Alienated Danish Muslims Sought Help from Arabs

The world was surprised by the sudden fury in the Islamic world let loose following the publication of a series of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed in Danish and later other European newspapers. Until now little was known, however, of the efforts made by Denmark’s Muslim community to raise awareness about the discrimination they faced. Feeling ignored after protesting the initial appearance of the controversial cartoons in September, a group of Danish Muslims compiled a dossier of racist and culturally insensitive images circulating in the country and took them on a road show to Egypt in late 2005. Organizers incorporated offensive images in addition to those published in the newspaper, and some journalists suggest that this active campaign may have been far more harmful for Denmark than the original cartoons themselves. Although the newspaper’s editor issued a belated apology this week, the damage done by the simple images may already be too great to reconcile: Several Arab countries have recalled their ambassadors from Copenhagen, and companies including France’s Carrefour supermarket chain have removed Danish products from the shelves. –YaleGlobal