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Muslim Diplomats Protest Anti-Prophet
Danish Cartoons
COPENHAGEN, October 20, 2005– Muslim diplomats in Denmark have protested against newspaper caricatures of Prophet Muhammad in a letter to Danish Premier Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the premier's office said today.
The ambassadors of Pakistan, Iran, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Indonesia and a number of Arab countries said they were offended by the caricatures which showed the Prophet as a stereotypical fundamentalist, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
"We hope there will be understanding of Muslims' feelings about Muhammad. And we hope there will be an apology," Mascud Effendy Hutasuhut, counselor at the Indonesian embassy in Denmark, told Danmarks radio.
Twelve drawings depicting Prophet Muhammad in different settings appeared in Denmark's largest circulation daily Jyllands-Posten on September 30.
In one of the drawings, he appeared with a turban shaped like a bomb strapped to his head.
The images, considered blasphemous under Islam, have drawn criticism from across the Muslim minority in Denmark, with religious leaders insisting they are an insult to the prophet and calling for an official apology.
Last week, as many as 5,000 Muslims demonstrated in Copenhagen against the paper and the drawings.
The editors of Jyllands-Posten stood by their cartoons and rejected the diplomats' demand for an apology in the name of freedom of expression.
"We live in a democracy where satire and caricature are generally accepted, and religion should not set limits on that," chief editor Carsten Juste claimed.
Danish Muslims are estimated at 180,000 or around 3 per cent of Denmark's 5.4 million. Islam is Denmark's second largest religion after the Lutheran Protestant Church, which is actively followed by four-fifths of the country's population. (News Agencies)
http://www.islamonline.net/English/News/2005-10/20/article06.shtml
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