Denmark's Islamists Running to Egypt Over Cartoons

The Egyptian State-owned daily Al Ahram reported (Arabic), in a complaining tone, about the pressure being exercised on Muslim Danes in Denmark caused by the Danish Cartoon crisis.

Al Ahram reports today that Muslims of Denmark asked grand Sheikh of Al Azhar Mohamed Sayed Tantawi to interfere to ask the Danish Foreign Minister during his expected visit to Cairo to acknowledge the religion of Islam equally as Christianity and Judaism as well as to ask for the issuance of a law to criminalize acts or statements considered insulting to messengers or religions.

The paper said Sheikh Ali Ismail, Emam of the Islamic Center in Denmark, who is currently on a visit to Cairo, is bringing an initiative to solve the Cartoons crisis

Dr. Mohamed Foad Al Bazawy, chairman of the Islamic Association in Denmark said in a telephone conversation with Al Ahram newspaper that Muslims in Denmark are being mistreated in response to the violent incidents and protests in the Muslim world, stressing the Danish people’s party’s request (if the name is correct) to the minister of integration to reconsider the citizenships of Muslims, being himself a holder of the Danish citizenship together with other two Emams/Sheiks, Ahmed Makary and Ab Bashar after being accused of flaring up protests among Muslims in the Middle East.

On the other hand in Denmark, Muslim Danish Member of Parliament Naser Khader declared the newly founded "Moderate Moslem"-Network. Khader lives constantly under police protection despite the peaceful atmosphere in Denmark for his reformatory progressive plans.

He has already been joined by 800 Danish Muslims and some 2000 other Danes in a support group, and they only started a few days ago. They have all ready received sufficient donations to place big newspaper adds in Middle East papers advocating their idea and message.

In a February 2002 speech, Khader voiced his revolutionary 10 commandments.

1. We must all separate politics and religion, and we must never place religion above the laws of democracy.
2. We must all respect that all people have equal rights regardless of sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation or religious beliefs.
3. No person must ever incite to hatred, and we must never allow hatred to enter our hearts.
4. No person must ever use or encourage violence – no matter how frustrated or wronged we feel, or how just our cause.
5. We must all make use of dialogue - always.
6. We must all show respect for the freedom of expression, also of those with whom we disagree the most.
7. No person can claim for themselves or assign to others a place apart, neither as superior persons, as inferior persons or as eternal victims.
8. We must all treat other people’s national and religious symbols as we wish them to treat ours – flag-burning and graffiti on churches, mosques and synagogues are insults that hinder dialogue and increase the repression of the other party.
9. We must all mind our manners in public. Public space is not a stage on which to vent one’s aggressions or to spread fear and hate, but should be a forum for visions and arguments, where the best must win support.
10. We must all stand up for our opponent if he or she is subjected to spiteful treatment.

I do not know why a big well-known newspaper like Al Ahram is not interviewing a reformist like Khader (Danish).