Danish Christian express regret to Muslims over controversial cartoons
-19/02/06
A del
Danish Christian express regret to Muslims over controversial cartoons
-19/02/06
A delegation of Danish Christians has expressed regret to Muslims over the publication of cartoons that lampooned the Prophet Muhammad in the daily Jyllands-Posten.
The delegation from the Danish Evangelical Lutheran church, which arrived in Egypt on Thursday, met with Egypt’s top Muslim cleric, Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Sheikh Mohammad Sayed Tantawi.
Headed by Bishop of Viborg Karsten Nissen, the delegation said Danish Christians were as offended as Muslims.
The delegation will hold talks with Egyptian Mufti Ali Gomaa, the Orthodox bishop of Cairo, the bishop of the Anglican church in Cairo as well as Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa.
In statements before his arrival, Nissen said the aim of the journey was “to say that Danes don’t hate Muslims and that Christians want to live in peace with Muslims in Denmark and in the rest of the world.”
He, however, made it clear that the visit was not meant to apologize on behalf of the Danish government or the daily.
However, during the meeting, Grand Imam Mohammed Sayyed Tantawi of al-Azhar University, the worldís highest Sunni Muslim seat of learning, said the Danish prime minister must apologize for the drawings and further demanded that the worldís religious leaders, including Pope Benedict XVI, meet to write a law that condemned “insulting any religion, including the Holy Scriptures and the prophets.î
He said the United Nation should impose the law on all countries.
In response, Bishop Karsten Nissen did not address the issue of a global law but said that it was impossible for Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmusen to apologize for what a newspaper had published.
“I have brought to his excellency (Tantawi) the apology of the newspaper, but our prime minister did not draw these cartoons. Our prime minister is not the editor of this newspaper. He cannot apologize for something he did not do,” Nissen said according to AP.
The cartoons, one of them showing the Prophet with a bomb-shaped turban, were first published in September by Jyllands-Posten, and later reprinted by newspapers in many countries on the ground of freedom of expression.
Any image of the Prophet — let alone such caricatures — is considered blasphemous under Islam.
The Danish paper apologized for offending Muslim feelings but not for printing the caricatures, which have triggered massive and sometimes violent demonstrations across the world.
Danish Christian express regret to Muslims over controversial cartoons
-19/02/06
A delegation of Danish Christians has expressed regret to Muslims over the publication of cartoons that lampooned the Prophet Muhammad in the daily Jyllands-Posten.
The delegation from the Danish Evangelical Lutheran church, which arrived in Egypt on Thursday, met with Egypt’s top Muslim cleric, Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Sheikh Mohammad Sayed Tantawi.
Headed by Bishop of Viborg Karsten Nissen, the delegation said Danish Christians were as offended as Muslims.
The delegation will hold talks with Egyptian Mufti Ali Gomaa, the Orthodox bishop of Cairo, the bishop of the Anglican church in Cairo as well as Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa.
In statements before his arrival, Nissen said the aim of the journey was “to say that Danes don’t hate Muslims and that Christians want to live in peace with Muslims in Denmark and in the rest of the world.”
He, however, made it clear that the visit was not meant to apologize on behalf of the Danish government or the daily.
However, during the meeting, Grand Imam Mohammed Sayyed Tantawi of al-Azhar University, the world’s highest Sunni Muslim seat of learning, said the Danish prime minister must apologize for the drawings and further demanded that the world’s religious leaders, including Pope Benedict XVI, meet to write a law that condemned “insulting any religion, including the Holy Scriptures and the prophets.’
He said the United Nation should impose the law on all countries.
In response, Bishop Karsten Nissen did not address the issue of a global law but said that it was impossible for Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmusen to apologize for what a newspaper had published.
“I have brought to his excellency (Tantawi) the apology of the newspaper, but our prime minister did not draw these cartoons. Our prime minister is not the editor of this newspaper. He cannot apologize for something he did not do,” Nissen said according to AP.
The cartoons, one of them showing the Prophet with a bomb-shaped turban, were first published in September by Jyllands-Posten, and later reprinted by newspapers in many countries on the ground of freedom of expression.
Any image of the Prophet — let alone such caricatures — is considered blasphemous under Islam.
The Danish paper apologized for offending Muslim feelings but not for printing the caricatures, which have triggered massive and sometimes violent demonstrations across the world.