Flemming DK <CULTURE-noSpam@POST.CYBERCITY.DK> wrote:
> On Tue, 21 Feb 2006 08:22:00 +0100, per@RQNNE.invalid (Per Rønne)
> wrote:
>
>
> >==
> >
> >Har han ret? Eller misinformerer han?
> >
> >Har vi ikke her i gruppen læst hans oprindelige indlæg, eller har vi kun
> >set referater, der selvfølgelig kan have været manipulerede?
>
> Jeg har læst det men gider ikke læse det igen for at tjekke
tror
> det er det du kan finde her:
>
http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/02/12/opinion/edoped.php
Indlægget kan kun delvis stadig læses, men dog kopieres:
==
Denmark's problem with Muslims
Martin Burcharth The New York Times
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2006
There seems to be some surprise that the Danish people and their
government are standing behind the Jyllands-Posten newspaper and its
decision to publish drawings of the Prophet Muhammad last fall. Aren't
Danes supposed to be unusually tolerant and respectful of others?
Not entirely. Denmark's reputation as a nation with a long tradition of
tolerance toward others - one solidified by its rescue of Danish Jews
from deportation to Nazi concentration camps in 1943 and by the high
levels of humanitarian aid it provides today - is something of a myth.
We Danes have grown increasingly xenophobic over the years. The
publication of the cartoons had little to do with generating a debate
about self-censorship and freedom of expression. It can be seen only in
the context of a climate of pervasive hostility toward anything Muslim
in Denmark.
There are more than 200,000 Muslims in Denmark, a country with a
population of 5.4 million. A few decades ago, Denmark had no Muslims at
all. Not surprisingly, Islam has come to be viewed by many as a threat
to the survival of Danish culture.
For 20 years, Muslims have been denied a permit to build mosques in
Copenhagen. And there are no Muslim cemeteries in Denmark, so the bodies
of Muslims have to be flown back to their home countries for proper
burial.
Recently the minister for cultural affairs, Brian Mikkelsen of the
Conservative People's Party, asked scholars, artists and writers to
create a canon of Danish art, music, literature and film. The ostensible
purpose was to preserve our homegrown classics. But before the release
of the canon last month, Mikkelsen revealed what may have been the real
purpose of the exercise: To create a last line of defense against the
influence of Islam in Denmark.
"In Denmark we have seen the appearance of a parallel society in which
minorities practice their own medieval values and undemocratic views,"
he told fellow conservatives at a party conference last summer. "This is
the new front in our cultural war."
Were it not that a majority of Danes actually believe in this Islamic
threat, it would seem to be an outlandish pretext. But they do. When the
Danish flag was burned in Arab countries, the reaction in Denmark was
outrage and calls for standing even more firmly behind Jyllands-Posten.
The center-right government gained support in polls, as did the
anti-immigrant Danish People's Party, without which the government would
not have a majority in Parliament.
Now, the general view, expressed in the press and among a majority of
Danes, is that the Muslim leaders who led the protests in Denmark should
have their status as citizens examined.
But the real story is that they and their followers ran out of options.
They tried to get Jyllands-Posten to recognize its offense. They tried
to enlist the support of the government and the opposition. They asked a
local prosecutor to file suit under the country's blasphemy law. And
they asked ambassadors in Denmark from Muslim countries to meet with
Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen.
They were rebuffed on all counts, though a state prosecutor is currently
reviewing the case. But, really, what choice did they have?
This is not the only example of Denmark's new magical thinking. After
the flag burnings, the Danish news media began to refer to the white
cross on the flag's red background as a Christian symbol. There was
something discordant about this, for we have come to connect the flag
less and less to religion. Denmark is one of the most secular countries
in Europe. Only 3 percent of Danes attend church once a week.
Still, the news media were right. Up to a point. Legend has it that the
flag fell from heaven during a battle between the Danes and the
Estonians nearly 800 years ago. It was a sign from God, and it led the
Danes to victory.
Now that flag has become a symbol around the world of Denmark's contempt
for another world religion.
(Martin Burcharth is the U.S. correspondent for Information, a Danish
newspaper.)
==
Indlægget kan ikke længere læses uden at man skal betale for det,
medmindre man bruger dit link, og kopierer teksten; ellers kan man ikke
se hvad der kommer efter »Still, thenews media were right. Up to«;
resten står nemlig på side 2, som jeg ikke kan få adgang til.
--
Per Erik Rønne
http://www.RQNNE.dk