Denmark: Fifth anniversary of Mohammed cartoons, Minister trying to avoid new cartoon crisis

Denmark: Fifth anniversary of Mohammed cartoons, Minister trying to avoid new cartoon crisis

Tomorrow will be the 5th anniversary of the publication of the Mohammed cartoons, and Jyllands-Posten's Culture Editor, Flemming Rose, intends to release his new book "The Tyranny of Silence" (Tavshedens Tyranni) on this occasion. The book includes the cartoons, and some people fear this might reignite the cartoon riots.

Danish Foreign Minister Lene Espersen met with 17 Muslim ambassadors (DA) from the OIC (Organization of the Islamic Conference). Espersen said it "was a good and constructive meeting".

According to Danish newspaper B.T., the meeting was intended to prevent a new Mohammed crisis.

Espersen later called for an extraordinary meeting of the Foreign Relations Committee to discuss the fifth anniversary of the Jyllands-Posten Muhammed cartoons.

According to a poll by Voxmeter (DA), 48% think Jyllands-Posten was right to print the cartoons, and 38% are against it. There has been virtually no change in the numbers since 2006, when Voxmeter last polled the issue.

Since Jyllands-Posten published the Mohammed cartoons, there have been several terror plots against the newspaper by Belgian, Norwegian and American terrorists. The Danish security service warned Danish Muslims were training in Pakistan for attacks back home. There were also several terror plots and attacks against Mohammed cartoonist Kurt Westergaard (see here, here and here). Three of the people involved in the Danish cartoons appeared on Al-Qaeda's recently published hit-list. In addition there were attacks on Danish interests abroad, and terror plots elsewhere in Europe to 'revenge' the cartoons.