Na het verschijnen van een cartoon van de profeet Mohammed in een Zweedse krant, is er een soort mini-cartoon affaire uitgebroken. Nadat moslims in Zweden en de Organisation of the Islamic Conference, de officiële organisatie van alle islamitische landen, hun ongenoegen hadden uitgesproken en excuses geëist, kreeg men die woensdag van de ambassadeur van Zweden in Saoedi-Arabië. De secretaris van de OIC vond dit echter niet voldoende, en eiste maatregelen om dergelijke voorvallen in de toekomst te voorkomen:
"What we are simply saying is that freedom of expression does not entail freedom to insult. There has to be a way to stop this. There are certain values that every country abides by. There are red lines in all societies. We want them to know that we don't mind their criticism of our religion but our Prophet is off limits. We will never allow such insults," Ihsanoglu told Arab News yesterday.
Welke 'red lines' zijn dat voor, bijvoorbeeld, Saoedi-Arabië? Met het tekenen en publiceren van beledigende cartoons hebben ze daar veel ervaring. Het lijkt erop dat de regel die men voorstaat is dat iedereen beledigd mag worden, behalve de islam en de profeet. Ieder land is vrij om dergelijke wetten in te stellen, maar het vreemde is dat men verwacht dat Europese landen dezelfde wetten gaan invoeren. Het is alsof de Sovjet-Unie indertijd van de VS had verlangt het bespotten van Lenin en Stalin te verbieden. Oeps, daarmee bedoel ik natuurlijk niet te zeggen dat Europa en Arabische landen met elkaar in oorlog zijn. Ik bedoel dat het eisen dat een ander land totalitaire wetten instelt om JOUW staatsreligie of staatsideologie te beschermen tegen 'belediging' nogal absurd is, en ook betrekkelijk nieuw. Nog absurder is het misschien dat hier steeds meer aan wordt toegegeven.
Overigens vertolkte de secretaris van de OIC de mening van veel moslims:
In the wider Muslim world, meanwhile, the apology was met with huge skepticism. "They will continue to provoke us. For them, it is simple: They will call it freedom of expression. And that is it. The one big lesson that we learned following the Danish cartoon controversy is this: Boycott their products and then they get the message," said Mateen Abdul Rahman, a Jeddah-based expatriate. "We are already circulating e-mails identifying Swedish products to boycott."
Okee, boycot dan maar. Misschien krijgen we dan ook weer eens autovrije zondagen.
"What we are simply saying is that freedom of expression does not entail freedom to insult. There has to be a way to stop this. There are certain values that every country abides by. There are red lines in all societies. We want them to know that we don't mind their criticism of our religion but our Prophet is off limits. We will never allow such insults," Ihsanoglu told Arab News yesterday.
Welke 'red lines' zijn dat voor, bijvoorbeeld, Saoedi-Arabië? Met het tekenen en publiceren van beledigende cartoons hebben ze daar veel ervaring. Het lijkt erop dat de regel die men voorstaat is dat iedereen beledigd mag worden, behalve de islam en de profeet. Ieder land is vrij om dergelijke wetten in te stellen, maar het vreemde is dat men verwacht dat Europese landen dezelfde wetten gaan invoeren. Het is alsof de Sovjet-Unie indertijd van de VS had verlangt het bespotten van Lenin en Stalin te verbieden. Oeps, daarmee bedoel ik natuurlijk niet te zeggen dat Europa en Arabische landen met elkaar in oorlog zijn. Ik bedoel dat het eisen dat een ander land totalitaire wetten instelt om JOUW staatsreligie of staatsideologie te beschermen tegen 'belediging' nogal absurd is, en ook betrekkelijk nieuw. Nog absurder is het misschien dat hier steeds meer aan wordt toegegeven.
Overigens vertolkte de secretaris van de OIC de mening van veel moslims:
In the wider Muslim world, meanwhile, the apology was met with huge skepticism. "They will continue to provoke us. For them, it is simple: They will call it freedom of expression. And that is it. The one big lesson that we learned following the Danish cartoon controversy is this: Boycott their products and then they get the message," said Mateen Abdul Rahman, a Jeddah-based expatriate. "We are already circulating e-mails identifying Swedish products to boycott."
Okee, boycot dan maar. Misschien krijgen we dan ook weer eens autovrije zondagen.
Ratna
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Swedish Envoy Apologizes for Caricature
Siraj Wahab, Arab News
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=101123&d=13&m=9&y=2007
________________
Swedish Envoy Apologizes for Caricature
Siraj Wahab, Arab News
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=101123&d=13&m=9&y=2007
JEDDAH, 13 September 2007 - Sweden's Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Jan Thesleff apologized to the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) for the publication of a caricature of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in a Swedish newspaper.
Thesleff offered his deepest apologies for the controversy created by the publishing of the hurtful depiction during his meeting on Tuesday with OIC Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu at the 57-member organization's headquarters in Jeddah.
The publication of the caricature in the Swedish newspaper, Nerikes Allehanda, on Aug. 18 sparked a furious debate in the Swedish media on freedom of expression and prompted Muslims in Oerebro, where the newspaper is based, to hold protests.
Ihsanoglu conveyed to Thesleff his "concerns that this kind of irresponsible and provocative incitement in the name of defending freedom of expression was leading the international community toward more confrontation and division."
In a previous statement, Ihsanoglu had strongly condemned the newspaper for publishing the blasphemous caricature saying it was an irresponsible and despicable act with malicious and provocative intentions in the name of freedom of expression. "The caricature was intended solely to insult and arouse the sentiments of Muslims of the world," he said. "The international community was well aware of the serious impact of such publications that were globally felt during the controversy created by the publication of similar cartoons in a Danish newspaper last year," he said. Ihsanoglu called on the Swedish government to take immediate punitive action against the artist and the publishers of the cartoon and asked for their unqualified apology.
The Swedish ambassador informed Ihsanoglu that his government had taken careful and serious note of his statement and acted in a proactive manner at an early stage. "Sweden feels that the best possible action to resolve the crisis is to choose the path of dialogue," he said and pointed out that Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt had taken immediate steps by offering his personal regrets to the Muslim community in Sweden.
"Sweden is a country where people of different faiths can live together side by side," the Swedish prime minister said in his statement late last month. "The foundation of this, our social model, is mutual respect and understanding, but also a desire for joint repudiation of offensive acts as well as acts of violence or aggression."
While expressing regret, the Swedish prime minister pointed out that Sweden's social model is based on the premise that politicians must not pass judgment on freedom of the press and expression.
Ihsanoglu welcomed the prime minister's statement and the Swedish envoy's apology. However, he felt, there was a need for a legal mechanism for stopping the recurrence of such extreme provocation.
"What we are simply saying is that freedom of expression does not entail freedom to insult. There has to be a way to stop this. There are certain values that every country abides by. There are red lines in all societies. We want them to know that we don't mind their criticism of our religion but our Prophet is off limits. We will never allow such insults," Ihsanoglu told Arab News yesterday.
He said by intentionally offending the sentiments of 1.3 billion Muslims, these caricaturists were leading the international community toward more confrontation and division and providing extremist and deviant ideologies with valuable ammunition.
Also, according to many Muslims, all these calls for dialogue between the Muslim world and the West become meaningless in the face of such extreme provocation. They are a waste of time. Dialogue should not be two monologues in two different directions. It will not and does not lead to any better understanding; it does not lead to any change in positions.
In the wider Muslim world, meanwhile, the apology was met with huge skepticism. "They will continue to provoke us. For them, it is simple: They will call it freedom of expression. And that is it. The one big lesson that we learned following the Danish cartoon controversy is this: Boycott their products and then they get the message," said Mateen Abdul Rahman, a Jeddah-based expatriate. "We are already circulating e-mails identifying Swedish products to boycott."
There are others, however, who think Muslims should simply stop responding to such provocation. "They are provoking us because they know we can be provoked," said Zainab Fallata, a female entrepreneur.
Thesleff offered his deepest apologies for the controversy created by the publishing of the hurtful depiction during his meeting on Tuesday with OIC Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu at the 57-member organization's headquarters in Jeddah.
The publication of the caricature in the Swedish newspaper, Nerikes Allehanda, on Aug. 18 sparked a furious debate in the Swedish media on freedom of expression and prompted Muslims in Oerebro, where the newspaper is based, to hold protests.
Ihsanoglu conveyed to Thesleff his "concerns that this kind of irresponsible and provocative incitement in the name of defending freedom of expression was leading the international community toward more confrontation and division."
In a previous statement, Ihsanoglu had strongly condemned the newspaper for publishing the blasphemous caricature saying it was an irresponsible and despicable act with malicious and provocative intentions in the name of freedom of expression. "The caricature was intended solely to insult and arouse the sentiments of Muslims of the world," he said. "The international community was well aware of the serious impact of such publications that were globally felt during the controversy created by the publication of similar cartoons in a Danish newspaper last year," he said. Ihsanoglu called on the Swedish government to take immediate punitive action against the artist and the publishers of the cartoon and asked for their unqualified apology.
The Swedish ambassador informed Ihsanoglu that his government had taken careful and serious note of his statement and acted in a proactive manner at an early stage. "Sweden feels that the best possible action to resolve the crisis is to choose the path of dialogue," he said and pointed out that Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt had taken immediate steps by offering his personal regrets to the Muslim community in Sweden.
"Sweden is a country where people of different faiths can live together side by side," the Swedish prime minister said in his statement late last month. "The foundation of this, our social model, is mutual respect and understanding, but also a desire for joint repudiation of offensive acts as well as acts of violence or aggression."
While expressing regret, the Swedish prime minister pointed out that Sweden's social model is based on the premise that politicians must not pass judgment on freedom of the press and expression.
Ihsanoglu welcomed the prime minister's statement and the Swedish envoy's apology. However, he felt, there was a need for a legal mechanism for stopping the recurrence of such extreme provocation.
"What we are simply saying is that freedom of expression does not entail freedom to insult. There has to be a way to stop this. There are certain values that every country abides by. There are red lines in all societies. We want them to know that we don't mind their criticism of our religion but our Prophet is off limits. We will never allow such insults," Ihsanoglu told Arab News yesterday.
He said by intentionally offending the sentiments of 1.3 billion Muslims, these caricaturists were leading the international community toward more confrontation and division and providing extremist and deviant ideologies with valuable ammunition.
Also, according to many Muslims, all these calls for dialogue between the Muslim world and the West become meaningless in the face of such extreme provocation. They are a waste of time. Dialogue should not be two monologues in two different directions. It will not and does not lead to any better understanding; it does not lead to any change in positions.
In the wider Muslim world, meanwhile, the apology was met with huge skepticism. "They will continue to provoke us. For them, it is simple: They will call it freedom of expression. And that is it. The one big lesson that we learned following the Danish cartoon controversy is this: Boycott their products and then they get the message," said Mateen Abdul Rahman, a Jeddah-based expatriate. "We are already circulating e-mails identifying Swedish products to boycott."
There are others, however, who think Muslims should simply stop responding to such provocation. "They are provoking us because they know we can be provoked," said Zainab Fallata, a female entrepreneur.
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