Islamic group condemns Prophet cartoon ruling

A top Pakistani Islamic group today criticised the dismissal by a Danish court of a defamation lawsuit against a newspaper that published cartoons of Prophet Mohammed that sparked mass protests across the Muslim world this year.

“This was expected because the values and culture of the West are different from Muslim countries,” said Ameer ul-Azeem, spokesman for Jamaat-e-Islami, which belongs to an Islamic alliance that organised mass protests across Pakistan earlier this year.

Western courts “should listen to what Muslim scholars think,” ul-Azeem said. “If they think these cartoons insult their religion and the prophet, the courts should respect these views. It is not up to the court to decide if Muslims will have hard feelings or not."

The City Court in Aarhus said it could not be ruled out that some Muslims had been offended by the 12 drawings printed in Jyllands-Posten, but said there was no reason to assume that the cartoons were meant to “belittle Muslims".

The newspaper published the cartoons on September 30, 2005, with an accompanying text saying it was challenging perceived self-censorship among artists afraid to offend Islam.

The caricatures were reprinted in other European newspapers in January and February, sparking angry protests in the Islamic world. Some turned violent, with protesters killed in Libya and Afghanistan and several European embassies attacked.

Islamic practice forbids any depiction of the prophet, even positive ones, to prevent idolatry.

Pakistan witnessed some of the most violent protests against the cartoons. Tens of thousands of people, spurred on by hard-line groups, rallied across the country, triggering clashes with police that killed five protesters.

Ul-Azeem said Muslims believe the West’s “secularism has made religion a matter of private concern and the state has no role, hence this type of decision".

He also said that it was unlikely that mass protests would erupt over the decision because the Muslim anger over the cartoons is already well known.

“Muslim countries have already registered their anger,” he said.

Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry declined to comment on the verdict.

Although leaders of several countries where the cartoons were published have expressed regret for the offense caused by the caricatures’ publication, some hard-line Islamists in this Islamic nation of 150 million say the cartoonists should be sentenced to death.