Envoy’s Advert Fails to Impress Many
Javid Hassan, Arab News
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A Saudi youth displays a banner on his car’s rear window that reads: “Boycott Danish goods in defense of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).” (AN photo by Ahmad Fathi)
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RIYADH, 9 February 2006 — Abdul Wahid Al-Humaid, deputy labor minister for planning, has questioned the claim of Danish Ambassador to the Kingdom Hans Klingenberg that Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen has “condemned all such statements and … expressions of opinion that are aimed at disfiguring the picture of a group of people based on their religious or ethnic association.”
In advertisements released in some Arabic newspapers, the ambassador said the government of Denmark respects Islam. Referring to the advertisement, the deputy labor minister said it does not necessarily mean that the Danish people respect Islam. He cited public opinion polls that showed that about 80 percent of the people covered by the survey were opposed to tendering any apology.
Reports appearing in the Danish press said Rasmussen would consider sending a delegation to Saudi Arabia to discuss how the consumer boycott could be called off.
“We welcome all constructive proposals,” the prime minister told reporters, adding that Copenhagen was reviewing various options.
Meanwhile, Atta Al-Mannan, the OIC spokesman, said the organization would raise the matter in the United Nations. The thrust of the OIC initiative would be to ensure that any caricature or insulting reference to prophets is declared a punishable offense.
Abdullah Al-Ashi of the Muslim World League told Arab News that the MWL would also seek the intervention of the UN in preventing such scurrilous attacks.
In a related development, officials in Japan, Turkey and Spain have expressed concern over the situation arising from the publication of caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in newspapers and magazines published in Denmark, other European countries, Jordan, and online publications based in the United States.
A statement released by the Japanese Embassy said its government officials fully understand the distress felt by the Muslims at the publication of the caricatures. However, violence and vandalism are not acceptable for any reason.
“We urge all parties concerned to reduce tension and to refrain from any action or statement that might aggravate the situation,” the statement said.
In a press release issued by the Turkish Embassy here, an article entitled “A call for Respect and Calm” authored jointly by Prime Ministers Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey and Jose Luis Zapatero of Spain has expressed concern over the rioting sparked by the blasphemous caricatures.
“Freedom of expression is one of the cornerstones of our democratic systems and we shall never relinquish it,” the article read. “But there are no rights without responsibility and respect for different sensibilities. The publication of these caricatures may be perfectly legal, but it is not morally correct and thus ought to be rejected.”
Meanwhile, the call for boycotting Danish products in the Kingdom has gone from supermarkets and pharmacies to the streets of the capital and the Kingdom’s other major cities.
Citizens furious about the blasphemous cartoons have started to display large banners on their rear car windows calling for Muslims to unite in the stance against such insults to Islam’s most important Prophet.
One banner read: “I would sacrifice my own mother and father for you, Oh Prophet of God.”
Another one read: “Anything but the mockery of Prophet Muhammad.”
A young man in his early 20s who studies in King Saud University hung a banner on the back of his Toyota Camry which read: “Boycott Danish protects to support Prophet Muhammad.”
The young man said that his reasoning was to spread the message in the streets of Riyadh in a peaceful and civilized way to tell Muslims all over the Kingdom that they should take a united stand against what has been published in the Danish newspaper, followed by several other dailies in Europe, including papers in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Norway and Switzerland.
“By boycotting Danish products we are showing our resentment as Saudis and as Muslims to the mockery of the Prophet,” the young man, who preferred to remain anonymous, said.
“I will do whatever is in my power to get people to join me. I personally have stopped buying Danish products since I learned about the cartoons. I will not stop until the government of Denmark apologizes for what has been published,” he said.
He said that he has not been stopped by any police officer for displaying the banner that covers his entire rear view window.
“I’m not concerned about the police as long as I believe in what I am doing is a rightful thing. I have the support of many of my friends and acquaintances,” he added.
Another Saudi citizen, Ahmed Al-Bishr, said that displaying such banners on rear car windows was a civilized and peaceful way to get the message across.
— With input from Raid Qusti
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