A regional prosecutor said he would not file charges against a newspaper that published contentious caricatures of Islam's Prophet Muhammad, and Danish Muslim groups said Monday they would appeal.
"We cannot understand the decision," said Ahmad Akkari, a spokesman for a coalition of 11 community groups, adding that they would take their complaints to Denmark's top prosecutor.
He said the 12 caricatures, published Sept. 30 in the Jyllands-Posten daily, were a "clear offense to Islam."
And again - Mr Akkari shows that what he really doesn't understand is how free speech works in a liberal democracy. If a Muslim feels personally hurt, he can personally sue the newspaper. Unless maybe there's no basis for such a lawsuit?
Egypt has been spearheading foreign criticism of Denmark over the cartoons. While Egypt "respects freedom of opinion and expression, we also realize the borders which must never be crossed," Egypt's official Middle East News Agency quoted Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit as saying Monday after he was informed of the prosecutor's decision by his Danish counterpart.
The dispute has created a backlash against Danish Muslim groups, who critics say blew the matter out of proportion by asking Muslim countries to pressure the Danish government to act against the paper.
In other words, by trying to "protect Islam" what the Muslim groups actually did was to show how much they don't respect the rights of others to express an opinion and the liberal culture of the country in which they live
(sounds familiar?)
Source: Yahoo News (English)
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