Greenland: Mohamed crisis imam working as teacher

Former imam Ahmed Akkari has moved to Greenland, and his days as an imam are over.  He thinks he was subjected to a regular witch hunt during the Mohamed crisis and a book with orderly denunciations of both Danes and Muslims is therefore on the way.

Ahmed Akkari moved from Denmark to Greenland, he says, in order to go on a culture trip.  Kristeligt Dagblad met him for a talk at the staff of room of the South Greenlandic school Nasap Atuarfia, where since August 1st he's been teaching Danish, English and geography.  His work as an imam and leader of Danish Muslims is now over.

"My work as an imam is done.  Definitively.  It's a whole chapter in itself and it's now past.  I have arranged to greet the priest here, but not more than that," says Akkari.
 
Ahmed Akkari was especially a subject for attention during the Muhammad crisis from 2005, when he was filmed by a French documentary program with a hidden camera saying that "some people" could be found to blow Naser Khader up, at the time a parliament member for the Social Liberal Party.  But this episode, together with many others, was distorted and turned against him, he thinks.

"All the bad things, that happened then, I feel, have been laid on me alone.  I was blamed for too many things, that I neither was or responsible for, and I can't be the only one responsible for everything."  He says he doesn't want to give concrete examples, but that he had been hurt in the whole process.

To the question of what he spontaneously thinks in connection to his own role during the Muhammed crisis, he answers: I was subjected to a regular witch-hunt.

Ahmed Akkari hopes that just as his work as an imam is over, that the whole ruckus around his role in the Muhammed crisis will be forgotten.  He hopes that with the beautiful atmosphere in Greenland he can put all his former problems behind.

His spell in Greenland shouldn't be seen as fleeing Denmark, since he had finished his education from the seminar and got a BA degree from Denmark Pedagogical University, he got quite simply an offer from the Greenlandic school, and he chose this from a few offers from Danish schools.  Which he chose this one because he wished to experience something new, see a beautiful island, meet other people and get new experiences.

Ahmed Akkari doesn't wish to comment on whether his family moved together with him to Greenland and he still doesn't know how long he will stay there.  As long as he wants, and at least a year he says.  Questions regarding the Muhammed crisis hadn't played a role in his employment, he points out.

"I haven't talked about the Muhammad crisis in a year and a half, and it was in any case not something I considered in connection with my employment."  He can't say anything about whether it's a consideration on other people's minds.

Many people recognize him on the street, but there have been absolutely no negative vibrations, and the Greenlanders generally meet people in a very warm and welcoming manner, he says.

The next chapter in Akkari's life might be to become an author.  A letter to a list of Danish publishers is yet the next step.  He says that he intends to find a Danish publisher in order to publish a debate book about the Muhammed crisis and that he has strong criticism of both Muslims and Danes.  The book will show the crisis from several sides, negatively portraying both Muslims and Danes.  He says he had already written a whole book in Arabic and that he has a lot of notes in order to start the Danish version.  At the moment, he intends to find a publisher.

Source: Kristeligt Dagblad (Danish)

1 comment:

Peter said...

lol - Akkari has been in court for violence against an 11 year old boy, when he was working as a teacher years back in Denmark. The boy had apparently broken Akkaris religious rules. Good luck to the greenlanders.