Jihad in Denmark: Cartoonists go into hiding and Al Qaeda threatens paper with attack - Muslims riot in Arhus -declare it 'ours'
Newspaper editor: "Religous feelings cannot demand special treatment in secular society"
November 3, 2005
Søndag aften måtte brandvæsenet have politieskorte for at komme ind og slukke en påsat brand i en vuggestue på Søndervangs Allé. Foto: Esben Nielsen Sunday evening fire the Sondersvang Alle in Arhushttp://www.jp.dk/aar/artikel:aid=3354408/ Dealing with the fires in the center of Arhus
MIM: One of the most liberal countries in the world is now living in fear of terror as the Muslims they have welcomed into their midst inform them that they are rejecting their freedom and democracy, and expect the Danes to submit to Muslim rules or face the consequences.
"...Jyllands-Posten has called the cartoons a test of whether fear of Islamic retribution has begun to limit the freedom of expression in Denmark..."
"...The Danish imam Raed Hlayhel reacted with the statement: "This type of democracy is worthless for Muslims. Muslims will never accept this kind of humiliation. The article has insulted every Muslim in the world..."
"...Meanwhile in Brussels a young Muslim immigrant published a poster depicting the Virgin Mary with naked breasts. Though the picture has drawn some protest from Catholics (though not from Western embassies, nor from the bishops), this artist need not fear being murdered in the street. On the contrary, he is being subsidised by the Ministry for Culture..."
MIM: One courageous editor at the Jyllands Posten explained that Muslims would have to learn to deal with living in a democratic, secular society, and that he would not submit to Islamist intimidation.
"...Flemming Rose, cultural editor at the newspaper, denied that the purpose had been to provoke Muslims. It was simply a reaction to the rising number of situations where artists and writers censured themselves out of fear of radical Islamists, he said.
'Religious feelings cannot demand special treatment in a secular society,' he added. 'In a democracy one must from time to time accept criticism or becoming a laughingstock..."
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MIM: Apparently the "expert in youth research" who said that zero tolerance would encourage more violence did not read any of the dramatic statistics detailing how crime in New York City dropped when then Mayor Giuliani implemented a zero tolerance for crime policy. Either that, or she has not yet had her car burned, or been narrowly missed getting hit by a rock through her window. (as was the local baker). The Mayor of Arhus dismissed her claims and said that the priority is that "law abiding citizens must feel safe in their homes", which brings to mind Tony Blair's announcement after the London bombings that ;'The first civil right is for people not to lose their lives due to terrorist attacks'.
Police in Århus have announced a zero tolerance policy over for the troublemakers who have been rampaging through a suburb of Århus during the weekend. The area of Viby, just outside central Århus has witnessed a spate of riots all weekend with shop windows being smashed, a kindergarten burnt out and general violence occurring between mainly young people with immigrant backgrounds and the police. The zero tolerance hard-line has met criticism from an expert in youth research. Susasne Branner Jespersen said that a zero tolerance stance only increases the hatred between the youths and police. The Mayor of Århus Louise Gade dismissed the concerns of experts and said that a hard-line must be taken with these troublemakers so ordinary law-abiding citizens could feel safe in their homes.
From the desk of Paul Belien on Sat, 2005-10-22 21:25
Islam is no laughing matter. The Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten is being protected by security guards and several cartoonists have gone into hiding after the newspaper published a series of twelve cartoons (view them here) about the prophet Muhammad. According to the Islam it is blasphemous to make images of the prophet. Muslim fundamentalists have threatened to bomb the paper's offices and kill the cartoonists.
The newspaper published the cartoons when a Danish author complained that he could find no-one to illustrate his book about Muhammad. Jyllands-Posten wondered whether there were more cases of self-censorship regarding Islam in Denmark and asked twelve illustrators to draw the prophet for them. Carsten Juste, the paper's editor, said the cartoons were a test of whether the threat of Islamic terrorism had limited the freedom of expression in Denmark.
The publication led to outrage among the Muslim immigrants living in Denmark. 5,000 of them took to the streets to protest. Muslim organisations have demanded an apology, but Juste rejects this idea: "We live in a democracy. That's why we can use all the journalistic methods we want to. Satire is accepted in this country, and you can make caricatures," he said. The Danish imam Raed Hlayhel reacted with the statement: "This type of democracy is worthless for Muslims. Muslims will never accept this kind of humiliation. The article has insulted every Muslim in the world."
Flemming Rose, the cultural editor at the newspaper, denied that the purpose had been to provoke Muslims. It was simply a reaction to the rising number of situations where artists and writers censored themselves out of fear of radical Islamists, he said. "Religious feelings cannot demand special treatment in a secular society," he added. "In a democracy one must from time to time accept criticism or becoming a laughingstock."
The affair, however, has also led to a diplomatic incident. On Thursday the ambassadors of eleven Muslim countries, including Indonesia, a number of Arab states, Pakistan, Iran, and Bosnia-Herzegovina, complained about the cartoons in a letter to Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen. They say the publication of the cartoons is a "provocation" and demand apologies from the newspaper.
Jyllands-Posten was also included on an al-Qaeda website listing possible terrorist targets. An organisation which calls itself "The Glorious Brigades in Northern Europe" is circulating pictures on the internet which show bombs exploding over pictures of the newspaper and blood flowing over the national flag of Denmark. "The Mujahedeen have numerous targets in Denmark – very soon you all will regret this," the website says.
Meanwhile in Brussels a young Muslim immigrant published a poster depicting the Virgin Mary with naked breasts. Though the picture has drawn some protest from Catholics (though not from Western embassies, nor from the bishops), this artist need not fear being murdered in the street. On the contrary, he is being subsidised by the Ministry for Culture.
A Danish newspaper is mentioned on websites listing possible terrorist targets. Experts say it is the first time a newspaper increases the risk of a terror attack on Denmark
A Danish daily's decision to print twelve cartoons featuring Muslim prophet Mohammed could prove costly for Denmark. Experts fear the caricatures could increase the risk of Denmark becoming the target of a terror attack.
The newspaper Jyllands-Posten features in recent propaganda images circulating on the internet. The images show bombs exploding over pictures of the newspaper, and blood flowing over the national flag and a map of Denmark.
Contested caricatures
Jyllands-Posten has been criticised by Muslims for printing the cartoons, and was forced to hire security guards after receiving hate mail and death threats over the telephone.
The newspaper asked illustrators to make the cartoons after reports that artists were reluctant to illustrate a book on Mohammed for fear of Muslim retribution. The daily's editors said the cartoons were a test of whether the threat of Islamic terrorism had limited the freedom of expression in Denmark.
The internet collages, posted in the name of an unknown organisation calling itself 'The Glory Brigades in Northern Europe', showed pictures of various tourist attractions in Denmark and stated that 'The Mujahedeen have numerous targets in Denmark - very soon you all will regret this', amongst other things.
Terror fears heightened
Mehdi Mozaffari, professor of political science at the University of Århus, said this was the first time the acts of private individuals, and not the Danish state, could lead to the country falling prey to a terrorist attack.
'Up until now, the Danish government's presence in Iraq has provoked terror threats. I don't know any previous examples of private acts here in Denmark being linked to threats of terrorist attacks against the public,' Mozaffari said.
Muslim organisations in Denmark, such as the Islamic Religious Community, have demanded an apology, but Editor-in-Chief Carsten Juste rejected the idea. He said the cartoons had been a journalistic project to find out how many cartoonists refrained from drawing the prophet out of fear.
'We live in a democracy,' he said. 'That's why we can use all the journalistic methods we want to. Satire is accepted in this country, and you can make caricatures. Religion shouldn't set any barriers on that sort of expression. This doesn't mean that we wish to insult any Muslims.'
Muslim outrage
Juste's opinion was not shared by Århus imam Raed Hlayhel, who gave an interview to the internet edition of Arabic satellite news channel al-Jazeera to protest the newspaper's cartoons.
Hlayhel told al-Jazeera's reporter that he considered the cartoons derisive of Islam, and described one of the drawings as showing Mohammed wearing a turban-like bomb, and another as brandishing a sabre, with two burka-clad women behind him.
Reports of the cartoons have worried a number of Muslim countries with embassies in Denmark. Earlier this week, they sent a protest to Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs about the caricatures.
'We are hoping for understanding about Muslims' feelings about Mohammed. And we're hoping for an apology from Jyllands-Posten,' said Mascud Effendy Hutasuhut, minister counsellor at the Indonesian Embassy.
In addition to Indonesia, a number of Arab states, Pakistan, Iran, and Bosnia-Herzegovina have complained about the cartoons, which they see as a hate campaign against Muslims in Denmark.
Fears of al-Queda operations
Fourteen days ago, sources in the Italian intelligence service warned that a Moroccan group with a connection to the al-Queda network had members in Scandinavia.
Søren Hove, terrorism researcher at the Odense University, said the message displayed in the collages was so threatening that it should be investigated by the police. On the other hand, he said, such anonymous threats should be taken with a grain of salt.
'We shouldn't allow this to upset us,' he said. 'Anyone with a minimal knowledge of computers and photoshop can create such internet collages just to raise hell. My guess is that it was someone who lives here, who is angry with Jyllands-Posten, which doesn't mean he has the desire or resources to carry the threats out.'
20 October 2005 Muslim embassies complain over Mohammed caricatures
A number of Muslim states with embassies in Denmark have complained to the government after a newspaper published cartoons of Muslim prophet Mohammed
Daily newspaper Jyllands-Posten's decision to print twelve cartoons featuring Muslim prophet Mohammed has caused a stir among Muslim countries, daily newspaper Politiken reported on Thursday.
A number of Muslim countries with embassies in Denmark have sent a protest to Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs about the caricatures.
'We are hoping for understanding about Muslims' feelings about Mohammed. And we're hoping for an apology from Jyllands-Posten,' said Mascud Effendy Hutasuhut, minister counsellor at the Indonesian Embassy.
In addition to Indonesia, a number of Arab states, Pakistan, Iran, and Bosnia-Herzegovina have complained about the cartoons, which they see as a hate campaign against Muslims in Denmark.
The newspaper urged cartoonists to send in drawings of the prophet after an author complained that nobody dared to illustrate his book on Mohammed. Twelve illustrators heeded the newspaper's call and sent in cartoons of the prophet, which were published in the newspaper last month.
Jyllands-Posten has called the cartoons a test of whether fear of Islamic retribution has begun to limit the freedom of expression in Denmark.
The caricatures have caused uproar amongst the nation's Muslims, and security guards were posted around the newspaper's Copenhagen office after a mentally unstable 17-year-old boy sent death threats to journalists and the illustrators.
Representatives of the Muslim countries have requested a meeting with the prime minister, who is also the minister of press issues, to discuss the cartoons.
The Prime Minister's Office's press chief, Michael Ulveman, said the ministry was preparing a reply, but would not give any further comments.
Peter Viggo Jakobsen, department chief at the Danish Institute for International Studies, said the Muslim ambassadors should not get their hopes up.
'If they have the faintest idea about how a Danish and democratic society works, they should know that the Danish government doesn't have any say about Jyllands-Posten's rights of expression,' Jakobsen said.
A Muslim cleric in Århus demands that daily newspaper Jyllands-Posten apologises for publishing cartoons featuring the prophet Mohammed
JP extra Prophet Muhammed. By: Rasmus Sand Høyer
Daily newspaper Jyllands-Posten is facing accusations that it deliberately provoked and insulted Muslims by publishing twelve cartoons featuring the prophet Mohammed.
The newspaper urged cartoonists to send in drawings of the prophet, after an author complained that nobody dared to illustrate his book on Mohammed. The author claimed that illustrators feared that extremist Muslims would find it sacrilegious to break the Islamic ban on depicting Mohammed.
Twelve illustrators heeded the newspaper's call, and sent in cartoons of the prophet, which were published in the newspaper one week ago.
Daily newspaper Kristeligt Dagblad said one Muslim, at least, had taken offence.
'This type of democracy is worthless for Muslims,' Imam Raed Hlayhel wrote in a statement. 'Muslims will never accept this kind of humiliation. The article has insulted every Muslim in the world. We demand an apology!'
Jyllands-Posten described the cartoons as a defence for 'secular democracy and right to expression'.
Hlayhel, however, said the newspaper had abused democracy with the single intention of humiliating Muslims.
Lars Refn, one of the cartoonists who participated in the newspaper's call to arms, said he actually agreed with Hlayhel. Therefore, his cartoon did not feature the prophet Mohammed, but a normal Danish schoolboy Mohammed, who had written a Persian text on his schoolroom's blackboard.
'On the blackboard it says in Persian with Arabic letters that 'Jyllands-Posten's journalists are a bunch of reactionary provocateurs',' Refn said. 'Of course we shouldn't let ourselves be censored by a few extremist Muslims, but Jyllands-Posten's only goal is to vent the fires as soon as they get the opportunity. There's nothing constructive in that.'
Flemming Rose, cultural editor at the newspaper, denied that the purpose had been to provoke Muslim. It was simply a reaction to the rising number of situations where artists and writers censured themselves out of fear of radical Islamists, he said.
'Religious feelings cannot demand special treatment in a secular society,' he added. 'In a democracy one must from time to time accept criticism or becoming a laughingstock.'
It is not the first time Hlayhel has created headlines in Denmark. One year ago, he became the target of criticism from Muslims and non-Muslims alike, when he said in a sermon during Friday prayer, that Danish women's behaviour and dress invited rape.
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MIM: Muslim youth riot in Arhus --declare " this place belongs to us'
Offentliggjort 31. oktober 2005 03:00 / Opdateret 31. oktober 2005 22:15
Unge indvandrere amok i Århus-bydel
Af ERIK THOMLE
Rosenhøj Centret har flere aftener i træk lagt bygninger til de værste optøjer i Århus i flere år. »Området tilhører os,« proklamerer de unge. Søndag aften var der et nyt brandattentat.
Deres ord lyder som en rendyrket krigserklæring til det danske samfund. Politiet skal holde sig væk. Området tilhører indvandrerne.
Fire unge sidder på halvmuren i Rosenhøj Centret søndag eftermiddag og kalder sig talsmænd for de grupper, der tre aftener i træk har hærget og forsøgt at brænde grillbaren og flere andre forretninger af.
Rundt på parkeringspladsen sværmer biler med unge fra indvandrermiljøet, og andre går rundt og hilser med sejrsstemning på hinanden efter de værste optøjer i Århus i flere år.
Hver aften deltog 30 til 40 unge, især indvandrere.
Kun to af dem blev anholdt.
Det var en sejr.
»Vi vidste, I ville komme. Vi er talsmænd,« sagde en ung mand med sort strikhue ned over hovedet, da JP Århus besøgte Rosenhøj Centret søndag. Han var vred. Meget vred.
Bag ham har værtshuset Hot Shot ar efter angrebene med brosten, og i forretningerne langs parkeringsplads-en ved det lille center er vinduerne klistret til med tape i et gigantisk spindelvævsmønster.
Fire timer efter det korte møde sendte Falck et slukningstog med politieskorte til Vuggestuen Kjærslund på Søndervangs Allé skråt over for Rosenhøj Centret.
Benzin gennem rude
På bagsiden af huset var en rude knust, og ilden blussede kraftigt, formentlig fra benzin, der var smidt ind på gulvet og antændt.
Falck standsede på Viby Torv et par kilometer fra brandstedet og ventede på, at politiet kunne eskortere brandbilerne frem til vuggestuen. To nætter tidligere blev andre Falckfolk truet, da de skulle afdække knuste butiksvinduer.
Brosten har ødelagt butiksruderne fra den ene ende af center-arkaden til den anden. Politiet skrev lørdag aften i døgnrapporten, at de unge havde stenene i poser, da de kom til Rosenhøj.
Brosten mod bageri
Lørdag formiddag blev en 16-årig somalisk dreng fængslet for særlig farlig vold, fordi han fredag aften kastede en brosten gennem butiksruden i bageriet. Stenen strøg tæt forbi bager-mester Børge Svaløs ansigt.
Ransagninger
»Vi er trætte af at blive undertrykte. Vi er tætte af, at politiet ransager hjemme hos vores forældre. Vi er trætte af, at politiet stopper vores biler og ransager os for øjnene af alle, så vi er til grin. Vi er trætte af, at politiet banker en af vores venner, som det gjorde i aftes,« skælder han ud, den unge mand med strikhuen søndag eftermiddag.
Han kalder sig 100 pct. palæstinenser, født i en flygtningelejr i Libanon for 19 år siden og nu arbejdsløs flygtning i Danmark.
»Politiet skal holde sig væk. Det her er vores område. Vi bestemmer her.«
Og så kommer det med tegningerne af profeten Muhammed:
»Vi er trætte af det, der er sket med vores profet. Vi er trætte af Jyllands-Posten. Jeg ved godt, at det ikke var jer, men vi vil ikke finde os i det, Jyllands-Posten gjorde med profeten,« siger han aggressivt og de andre nikker anerkendende.
Planlagt i tre uger
To af dem er tyrkere, og det er første gang, at tyrkere og palæstinensere står sammen, hævder den 19-årige.
»Vi har planlagt det her i tre uger. Derfor blev kun to anholdt lørdag aften. Politiet ville afspærre det hele. Men vi kender vejene ud,« påstår han og forsvinder gumlende på et stykke pizza henne fra Fun Pizza.
Også pizzeriaets vinduer er holdt sammen med tape efter angreb med brosten.
Lederen af politiets ungdomsgruppe, vicekriminalkommissær Allan Aarslev, var i Rosenhøj Centret torsdag, fredag og lørdag. Søndag aften var han igen på arbejde for at se, om der var optræk til den fjerde aften med optøjer.
COPENHAGEN — Right-wing politicians consider Omar Marzouk a menace. Muslims accuse him of blasphemy for pasting Osama bin Laden's image onto women's underwear. The "only ethnic comedian" in Denmark, as he likes to call himself, Marzouk provokes all sides but senses that audiences are increasingly touchy these days.
"Society is more radical," he says, sitting in a cafe in an autumn dusk. "You have the Al Qaeda movement preaching that Muslims can't exist in Western culture. And in this country you have the Danish People's Party telling Muslims, 'You're different and we can only accept you if you're a Dane.' These voices are actually pulling the same way: toward radicalism."
Hate screeds are rattling against this Scandinavian nation's aura of serenity. A Muslim publisher with suspected ties to the Al Qaeda terrorist network was recently jailed for allegedly inciting jihad and distributing videotapes of beheadings. A right-wing radio host reacted by saying that Muslims should be expelled from Western Europe, "or you exterminate the fanatical Muslims, which would mean killing a substantial population of Muslim immigrants."
Such incendiary cases, although exceptional in Denmark, raise fears that if Muslim integration can't succeed in the most liberal of Western nations, it might not be able to flourish in more conservative ones.
With cars burning across France and Islamic radicals going underground in Britain, Europe is reeling from the anger of Muslim communities that for decades have existed as parallel universes. Terrorist bombings and riots have sparked fears on the continent and raised questions about its hallowed ideal of cultural tolerance. Muslims complain that tensions over terrorism have turned them into convenient symbols for conservative politicians pushing anti-immigration policies.
From the Danish Parliament to the immigrant neighborhoods in Norrebro, this city of nut bread and sea winds echoes with suspicion. Liberal freedom-of-speech laws are being challenged by Hizb ut-Tahrir, an extremist Islamic organization recruiting Muslims to battle coalition forces in Iraq that include 530 Danish troops. In a society that prides itself on racial parity, voters have elevated the xenophobic Danish People's Party from the fringes to the country's third most powerful political bloc.
"I believe integrating a large number of Muslims can't be done. It's an illusion," said Martin Henriksen, a 25-year-old legislator for the People's Party. "They don't have the desire to blend in with other people. We've been a Christian country for 1,000 years and we are the oldest monarchy in the world. I want to get married and have a lot of kids who can walk around in a society not influenced by Muslims."
This attitude mirrors growing cultural strains, anxiety over possible terrorist attacks and the Danish People's Party's frequent criticisms of the 200,000 Muslims among the nation's 5.4 million people. The tilt to the right is starkly seen in the number of asylum applications the government has approved: 53% in 2001 and 10% last year.
Across town in a neighborhood of fast-food shawarma stands and veiled women, Fadi Abdul Latif, the spokesman for Hizb ut-Tahrir in Denmark, accused conservatives of changing the meaning of integration. Whereas it once meant attending Danish schools and speaking the national language, he charged, now it forces Muslims into accepting European values on issues including sexuality and religion.
"This is the Europe of the Middle Ages," said Abdul Latif, a Palestinian born in a Lebanese refugee camp who moved here years ago. "When others want to force their values on Muslims, we must reject this. We neither want to assimilate nor isolate. We want to keep our identity and carry our message of Islam to others. But Europe is using the climate of war and terrorism to force assimilation."
Hizb ut-Tahrir seeks to establish an Islamic caliphate and expel Western influences from Muslim nations. Outlawed in Sweden and Germany, the group faces a possible ban in Britain after the London transit bombings in July. In 2002, Abdul Latif was charged with distributing hate literature that revered suicide bombers as martyrs and quoted a verse from the Koran: "And kill them from wherever you find them, and turn them out from where they have turned you out." He received a 60-day suspended sentence.
He also circulated a flier in 2004 urging Muslims to "go help your brothers in Fallouja and exterminate your rulers if they block your way." Abdul Latif said in an interview that Hizb ut-Tahrir was rallying fighters in the Middle East, not Europe. The Danish government, whose support of the Bush administration in Iraq has drawn threats from Al Qaeda affiliates, has reopened an investigation into Tahrir.
Abdul Latif is not the only voice testing Denmark's free speech boundaries. Said Mansour, a Moroccan-born Danish publisher who has been under intelligence surveillance for years, was charged in September with instigating terrorism after police raided his home and confiscated allegedly "inflammatory jihadist" videos and speeches. On the other side of the political spectrum, radio host Kaj Wilhelmsen had his broadcasting license revoked for three months for advocating violence against Muslims.
Cultural relations were further strained later in September when Jyllands-Posten, the nation's leading newspaper, printed 12 caricatures of the prophet Muhammad, including one suggesting he had a bomb in his turban. The newspaper said the illustrations were an exercise in free speech, but Muslims viewed them as a provocation. Two newspaper cartoonists were reportedly driven into hiding.
Terrorism and immigration have propelled right and center-right political parties not only in Denmark but also across the continent. A breakdown of the four largest parties in the European Parliament shows that rightist parties hold 355 seats, compared with 243 held by liberal ones.
Thirty-five percent of Copenhagen residents listed integration as the most important issue in the upcoming elections Tuesday, according to a poll published by Jyllands-Posten. In a similar survey last year, only 13% considered integration a significant problem.
"Twenty-five percent of all children in Copenhagen and more than 10% of all children in Denmark are being born to non-Danish mothers. What is happening is a gradual scooping out of the Danish population," Mogens Camre, a member of the Danish People's Party and the European Parliament, said last year. "Islam is threatening our future…. That faith belongs to a dark past, and its political aims are as destructive as Nazism was."
Ahmed abu Laban, an Islamic leader in Copenhagen, said Christian and Muslim extremists are "manipulating the sense of insecurity. If we remove the element, Denmark is an excellent country. We need reconciliation and contrition. There's no time to wait…. I tell many Muslims, 'Europe is sensitive today.' It won't tolerate any act of terror. It is fed up."
Marzouk believes that the delicate space between humor and angst is narrowing. The son of Egyptians, Marzouk was born in Denmark and has lived with its contradictions, its racial stings and its often profound sense of human rights. He sat on a recent day in a cafe, riffing one-liners and political insights, across the river from neighborhoods of Somali flower vendors and Lebanese butchers.
He enjoys pricking hypocrisy.
"The Danish government's idea of better integration is, 'Let's have Turkish night and watch a belly dancer,' " he said. His tongue is just as sharp toward Muslims. In the early 1990s, the blind Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman, who would later be convicted in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, sought refuge in Denmark as an Egyptian political dissident.
"He was attacking the West and I asked him, 'How can you kill the same infidels who are now protecting you?' " Marzouk said.
Since Sept. 11 and the Iraq war, Marzouk said, animosity between Muslims and non-Muslims has deepened. Muslims fear their traditions are threatened by Europe, and native Europeans believe radical Islam has taken root in the continent's permissive societies, he said.
"It's a fragile time," he said.
Henriksen, a fresh-faced carpenter who was elected as a lawmaker in February, supports tougher anti-immigration measures and attributes his party's popularity to being a "place Danes came come with all their frustration and anger."
He says his political philosophy hardened in part over his experiences in poor immigrant neighborhoods. He said he once dated a black African Catholic and was spat at by young Muslim men who, he surmised, believed the woman to be a Muslim who should not have been in a relationship with a white Dane.
"I attended a mosque to listen to what Muslims had to say," he said. "They talked about women wearing head scarves and that Muslims should only be treated by Muslim doctors. I found it an affront to Danish society. I also went to a Muslim wedding. It was grotesque. They were talking about jihad and following holy war. It made me think about what's out there."
Times special correspondent Helen Hajjaj contributed to this report.
Prophet Muhammed. By: Rasmus Sand Høyer
