Cartoon equating star of david with Nazism -- oops -- anti-Semitism.
Cartoon showing a black man -- oops -- racism.
Cartoon insulting Muhammad -- ahaa -- freedom of speech.
The Danish people are generally so secular that they can hardly comprehend true religious faith, and it is my honest opinion that JP never meant to offend, only to make a brave point, however xenophobic they might be in general. Unfortunately, they chose a childish and offensive way to make this point. However, Muslims should not feel too bad about this, because everyone is open to humourous or satirical attack in Denmark, including USA, EU, blacks, Jews, holocaust, Jesus, even the Danish Queen (although JP would probably not publish jokes about all of these subjects). The parallel between the Nazi treatment of Jews and the Israeli treatment of Palestinians has been highlighted many times in Denmark, and boycotts of Israel have been and are common among Danes.
That said, I hope that Danes now understand more about the ways in which other peoples view the world.
The Danish people are generally so secular that they can hardly comprehend true religious faith, and it is my honest opinion that JP never meant to offend, only to make a brave point, however xenophobic they might be in general. Unfortunately, they chose a childish and offensive way to make this point. However, Muslims should not feel too bad about this, because everyone is open to humourous or satirical attack in Denmark, including USA, EU, blacks, Jews, holocaust, Jesus, even the Danish Queen (although JP would probably not publish jokes about all of these subjects). The parallel between the Nazi treatment of Jews and the Israeli treatment of Palestinians has been highlighted many times in Denmark, and boycotts of Israel have been and are common among Danes.
That said, I hope that Danes now understand more about the ways in which other peoples view the world.
Greetings,
Thomas B, Denmark