Danish newspaper apologises for Muhammad cartoons
Feb 27
A Danish newspaper has come under fire from across the political spectrum, after it apologised to eight Muslim organisations following the republication of controversial cartoons of the prophet Muhammad.
The daily publication Politiken reprinted the series of twelve cartoons in 2008 when police revealed that they had foiled a plot to murder the cartoonist who drew the most controversial image, Kurt Westergaard. According to The Guardian, the newspaper agreed to make a printed apology for the offence caused by the republishing of the cartoons, in return for the religious organisations withdrawing legal action.
A series of twelve cartoons, each drawn by different artists, originally appeared in Denmark’s largest daily Jyllands-Posten in 2005. Cartoonists were invited “to draw Muhammad as they see him”, as part of a feature assessing the relationship between Islam and modern secular society. The most contentious – drawn by Westergaard – depicted Muhammad with a bomb in his turban, triggering criticism and protests from Muslims across the world in 2005 and 2006.
But the Danish cartoons case was seen by others as a crucial test for media freedom. Politicians and media commentators in Denmark criticised Politiken‘s settlement with the Muslim groups, saying that the newspaper had backed down from its commitment to stand behind freedom of speech and of the press.
Jyllands-Posten was swift to condemn the deal in a scathing editorial, blasting the backdown as “stupid”.
“For some inexplicable reason, Politiken has chosen to prostrate itself and express regret for an act which conforms completely with Danish law, Danish press ethics and Danish press traditions.
“It could hardly be more embarrassing.”
The paper’s editor Jørn Mikkelsen said that although Jyllands-Posten had itself apologised in 2006, this case was different due to the fact that Politiken had backed down in the face of legal pressure, as opposed to issuing the apology on its own terms.
Figures from the left and right of Danish politics also expressed their disappointment and anger at the apology. The chair of the country’s right-wing Danish People’s Party said that Politiken‘s editor had “sold out of Denmark’s and the West’s freedom of speech”, while the Social Democrats’ leader labelled the deal as “crazy”.
The dispute over the “bomb in the turban” cartoon created major political headaches for Denmark’s government in 2006, with attacks on Danish embassies in the Middle East and a flurry of death threats against the cartoonists and others associated with the cartoons. Westergaard was the subject of a second attempted murder in January this year, but he escaped unharmed.
Media Spy discussion: International Journalism and Media
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Cyril Washbrook February 27th 2010