This Article focuses on the infamous depiction of Muhammad that appeared in the Jyllands-Posten article "The Face of Muhammad" in Denmark on September 30 2005. The image depicted the prophet Muhammad with a bomb in his turban, which obviously was viewed as horribly offensive by the Muslim community. The image lead to backlash as Danish embassies were burnt down in the Middle East and Terrorist attacks were encouraged by Osama Bin Laden. It was Denmark's worst political crisis since World War Two.
The Muslim community viewed this image not only as blasphemy, as the image of Muhammad cannot be shown, but also as a attack on the religion itself. the image of Muhammad with a bomb implied that not only are all Muslims terrorists or have the capacity to become one, but also that Islam is a religion of violence and aggression and that Muhammad is used as a symbol to incite violence and persecution. The text referred to the image as "one of the most severe examples of hatred for islam. It can be said that this image was a attack on the Muslim faith due to comments a month before the article was released stating that a "medieval" muslim culture would never be held as valid as Danish culture. Many Danish politicians have also spoke out against muslims, calling them "cancer".
Although this can be viewed as an attack on Islam, it can also be viewed as freedom of expression. Even if it is offensive to some it should still be able to be expressed. This is similar to how in the United States the KKK is allowed to have riots and demonstrations, even though they are obvious attacks on minorities and are incredibly offensive.
The author concludes by stating that the EU should not attempt to adopt Denmarks policies and to do more to stop racism. He also states that downplaying religion and culture in social integration would do wonders for acceptance of Muslims into socket
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