Denmark PM Rejects Apology Demand

Islam traditionally considers any depiction of Muhammad disrespectful. Muslims in the Arab world were aghast, then, when they learned that the Danish newspaper “Jyllands-Posten” had published cartoons portraying their prophet as a terrorist last fall. Tensions have now come to a head, after a Norwegian paper reprinted the cartoons and as the Danish government insists that it cannot punish “Jyllands-Posten” for exercising the rights of a free press. Furious demonstrators have taken to the streets across the Arab world, Arab governments threaten to sever diplomatic ties with Copenhagen, and Arab companies and consumers scramble to boycott Danish and Norwegian products. The European Union, however, warns that “any boycott of Danish goods would be seen as a boycott of European goods,” and Danes stand firmly behind both their newspaper and their government. A firestorm that has already pitted good taste against free speech and economic profit against religious pride thus threatens to cause larger problems for relations between Europe and the Arab world. – YaleGlobal