Moderate Muslims: We’re fed up with the extemists
The Brussels Journal reports that the recently established network of moderate Danish Muslims urged Danish imams, who insist Muslims are being treated badly in Denmark, to move to other countries with societies more in harmony with their own view on the world. “If these imams think it is so terrible to live in Denmark, then why do they remain here?” Naser Khader, the leader of the network and a member of the Danish Parliament for the Social Liberal Party (Radikale), said.
“After all no one is forcing them to [live in Denmark]. They can always move to one of the countries in the Middle East which are based on the Muslim values they insist on living by. It seems that their loyalty is mainly to countries such as Saudi Arabia, so I think they should move there. I am tired of hearing them complain about the situation in this country which has given them shelter, freedom of expression, freedom of religion and tons of opportunities for their children. If they cannot be loyal to the values of this country they should leave and by that do the majority of Danish Muslims a big favour. The imams should stop critizising the cartoons and instead critizise the terrorists that cut the throats of innocent hostages in the name of Allah and therefore abuse Islam. But on such occasions we never hear a word from them. Hence, they are hypocrites.”
Mr Khader has also condemned the recent embassy attacks and urged all sides to immediately start finding a solution to the issue.
Meanwhile, in the UK, The Times (via) reports that the Muslim Council of Britain has called on the Metropolitan Police to press charges against the extremists behind last week’s inflammatory protests in London.
In London, Inayat Bunglawala of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) said the extremists should be prosecuted. “The Metropolitan police should now consider all the evidence they have gathered from the protests to see if they can prosecute the extremists,” he said.
“It is time the police acted, but in a way so as not to make them martyrs of the Prophet’s cause, which is what they want, but as criminals. Ordinary Muslims are fed up with them.”
Meanwhile Imam Abu Laban, the leader of the radical Danish Muslim organizations protesting the cartoons, has been caught changing his tune for different audiences. On the Danish channel, TV2, he urged the Muslim world to abandon the boycott of Denmark. However, he told Al-Jazeera that “one could only be pleased” with the boycott.
Other less than honest radicals include Imam Abu Bashar, who told Jyllands-Posten that the cartoon affair was an issue between Muslims and the newspaper and not between Muslims and the Danish government, and then went on to criticise the Danish government for not apologizing for the cartoons in the Saudi newspaper Al Watan.
And finally, Imam Mahmoud Fouad Al-Barazi told Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen that he wanted to advance better integration, but in an interview with the Egyptian daily Al Ahram criticized Danish kindergartens for “indoctrinating” Muslim children with Danish culture.
Sunday 05 Feb 2006 | Paul | UK, Denmark
I am also sick of these people protested every little thing that comes out. I do not agree with these cartoons but the stupidy of muslims is only getting worse by burning flags. It seems all they know how to do is set fire to flags and buildings and bomb other countries. If you dont like the views of the west dont LIVE THERE GET THE HELL OUT AND STAY IN UR COUNTRIES. YOU DONT COME TO SOMEONES HOUSE AND COMPLAIN STAY IN MIDDLE EAST WHERE YOU BELONG
To Nike,
The West has a long history of disrespecting other countries (akin to burning flags) and bombing other countries…just think of the two World Wars, the inquisition, the colonization of America, the Cold War, Vietnam, Irak,…It’s hypocrite of you to crticize Muslims for stuff that your own culture does…
Most Muslims are moderate and integrate fine in Western societies. You can’t blame a whole culture/community for the actions and beliefs of a group of extremists.
This is not about not agreeing with the views of the West…if you offend them, they have the right to protest…and the right to protest is a right that is recognized in the West, no?
I agree that protest should have been peaceful…but the government of Denmark failed to acknowledge that some of the cartoons constituted hate speech as they promoted prejudism and islamophobia. If a government fails to administer justice and law, it’s understandable that people will get angry…Violence is not justified, but I more than understand their anger.
Martha,
The cartoons do not amount to hate speech and when a several Muslim groups tried to bring a legal action against the newspaper, the judge ruled that, “there is no sufficient reason to assume that the cartoons are or were intended to be insulting… or put forward ideas that could hurt the standing of Muslims in society.”
The laws of the country were applied, but there is no law in Denmark that allows one group to threaten cartoonists or newspapers into silence.