Denmark: Al-Jazeera to air 'Denmark is racist' movie

Denmark: Al-Jazeera to air 'Denmark is racist' movie

Al-Jazeera will air a documentary tonight by Palestinian-Dane Awad Joumaa on Danish racism. The 50-minute documentary "Conflict in Copenhagen" will air on the "Under the Microscope" show and will focus on the right-wing in Denmark. It shows sequences of street-fights and posters saying "Denmark for the Danes" and "Close the borders", as well as interviews with immigrants gangs and rejected asylum seekers who complain that the authorities are racist.

The show has already received much criticism in Denmark. Chairman for the Danish-Palestinian Friendship Association, Fathi El-Abed, says that the movie does not give a complete picture of what's happening in Denmark and will only help the right-wing smear Arab-Danes.

The Danish foreign ministry is concerned that this movie will cause angry reactions in the Middle East against Denmark, and will alert all Danes living in the region if necessary.

Joumaa thinks that Denmark is racist and that many Arabs have a much too positive view of Denmark. He doesn't intend to smear Denmark, but on the contrary: to do Denmark a service.

In an interview to the Arabic-Danish site Akhbar he said as follows:

"I am Danish and made this movie to help Denmark acknowledge the problems of xenophobia and smearing of Muslims. Danish politicians should acknowledge this problem and do something to solve it. I see the film more as a form of self-criticism and an attempt to save Denmark"

He accuses the Danish media for creating images of Muslims and immigrants which are distorted and full of prejudices. He doesn't think that al-Jazeera is trying to give Danes the same treatment.

"Al-Jazeera showed many positive stories about Denmark this year, including various reports about successful Danish-Arabs. So I don't think that we only show a bad image of Denmark. With this movie I just try to tell my impression of [Denmark] and my experiences in Denmark."

He calls on Danish journalists and politicians to see the documentary before they judge him.

Sources: Kristeligt Dagblad 1, 2 (Danish), Akhbar (Arabic)

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