Hero of the Month:
Kristiansen said he had received many protest letters in the past whenever he mocked Christ. The same applies to cartoons about Muhammad, but lately the protest letters from Muslims had increasingly become threats, including death threats in e-mails from places such as Iran. Kristiansen has been adamant that he will not change his behavour because it is important to defend the right to freedom of expression.
Meanwhile, the Danish tabloid Extra Bladet got hold of a 43-page report that Danish Muslim leaders and imams, on a tour of the Islamic world are handing out to their contacts to “explain” how offensive the cartoons are. The report contains 15 pictures instead of 12. The first of the three additional pictures, which are of dismal quality, shows Muhammad as a pedophile deamon, the second shows the prophet with a pigsnout and the third depicts a praying Muslim being raped by a dog. Apparently, the 12 original pictures were not deemed bad enough to convince other Muslims that Muslims in Denmark are the victims of a campaign of religious hatred.
Akhmad Akkari, spokesman of the 21 Danish Muslim organizations which organized the tour, explained that the three drawings had been added to “give an insight in how hateful the atmosphere in Denmark is towards Muslims.” Akkari claimed he does not know the origin of the three pictures. He said they had been sent anonymously to Danish Muslims. However, when Ekstra Bladet asked if it could talk to these Muslims, Akkari refused to reveal their identity.
So, what should we do with Akhmad?
Denmark has warned its citizens to avoid Saudi Arabia after Muslim fury mounted over newspaper cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. Denmark's Jyllands-Posten newspaper, which published the cartoons, issued an apology late on Monday in a statement to Arab countries, sent to the Jordanian news agency Petra.
The drawings, which seemed to portray the prophet as a terrorist, were published in September, but the row erupted this month after diplomatic efforts to solve the issue failed. One drawing shows Prophet Muhammad wearing a turban shaped as a bomb.
Muslims deem images of prophets disrespectful and caricatures blasphemous, and some have threatened Danes and demanded an apology.
