousness and laws are central to Islam, but it has no concept of Freedom or individuals. Islamism is not Humanism. It is significant that the writer Rushdie had a fatwa proclaimed against him, but not Osama bin Laden, Zarqawi or criminals of that ilk. The Koran is the work of man, the Prophet a warlord with a large following. The desolate state of things in the Arab world is connected to the ban on criticism of Islam. The Prophet allows Taqqiya for the believers (Taqiya is the omission and the lie) if they live under the rule of the unbelievers: How can we belive that Ramadan believes in what he is telling us?
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Mohammed al-Asadi gave this interview which was published today, to the Danish newspaper Information’s correspondent in Cairo. He was released on bail February 22, following international pressure. Al-Asadi is still in good health and managed on March 10 to leave Yemen to attend a journalists’ conference. Contrary to some reports he is facing the death penalty as this article makes clear. He intends to return to Yemen to fight the good fight.
See below the article for relevant links to resources on the al-Asadi trial.

It’s not my Prophet

“I don’t regret printing those cartoons. I was defending the Prophet, I was defending Islam against those who wish to use the religion to create conflicts and maintain their grip on power,” says Mohammed al-Asadi - the editor in chief of The Yemen Observer who is now on trial for his life for having printed three of the Danish Mohammed cartoons.

By Rune Lykkeberg

The Friday after he was released from jail, he went to pray at the Mosque. Mohammed al-Asadi had become a known face in Yemen: He had been presented as a criminal on national TV and in government-friendly newspapers. He was also a known face outside of Yemen: Newsweek did a telephone interview with him in prison where they called him a “martyr for the free press” and BBC World has told his story. This Friday Mohammed al-Asadi didn’t wish to be recognised. All he wanted to do was to go to Friday Prayers, so he walked towards a Mosque in a part of Sanaa, the capital of Yemen, where he doesn’t usually go:
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It’s a dirty job and all that, but need it really be such a dirty job to be a Danish cartoonist?

Cash and a car for the blood of Danish cartoonists
Peshawar, Mar 15
In his office in Peshawar’s historic Mohabat Khan mosque, prayer leader Maulana Yousaf Qureshi smoothes his beard from the white roots to the henna-orange tips.

“There’s no time limit. If someone kills the cartoonist in 50 years he will still get the million dollars,” he says.

In a blazing sermon on February 17, Qureshi promised the money — and a new car — to whoever assassinates any of the 12 Danes whose drawings of the Prophet Mohammed ignited a firestorm of protest across the Muslim world.
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This piece was published in today’s edition of Jyllands-Posten. It was written by Poul Højlund of Pia Causa. It’s good, conservative reasoning about this thing called Islam. Please notice, by the way, that Muhammed is depicted once again in this infidel newspaper from the North.

Update: Poul has a post about this article. If you want to praise or comment on the article, go here.

Democracy before Religion

By Poul Højlund

Islam is an unbreakable monolith of religion and politics. Islam as traditionally interpreted is not compatible with democracy, the author of today’s feature article writes.

“Freedom of Religion is included in the UN Declaration of Human Rights and the Danish Constitution. This means that I am free to be a Christian and my neighbor can be a Moslem without this interfering with our basic rights or our recognition by society at large. And our neighbor another door over is allowed to believe in absolutely nothing while remaining a co-equal member of our common society.

Freedom of Religion means that if someone by words or deeds attacks my two non-Christian neighbors on account of their beliefs or lack thereof, I’ll be there to defend their rights. In the same manner, I can count on them - if things get to that.”

That is what I wrote in Jyllands-Posten in November of 2002 in the feature article titled “Freedom of Beliefs and Belief in Freedom”, and I still hold it to be true - indeed I don’t see how I could believe otherwise. But in that article I also wrote of the real and present danger of oppression of Democracy. (more…)

UN: Denmark Violated Convention on Racism

By Jens Grund and Kristoffer Pinholt

The UN criticises that the Danish state didn’t vigorously pursue allegations of racism of racism against the leader of the Danish People’s Party, Pia Kjærsgaard in 2003. Pia Kjærsgaard says UN’s decision is preposterous.

Denmark violated the UN convention on racial discrimination by not vigorously pursuing a charge of racism against the leader of the Danish People’s Party, Pia Kjærsgaard, in 2003.

So says the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in a new decision. The case began in 2003 when Pia Kjærsgaard in a letter to the editor criticised the Minister for Justice for subbmitting a proposed law against circumcision of girls to the Danish-Somalian organisation. The leader of the DPP compared it to asking pedophiles whether they objected to a ban on sex with children.
[…]

This just made me laugh. We are being decided on by a committee who among its members can muster such excellent members of the world community as Argentina, Ecuador, China, Burkina Faso, Guatemala and… wait for it.
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I had a post about this earlier, but that has been deleted. It was only the English excerpt from aftenposten.no. Here I bring the full interview from dagbladet.no. This is a rough translation, but I need some sleep. If there are any errors, they will be corrected tomorrow.

(I would also like to thank sveitserosten for bringing to my attention that this interview had been made.)

Dagbladet.no February 13, 2006

Islam will be Victorious against the West

There can be no lasting peace between the West and Islam before the Islamic Caliphate has been reborn. So says Mullah Krekar. In this interview he shares a peek at Radical Islamists’ thoughts in the aftermath of the Caricature affair.

Carsten Thomassen

Mullah Krekar is wearing a bright white tunic as he welcomes us to his home at Tøyen in Oslo. In a corner sits the computer which Mullah Krekar uses to publish his articles and communicate with co-religionists from all over the world.
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It’s a dirty job being a cartoonist in Denmark(From DR.DK):

Pakistan: Bounty for killing Muhammed Cartoonists

March 12, 2006 13.28 Foreign News

The men behind the Danish Muhammed cartoons are today faced with another bounty on their heads from Pakistan.

It is the Bar Association who are calling for the murder of the 12 Jyllands-Posten cartoonists.

“I offer the reward of 10 Million Rupees (1 Million DKK, 120000US$) for anyone who kills one of the Cartoonists,” says Syes Athar Bukhari, the President of the Bar Association.

Bukhari is supported by the Jamaat-i-Islami party, the second-largest part of the Pakistani coalition government. The local leader, Rao Zafar Iqbal, says that the mebers of the party are willing to die for this sacred cause.

They just updated their report, adding:

During the demonstration in the city of Multan Danish, Norwegian, Italian, Israeli and American flag were burned, and shouts of “Death to Denmark” were heard.

TV2-Nyhederne confirms the report.

Also see: 10 Charged with Threats against Jyllands-Posten

Yay! Today is a day of happy tidings. From Politiken today:

Turkish Mediation in Prophet Crisis given the Brush-off

The Turkish Foreign minister suggests to the EU that they tighten their laws against offending religious sensibilites. Both the Danish and the Dutch Foreign Minister rejects the proposal.
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UPDATE: Today is a day of happy tidings. See this post.

MFs and crapola. You’ll have to excuse my language but it’s prophane times we live in. This just in:

BT, March 11, 2006

Turkey urges European Union to examine its legislation
The Turkish Foreign Minister to be a broker between the Islamic and the European countries.

Turkey asks the European Union to examine its legislation in order to avoid conflicts between the Moslem and Western world similar to what was seen in connection with the Muhammed-crisis.

So a draft of Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül’s speech to be delivered at a convention of Foreign Ministers of the European Union at Salzburg today says.
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Ah fuck! On top of everything else today, now this:

UPDATE: Transcript of interview with Foreign Commissioner of EU at the bottom of this post. Looks ominous.
UPDATE: Time to do the Dhimmi dance. Turkish Foreign Minister to urge European nations to “examine their legislation!”
UPDATE: Today is a day of happy tidings. See this post.

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.
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The Danish site ytringsfrihed.org which leads a campaign to collect signatures in support of Freedom of Speech was hacked yesterday. The site released this statement:

Ytringsfrihed.org hacked

Some may have been surprised if they visited our site February 27 between 12.30 and 13.00.

This site was defaced and a picture of Muhammed - what the hackers named the image - was put in its stead.

It’s now the 4th time (in less than a week) that Ytringsfrihed.org has been under attack and this time the hackers succeded in placing a picture of Muhammed on the site. The picture was not hosted on our server but on a portal called sunniport.com.

We would like to stress that the signatures themselves aren’t hosted on the main site, but are located on another server. Therefore the names of those who have signed have not been compromised. Noone but we have that information.

The hackers - from Turkey - seem to think that Freedom of Speech isn’t something to cherish. Or at least, they do not agree with us. One might be tempted to think that they do not want us to express our thoughts and beliefs - but that only they have that right….

We would like to praise the hackers for finding such a beautiful ‘prayer rug’. Very beautiful calligraphy. Unfortunately we don’t understand the writing, so we would be pleased if anyone might help us translate it.

Support this initiative. Sign their petition today.

Read more about this from:

The Washington Times

Michelle Malkin’s post about her attack on February 23 - also Turk hackers.

Michelle Malkin summarizing some of the Cyber Jihadists’ attacks.

And her first post on the subject.

This is too funny. I mean, this is almost as good as when a post-reality university professor tries to make Little Red Ridinghood out to be all about sex and incest. Or when the leftist Politiken tries to conjure up a new reason for us being in Iraq (All about oil;cultural imperialism; intolerance; et cetera).

From Memri, the buttheads in Iran think that the cartoons with Tom and Jerry are about…. JEWS:

Hasan Bolkhari: There is a cartoon that children like. They like it very much, and so do adults - Tom and Jerry.

[…]

Some say that this creation by Walt Disney will be remembered forever. The Jewish Walt Disney Company gained international fame with this cartoon. It is still shown throughout the world. This cartoon maintains its status because of the cute antics of the cat and mouse – especially the mouse.

Some say that the main reason for making this very appealing cartoon was to erase a certain derogatory term that was prevalent in Europe.

[…]

If you study European history, you will see who was the main power to hoard money and wealth, in the 19th century. In most cases, it is the Jews. Perhaps that was one of the reasons which caused Hitler to begin the anti-Semitic trend, and then the extensive propaganda about the crematoria began… Some of this is true. We do not deny all of it.

Watch Schindler’s List. Every Jew was forced to wear a yellow star on his clothing. The Jews were degraded and termed "dirty mice." Tom and Jerry was made in order to change the Europeans’ perception of mice. One of terms used was "dirty mice."

I mean, when our enemies are as stupid as that why do we fear them at all? It seems to me all we have to do is send them a stack of cartoons - it will keep them occupied for years trying to think up new conspiracy theories about the JEWS. I wonder who would be the MANEATING ZIONIST JOOOOO in Little Red Ridinghood.

Hat tip: Document.no

So, to revisit events, what happened was that Information on the Morning of Friday February 24 published an article containing among other quotes, these:

"The Danish government ought quickly to announce that Denmark does not accept denigration of the Prophet Muhammed such as the cartoons in Jyllands-Posten gives voice to. Denmark should apologize for what’s happened and make it clear that the Danish government wants nothing to do with the cartoons." So says Namik Tan, official spokesman of Abdullah Gül, foreign minister of Turkey.
[…]
"This issue is not about Freedom of Speech. This is no different than if these cartoons had anti-semitic content. If Denmark persists in insisting that this is about Freedom of Speech, it will be very difficult to proceed," Tan is quoted as saying.

The Danish government responds harshly in parliament while frantically trying to get some sort of clarification or verification of these.

Jens Rohde, spokesman for the PM:

"The Danish government can under no circumstances apologize for the actions of a private newspaper," Jens Rohde is quoted as saying to Ritzau.

"This doesn’t exactly make them more qualified to be mediators - nor does it help them qualify to be members of the EU, to be frank," Jens Rohde says of the Turkish statement.

The Turkish government backpedals big time, the spokesman quoted in Information saying he was "misquoted":

The spokesman Tan, however, negated the quote referred to him:

"I said nothing of the kind in my written statements. In fact, anyone would be sure to know that Turkey would not adopt such an attitude towards the issue at hand."

Notice the weaseling going on here. How about his oral statements? Is this man going to claim that oral sex isn’t really sex like Clinton did? That would be funny.

Later in the day, Abdullah Gül, FM of Turkey says this to a DR reporter:

He could say that: "Definitely there is a freedom press in my country. But at the same time we are not happy with these cartoons. We are not happy to see that these cartoons are insulting to others. So the freedom of press doesn’t mean that insulting to others’ identity or religion."

So this man is supposed to mediate for us? That might be fine if he was the pope and anti-Danish statements weren’t leaking from his Ministry like spunk from a freshly fucked goat (no relation, I’m sure).

On with the story, the Ambassador to Denmark of Turkey on Deadline, a Danish news program, says of the Turkish position on a Danish apology:

The Turkish government does not wish to revisit this aspect of the question. And we think that we should be looking into the future, we should be trying to find ways and means to defuse the crisis and should exert all our efforts in that direction.

[…]

We think that we… I think that my answer is clear. We think we should just look at the ways to defuse this crisis right now and move on in that direction. I think it is quite obvious.

Pressed by the host, the Ambassador says this:

No, I am saying that we have never made such a request. We did not make a request.

No you didn’t, the government would have known about such a request immediately. But a ‘high-ranking official’ of yours - in fact as high ranking as they get below the level of ministers - leaked that you think Denmark should apologize. And when you were confronted with this, you didn’t deny it. You did the weasel-dance. Evaded responsibility. Watching that ambassador evade the question may be the most lying show I have seen since the Clinton tapes.

In conclusion, since Information has yet to accept that they ‘misquoted’ Tan the Spokesman, I am going to assume that they quoted the spokesman correctly. I think there is only one possible conclusion to this; that Turkey really does consider a Danish apology to be something they owe to Moslem countries around the world; that Turkey is playing this issue low-key because they do not want to get caught like a rock between a rock and a hard place; and that a considerable group in the Turkish Foreign Ministry has no sense of what to say and what not to say. The SPOKESMAN of the Turkish Foreign Minister ought to be able to know what it is proper to say to the press.

This whole affair has been handled horribly by the Turkish Foreign Ministry. Apart from the fact that this should never have been leaked, for Abullah Gül to go on the air and give fatherly advice to Anders Fogh Rasmussen is a reversal of roles the like of which I have not seen for some time. And it only acts to spread uncertainty about the true position of Turkey - and that just after uncertainty has already been spread.

Turkey claims to be a secular democracy and yet they persecute the brave Kurds and imprison people who say that the Young Turks committed a genocide against the Armenians, when in fact they did. For us to ask them to ‘mediate’ for us would be folly in the extreme. They can mediate for us when a Turkish journalist shouldn’t worry about imprisonment with no chance of habeas corpus if they even mention the atrocities committed in the name of Turkey. Sure, the Turks are probably better than the Iraqis at upholding basic human rights, but that isn’t exactly saying a lot. We should stop treating these people like equal partners when the only place they are the equals of us is on the Soccer field. And we should send them a note asking them to please shut up.

And when Turkey applies for membership of the EU, we ought to show them off the premises in a brisk and efficient manner. These are not the kind of people we want completely open borders with. These are Slick Willies by the boatload.

I think that the fact that the Turks have so far vacillated speaks volumes of the importance of being firm with the Islamists. The Turkish Ambassador was after all one of the people who started the cartoon protests. Turkey was the only country we might expect any vacillating from, and when we stood firm, they broke. Now that we are having fits of ‘initiatives’ and such things, the Turks are yet again trying to play us.

This is a transcript of a segment by the Danish Deadline news program on DR. Link to Deadline homepage. This link will go dead after a week. To get to the segment I am transcribing, choose "fredag 24. feb. 2006"  in the drop-down menu on the right, then 22:30 in the box on the left. Then press the first link from the top to view the program and go to the timestamp indicated below.

It is indicated by DK when I translate from Danish

[02:45 into Deadline]

HOST[DK]: Turkey offers to help settle the conflict between Denmark and the Islamic World. But what is the position of Turkey on the prophet crisis? Is an apology from Anders Fogh Rasmussen needed? What is the position of the Turkish government? I have asked the recently appointed Turkish Ambassador to Denmark following a day of conflicting signals from Ankara.

VOICE[DK]: First a spokesman for the Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs said to the newspaper Information today that Denmark must apologize for the insult to the prophet Muhammed by Jyllands-Posten.

TEXT ON SCREEN[DK]: Denmark should apologize for what has happened and make it clear that the Danish government distances itself from the cartoons.

VOICE[DK]: The statement in the newspaper caused the Danish government to contact Turkey in order to get a clarification.

ANDERS FOGH RASMUSSEN[DK]: I have been informed that the Turkish government has denied making public any statement calling for the Danish government to apologize.

VOICE: Later today the Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs suggested that the Danish PM might say this:

ABDULLAH GÜL: He could say that: "Definitely there is a freedom press in my country. But at the same time we are not happy with these cartoons. We are not happy to see that these cartoons are insulting to others. So the freedom of press doesn’t mean that insulting to others’ identity or religion."

HOST: Welcome Mr. Akat. You are the Turkish ambassador to Denmark. Now there were a story in the Danish papers today that your Foreign Ministry wants an apology from the Danish government. Then there were new statements from Ankara. Now, can you explain to me: Does the Turkish government want a apology from the Danish government?

AKAT: Well, I also saw that news in the press this morning. And in the afternoon our spokesman from the Foreign Ministry made an announcement saying that he was misquoted and that we did not make such a demand.

HOST: But I am not asking you what the spokesperson said. I’m asking you: Does the Turkish government want an apology from the Danish government?

AKAT: The Turkish government does not wish to revisit this aspect of the question. And we think that we should be looking into the future, we should be trying to find ways and means to defuse the crisis and should exert all our efforts in that direction.

HOST: But you say you want to move beyond this question. That’s not really answering. Does the government of Turkey think that it would be constructive if the Danish government issued an apology?

AKAT: We think that we… I think that my answer is clear. We think we should just look at the ways to defuse this crisis right now and move on in that direction. I think it is quite obvious.

HOST: Mr. Ambassador, I think you understand that this is important to me. The question is… You don’t want tonight to say whether or not the Turkish government says that an apology would be in its place? Is that correct? You don’t want to answer that tonight?

AKAT: No, I am saying that we have never made such a request. We did not make a request.

HOST: Now, in the future, how would the Turkish government react to other governments demanding an apology from the Danish government - say, the Syrian government, the Saudi-Arabian government… How would the Turkish government comment on such a request?

AKAT: Well, I think we have made our position quite clear on this matter. We’ve had our Prime Minister, our Foreign Minister make statements. We’ve all talked many times that - yes - the caricatures have.. has offended the Moslem world. But on the other hand we have, we do not also condone the violence that has erupted in protestations against these. So, it is now in the interests of all to.. to find ways and mean to.. to defuse the crisis… and also trying to find strategies and educational approaches in the prevention of the recurrence of such incidents.

HOST: But, but, Turkey is also saying it would like to help, as you’re saying here, would like to find ways and means to go forward. One of those of course would have to be to address the governments who are asking the Danish government for a formal apology, for instance in the OIC, where, the all-Arab organization, Moslem organization, where Turkey has a seat. Now, how would you react to other governments who would still like an apology from the Danish government?

AKAT: Well, I can only talk, of course, for my own government. And I think that we, we have to dwell on, now as to how we.. what we must do, what kind of measures we must adopt for the prevention of these incidents happening again. Because it’s very important that we take the right lessons from this incident and go on from there.

HOST: And there is of course the suggestion that Turkey assumes some sort of role as a mediator. What exactly does that entail in your mind?

AKAT: Well, our Foreign Minister has been invited to a meeting of.. an inof.. an unofficial meeting of the European Union Foreign Ministers on the 11th and 2nd.. 11th and 12th of March where he will be able to discuss with his colleagues what we can do; perhaps our views on this matter. And only after that, I think, our role can be defined. First of all, there has to be a.. a.. willingness on the part of the European Union and the related parties for us to do something about this issue [HOST tries to interrupt] We have to discuss it with them and it is too early at this stage to what kind of a role we can play, but it is sure that we would like to play a constructive role if that role is given to us.

HOST: The Danish government has not been exactly jubilant about this, they haven’t really welcomed this in open arms, they’ve been rather reluctant. How do you read that?

AKAT: We have to see what happens on the meeting on the 12th and 3rd of March, because maybe the European Union countries will come to a decision all together in asking - or not asking - Turkey what to do. But I think that we.. I think that most people think that we have a constructive role to play, because we are the co-sponsor of the Alliance of Civilizations, an initiative that was last year initiated by the United Nations’ Secretary General and we co-chair it with the Spanish Prime Minister, and also there is a high-level group.. there of wise men which also a Turkish Minister of State co-chairs and there is a meeting tomorrow in Doha of this high-level group. Now, it will be.. we will be able to see what kind of… let’s say.. thinking comes out of that meeting as well. So we’ll be able to see what’s going around in that context as well.

HOST: Mr. Ambassador, thank you very much for coming.

AKAT: You’re welcome.

[10:17]

I’ve just watched an interview with the Turkish ambassador to Denmark on Danish TV. I’ll try to get a transcript up and provide some commentary. So far, main points: Information, the Danish newspaper that first printed the story has yet to say that the Turkish spokesman didn’t say what he was quoted for. Zaman quotes the spokesman as saying:

The spokesman Tan, however, negated the quote referred to him:

 

"I said nothing of the kind in my written statements. In fact, anyone would be sure to know that Turkey would not adopt such an attitude towards the issue at hand."

You’ll forgive me for not interpreting that as he didn’t say it. You’ll see, when I get the transcript online that something similar is going on with the ambassador. So what have we got? A government in Turkey that explicitly does not deny that any such thing was said and which does not punish those who say such things, even though they are spokesmen of the Turkish government. Fishy. Anyway, update to come.

UPDATE: Recap and analysis of the latest events in this story here.

Translators note: The Danish text uses the weasel word "dementeret" which I have translated as withdrawn. It might also mean deny, but if that is what they mean, why didn’t they say it? We’ll have to wait for an English newssource to see which word is used; Did Turkey initially demand an apology and then withdraw it, did the reporter from Information get it wrong or was this a probe to see how the Danish government would respond? It’s also interesting to note that the Danish government wants nothing to do with Turkey as a mediator now. Maybe they didn’t like their kind of mediation?

Jyllands-Posten, February 24, 2006

No Turkish demand for apology

Turkey has not joined the countries demanding an apology for the Muhammed cartoons, PM Anders Fogh Rasmussen is quoted as saying. The Danish newspaper Information quoted a spokesman from the Turkish Foreign Ministry as saying there would be no progress unless an apology was given insted of insisting that they are a matter of Freedom of Speech.

"According to my information the Turkish government has withdrawn the request for an apology," says the PM.

Following this statement, Per Stig Møller insisted that Turkey would have no special position as a mediator in the conflict, as proposed by some.

"Turkey will, as an applicant country, be present at the informal meeting of Foreign Ministers on March 11 and 12. In connection with that I have proposed to the Turkish Foreign Minister that he raise the matter there," Per Stig Møller says as he notes the special relationship Turkey has with both the European and Arab world.