The Millenium Holocaust
Solana Seeks to Quell Cartoon Rage
by Siraj Wahab
Arab News, Tue Feb 14 2006
JEDDAH, 14 February 2006 — In what can only be described as the first confidence-building measure between Europe and the Muslim world, one of the highest ranking leaders of the European Union paid a visit to the secretary-general of the 57-member Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) here yesterday.
Top on the agenda of the meeting between EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu at the OIC headquarters in Jeddah was a discussion on the ways and means of turning the tide in the raging furor over the blasphemous cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) that were first published in a leading Danish newspaper in September. They were subsequently reproduced in several European publications, touching off violent protests.
Solana agreed with Ihsanoglu’s suggestion that the EU and the OIC should jointly make efforts to adopt a UN resolution on the lines of the existing Resolution No. 60/150, which calls for combating defamation of religions.
“The new UN resolution should prohibit defamation of all prophets and faiths,” said Ihsanoglu at a press conference addressed jointly by the two leaders.
Ihsanoglu asked for international legal measures against blasphemy. He said the EU should adopt necessary legislative measures by the European Parliament against Islamophobia.
“Unfortunately, people in the Muslim world feel that this is a new 9/11 against themselves. In Europe unfortunately Muslims have taken the place of Jews during World War II. There is a need for a UN legislation and clarification of existing conventions,” he said.
Ihsanoglu asked for adopting a code of conduct for the European media. “The code of conduct should take into account the sensitivities of the Muslims and defamation in any form or manifestation and the core beliefs of the religions including mocking and criticizing prophets, and it should be considered an ethical offense in the European media code,” he said.
The secretary-general called for adopting the International Communication Order by the United Nations, which should cover limits of freedom of speech in case of religious symbols.
Solana agreed with much of what Ihsanoglu said. “We have decided to work together to overcome the consequences of the present crisis,” said Solana. “The OIC is very close to our heart, the heart of Europeans. The reason for this visit is to show our respect for the OIC and through the organization respect for all the people represented by this organization.
“We feel a profound respect for the Islamic world, Islamic people and the Islamic countries. We never wanted to offend the feelings of the Muslims. This was not our intention, this has never been our intention nor will it be in the future.
“We are ready to devote as much time as is required to rebuild. We want to renew the dialogue ... a dialogue that had never been cut off. We need good cooperation. We need to understand each other. We have values that we share, the value of tolerance. The Europeans need a solid relationship with you and, I think, you need a solid relationship with us,” said Solana.
Ihsanoglu said it was wrong to blame the OIC for what one reporter suggested was the organization’s hard line that has riled up sentiments in the Muslim world.
“We wrote to the prime minister of Denmark. We wrote to UN representatives, EU representatives etc. etc. The OIC had a very mild, conciliatory statement in the Makkah Declaration, but the European response was one of indifference. We haven’t heard anybody saying anything until the streets took over,” Ihsanoglu said.
He said the street took over because of the republication of the offensive cartoons in Norway’s Magazinet on Jan. 10.
“We have always been trying to calm down reactions,” he said. “We deplored all acts of violence. But at the same time we have to defend the rights of the Muslim Ummah for its holy values. We are not challenging anybody’s values of human rights; if these rights are misused we cannot stop people to do what they have done. I don’t think we can ask people not to express their feelings. Nobody has the power to stop public expression. But we made it clear right from the beginning that it (the protest) should be in a democratic way. It should be in a peaceful way. No violence, no attacks on others because this is against the ethics of the Prophet himself.”
When Solana was asked whether he would ask the prime minister of Denmark to issue a clear-cut apology, he was vague: “I think the government of Denmark has said what it had to say.”
To a question on why Europe reacted only after extremist Muslims burned down Danish embassies and Danish flags, he said that perception was not true. “We talked way before the controversy burst onto the street. We started reacting way before that,” he said.
Ihsanoglu said he had a very constructive discussion with Solana. “There is a strong will to cooperate. We agreed that we should take all measures on different levels including at the UN to guarantee that these acts will not be repeated.”
Solana was in Saudi Arabia on the first stop in a five-country Middle East trip mainly aimed at repairing ties strained by the row over the caricatures. The four-day tour will also take him to Egypt, Jordan, Palestine and Israel.
by Siraj Wahab
Arab News, Tue Feb 14 2006
JEDDAH, 14 February 2006 — In what can only be described as the first confidence-building measure between Europe and the Muslim world, one of the highest ranking leaders of the European Union paid a visit to the secretary-general of the 57-member Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) here yesterday.
Top on the agenda of the meeting between EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu at the OIC headquarters in Jeddah was a discussion on the ways and means of turning the tide in the raging furor over the blasphemous cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) that were first published in a leading Danish newspaper in September. They were subsequently reproduced in several European publications, touching off violent protests.
Solana agreed with Ihsanoglu’s suggestion that the EU and the OIC should jointly make efforts to adopt a UN resolution on the lines of the existing Resolution No. 60/150, which calls for combating defamation of religions.
“The new UN resolution should prohibit defamation of all prophets and faiths,” said Ihsanoglu at a press conference addressed jointly by the two leaders.
Ihsanoglu asked for international legal measures against blasphemy. He said the EU should adopt necessary legislative measures by the European Parliament against Islamophobia.
“Unfortunately, people in the Muslim world feel that this is a new 9/11 against themselves. In Europe unfortunately Muslims have taken the place of Jews during World War II. There is a need for a UN legislation and clarification of existing conventions,” he said.
Ihsanoglu asked for adopting a code of conduct for the European media. “The code of conduct should take into account the sensitivities of the Muslims and defamation in any form or manifestation and the core beliefs of the religions including mocking and criticizing prophets, and it should be considered an ethical offense in the European media code,” he said.
The secretary-general called for adopting the International Communication Order by the United Nations, which should cover limits of freedom of speech in case of religious symbols.
Solana agreed with much of what Ihsanoglu said. “We have decided to work together to overcome the consequences of the present crisis,” said Solana. “The OIC is very close to our heart, the heart of Europeans. The reason for this visit is to show our respect for the OIC and through the organization respect for all the people represented by this organization.
“We feel a profound respect for the Islamic world, Islamic people and the Islamic countries. We never wanted to offend the feelings of the Muslims. This was not our intention, this has never been our intention nor will it be in the future.
“We are ready to devote as much time as is required to rebuild. We want to renew the dialogue ... a dialogue that had never been cut off. We need good cooperation. We need to understand each other. We have values that we share, the value of tolerance. The Europeans need a solid relationship with you and, I think, you need a solid relationship with us,” said Solana.
Ihsanoglu said it was wrong to blame the OIC for what one reporter suggested was the organization’s hard line that has riled up sentiments in the Muslim world.
“We wrote to the prime minister of Denmark. We wrote to UN representatives, EU representatives etc. etc. The OIC had a very mild, conciliatory statement in the Makkah Declaration, but the European response was one of indifference. We haven’t heard anybody saying anything until the streets took over,” Ihsanoglu said.
He said the street took over because of the republication of the offensive cartoons in Norway’s Magazinet on Jan. 10.
“We have always been trying to calm down reactions,” he said. “We deplored all acts of violence. But at the same time we have to defend the rights of the Muslim Ummah for its holy values. We are not challenging anybody’s values of human rights; if these rights are misused we cannot stop people to do what they have done. I don’t think we can ask people not to express their feelings. Nobody has the power to stop public expression. But we made it clear right from the beginning that it (the protest) should be in a democratic way. It should be in a peaceful way. No violence, no attacks on others because this is against the ethics of the Prophet himself.”
When Solana was asked whether he would ask the prime minister of Denmark to issue a clear-cut apology, he was vague: “I think the government of Denmark has said what it had to say.”
To a question on why Europe reacted only after extremist Muslims burned down Danish embassies and Danish flags, he said that perception was not true. “We talked way before the controversy burst onto the street. We started reacting way before that,” he said.
Ihsanoglu said he had a very constructive discussion with Solana. “There is a strong will to cooperate. We agreed that we should take all measures on different levels including at the UN to guarantee that these acts will not be repeated.”
Solana was in Saudi Arabia on the first stop in a five-country Middle East trip mainly aimed at repairing ties strained by the row over the caricatures. The four-day tour will also take him to Egypt, Jordan, Palestine and Israel.
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