CAIRO,
March 5, 2006 (IslamOnline.net) – In response to an invitation from
the Danish-Egyptian Dialogue Institute, two delegates from
IslamOnline.net will be traveling, along with a small group of
Egyptian journalists and academics, to Denmark on Sunday, March 12,
for meetings with Danish media representatives and Danish Muslims.
"The
goal of the visit is to give journalists from IOL, [Egyptian dailies] Al-Ahram
and Al-Masri Al-Youm a chance to explain their view
about the current situation in Denmark after the cartoon row,"
Hanna Ziadeh, a researcher with the Cairo-based institute, told
IslamOnline.net on Sunday, March 5.
"It
is also a chance to show the problem of the cartoon and also denounce
the exaggeration of the affair," added Ziadeh, a Danish citizen
of a Lebanese background.
Twelve
cartoons, one of them showing Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing be
upon him) with a bomb-shaped turban, were first published in Denmark
last year and later reprinted by newspapers in many countries on the
ground of freedom of expression.
The
drawings, considered blasphemous under Islam, have triggered massive
and sometimes violent demonstrations across the Muslim world.
A
five-member delegation representing 21 Islamic centers and
organizations in Denmark, who toured a number of Arab and Muslim
countries earlier this year over the cartoons, are being accused of
exaggerating their case.
Listening
The
IOL delegation hopes to get a closer look at the conditions of Danish
Muslims and their current situation in the light of the ongoing
controversy surrounding the cartoons.
"We
are going there to listen more than to talk," said Arwa Mahmoud,
the Managing Editor of IOL's Muslim Affairs section and one of the
delegates.
"It
is important to understand the situation on the ground and to
communicate to our audience the problems and challenges that face
Denmark's Muslim community," she added.
The
delegation will meet with media representatives to discuss the recent
controversy and its implications on issues such as freedom of
expression and its compatibility with religion and how it has been
dealt with in different cultural contexts.
"The
problem between Muslim and Western cultures is more about information
and perception," believes Marwa Elnaggar, Managing Editor of
IOL's Discover Islam section and one of the delegates.
"We
have been receiving individual apologies from many Danes on our Web
site, and we realize that there are many initiatives from Danish
non-Muslims calling for mutual respect. It is important to highlight
these initiatives and to network with them," she added.
IOL
is
from its audience in a bid to form a more comprehensive picture of
reactions on the ground, which will play a role in the discussions
that will take place.
The
integration of Muslims within European societies will also figure high
on the agenda of the visit.
Danish
Muslims are estimated at 180,000 or around 3 per cent of Denmark's 5.4
million.
Islam
is Denmark's second largest religion after the Lutheran Protestant
Church, which is actively followed by four-fifths of the country's
population.
Professional
Ziadeh,
an expert on immigrants affairs, said IOL has been selected to visit
the Scandinavian country for its professional experience and status as
the world's leading Muslim portal.
"We
believe that the IOL journalists are professional enough to engage in
direct contacts about the complication of the situation and to
communicate their view away from formality."
Two
IOL reporters had visited Denmark last November as part of a three-leg
Scandinavian tour, also organized by the Danish institute.
They
had interviews with Flemming Rose, the cultural editor of the
mass-circulation Jyllands-Posten who commissioned and published
the cartoons, as well as leaders of the Muslim minority, estimated at
180,000.
At
the time, Abdel Rahman Abu Laban, a prominent Muslim figure in
Denmark, told IOL the Muslim minority would seek to "
