Danish PM won’t meet ambassadors
The Danish Prime Minister, Anders Fogh Rasmussen has refused to meet with eleven Muslim ambassadors who wanted to talk about a Danish newspaper publishing cartoons of the prophet Muhammed. (See story below)
This is a matter of principle. I won’t meet with them because it is so crystal clear what principles Danish democracy is built upon that there is no reason to do so. […]
As prime minister, I have no power whatsoever to limit the press – nor do I want such a power. It is a basic principle of our democracy that a prime minister cannot control the press
Meanwhile, a group of moderate Danish Muslims have started a petition in support of freedom of expression.
We cannot allow Islamic radicals in Denmark to continue with their provocation, aggression, and threats against people who want to criticise or make jokes about religion.
20-year-old Nasim Rahnam, who arrived in Denmark from Iran, explains further:
For us, it’s important to emphasise that those who threaten and make a commotion do not represent all immigrants. But that’s the way Danes perceive it. […]
That shows that many average Muslims don’t have anything to do with the political Islamic groups. We wanted to show that.
The group collected signatures under the banner “Initiative for Freedom of Expression.”