STOCKHOLM/CAIRO: Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt met on Friday with ambassadors from 20 Arab countries to engage in a dialogue on a cartoon deemed offensive to Islam.
The caricatures of the Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) depicted as a roundabout dog in the Swedish newspaper Nerikes Allehanda in August have garnered much attention inside and outside Sweden.
The outcome of the discussion was reportedly successful. Several of the attending ambassadors supposedly expressed their appreciation of the Swedish prime minister to organize Friday’s meeting and his initiative to meet with Muslim organizations in Sweden earlier in the week.
“We have had a good dialogue that will lead to better understanding, Syria’s ambassador told the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter (DN).
Reinfeldt himself hopes that the meeting will “help calm down the reactions to this matter even more.
While there have been rumors concerning demands from some ambassadors, Reinfeldt said that no such demands had come up in the meeting.
“No demands have been put forth. We have had a very good dialogue, Reinfeldt told DN.
The Prime Minister explained Sweden’s free press law stressing that the country “does not have democratically elected politicians that can take publishing decisions.
The Swedish ‘Freedom of Press Act’ bans statements that threaten or express disdain for an ethnic group with reference for example to their beliefs, or national or ethnic provenance.’
Individuals who take offence at a publication in printed media can file a complaint with the Swedish Chancellor of Justice, who (without any instructions from the government) acts as sole prosecutor and decides on a possible inquiry.
While outlining the Swedish principles of freedom of expression, Reinfeldt emphasized that Sweden is an “open and tolerant country.
The Swedish cartoon crisis comes one year following the controversy over the Danish cartoons of the Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) that were published in Denmark’s Jyllands-Posten; an event that sparked violent protests around the world.
In response to the new caricature, protests have been staged in Pakistan as well as among Sweden’s Muslim community.
Unlike Denmark, however, who waited some time before engaging in discussions with its Arab ambassadors the Swedish government has acted in a quick manner and opened the doors for dialogue at an early stage.
In Egypt, a representative from the Swedish embassy reportedly met with the Egyptian Foreign Ministry earlier in the week.
Joachim Vaverka, counsellor at the Swedish embassy in Cairo, told Daily News Egypt that the meeting was “positive and that Sweden and Egypt are “working together to resolve the matter.
Egypt’s religious ministerial body, the Ministry of Religious Endowments, had condemned the caricatures last week.
According to Vaverka, a number of parliamentarians, including members of the National Democratic Party and affiliates of the Muslim Brotherhood, supported the arguments made by the ministry, which also suggested discontinuing trade relations between Sweden and Egypt.
Like the Danish cartoon controversy, the Swedish ’roundabout dog crisis,’ as the incident is referred to in the Swedish press, reopens the debate over the limits of freedom of expression.
While some strongly maintain that there should be a limit to what can be published or said, others stress that the concept of freedom of expression rests on the principle that everything can be published; even if potentially harmful or humiliating to others.
Sheikh Mahmoud Ashour, former deputy head of Al-Azhar and a member of the Islamic Research Council, said in an interview with Daily News Egypt that the cartoon of the Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) “goes against all moral standards.
“The caricature not only goes against Islamic principles, but general moral standards as a whole. One should be respectful of other people and not offend the feelings or religions of others, Ashour said.
Egyptian blogger Wael Abbas, however, stresses that there should be “no limits to freedom of expression whatsoever .Everyone should be able to say or publish whatever they want, even if the matter could be disturbing to others.
The controversial artist behind the caricature of the Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) in Nerikes Allehanda, Lars Vilks, drew the cartoon as part of a new series. Art galleries in Sweden refused to put his sketches on display.
The artist has reportedly received several death threats via phone, email, and regular mail and is now keeping a low profile. On his internet blog www.vilks.net, Vilks states that “he is in good health and not in hiding, but on the move.
The artist maintains that his drawing is ‘art’ and that he is not against Islam.
“I m not against Islam. Everybody knows that, Vilks stated in a recent telephone interview.
On Thursday night, a seven-meter high roundabout dog built by Vilks and students from a local high school in the Swedish town of Trelleborg was burnt down by an unknown perpetrator. The creation, which was inaugurated in June this year, has reportedly been subject to arson several times.
The ’roundabout dog’ is a type of Swedish street art that evolved in 2006. Today, it is a phenomenon that has rooted itself in Swedish culture and almost become a public movement. It started with anonymous people placing homemade dog statues in different materials on roundabouts around Sweden. The artwork can now be found at many roundabouts throughout the Northern European Kingdom and even in Spain.
The fact that Vilk’s cartoon depicts the Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) on top of a dog’s body is said to be “extra unfortunate as dogs are viewed as unclean in Islamic culture.
“A dog is an animal that has no value. Sanctuary figures like the Prophet Mohamed (PBUH), Moses, or Jesus should not be associated with a dog or any other animal. I would like to take this opportunity to ask the cartoonist if he himself would like to be associated with or likened to a dog, Ashour argued.
Diaa Rashwan, an expert in Islamic Studies at Al Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, emphasized that incidents like the Swedish cartoons “stop the progress of humanity.
“Everybody should be able to say what they want, but one must respect one another and understand the implications of their acts. Matters such as this new cartoon controversy only complicate relations between East and West more. And that is the last thing we need at the moment, Rashwan said in an interview with Daily News Egypt.
Furthermore, Rashwan stressed the need for the UN to step in and enact a clause that would illegalize blasphemy of religions.
“There must be some sort of limit to what can be said or published. The UN should establish a committee to handle matters like this, Rashwan continued.
Sheikh Khaled El-Guindy from Al-Azhar, expressed “fury over the cartoons, telling Daily News Egypt that the morals of the West should be “more civilized.
“They are insulting us because we are different. Respect for other people is a necessity, El-Guindy said.
Furthermore, El-Guindy stated that he will protest in silence this time since having a dialogue with the West has proven a “waste of time in the past.
“They don’t respect us. Now it’s the West’s turn to convince us otherwise, El-Guindy argued.
In response to the crisis, Prime Minister Reinfeldt has maintained that “Sweden is a country where people of different faiths can live together side by side and that the country’s social model is built on “mutual respect and understanding.
While Reinfeldt highlighted the national law on free press and the inability of politicians to interfere in national mass media, he also expressed personal regret over the publication, stating that he “would never consciously act in a way that is perceived as provoking or offending other religions.
Vaverka emphasized that the caricature is “simply the work of an individual artist and that it does not represent the views of the Swedish people in any way.
“This is the creation of an individual artist who used his right to freedom of express
ion. It is tragic that the event has caused damage and unrest. Sweden is a county built on principles of mutual respect and understanding of one other. The freedom of religion, expression, and press that Sweden enjoys are concepts we are very proud of. In no way would we ever want to humiliate a religion, Vaverka told Daily News Egypt.
Meanwhile, the Swedish Foreign Ministry has urged Swedish citizens in the Middle East to “remain cautious.
