Group visited Middle East after cartoons of the Prophet were
published
Feb 8, 2006
The Straits Times
COPENHAGEN - A GROUP of Danish imams and activists visited the
Middle East late last year after the publication of caricatures of
Prophet Muhammad in a homegrown newspaper, prompting allegations of
hidden 'masterminds' behind the current wave of protests across the
Muslim world.
A prominent member of the group, however, denied the existence of
such 'masterminds' on Monday.
Mr Ahmed Abu Laban, a 60-year-old imam of Palestinian origin,
instead attributed the sudden explosion of anger to the rapid
success of a 'grassroots' consumer boycott against Danish
exports.
Speaking from his office at the Waqfs mosque in Copenhagen, Mr Abu
Laban also credited the hardline 'Salafist' television stations
based in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, such as al-Majd
and Iqra, with a 'big influence' in fomenting the trade
boycott.
'It was the swift and decisive sanctions of the boycott. Keen
Muslims responded, and found it was a good chance to show their
love of the Prophet,' he was quoted as saying in Britain's
Telegraph newspaper yesterday.
'And the amount of Danish trade in the region is so large that the
echo was quickly heard in Denmark. It was a grassroots thing,
though nobody is denying the role of the mosques. They have
loudspeakers, and the people listen,' he added.
Mr Abu Laban denied claims from European intelligence and security
sources that the banned Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist opposition
group, had worked hard to whip up Muslim anger.
One Danish Muslim delegation was sent to Cairo to meet the
secretary-general of the Arab League, Amr Moussa, and the grand
mufti of Egypt. Delegates also met the grand imam, Sheikh Mohammed
Sayyed Tantawi, at al- Azhar University.
Mr Abu Laban also tried to lead a delegation to Qatar to meet the
influential cleric Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, whose religious
rulings are considered binding by many Muslims.
But he said the meeting was called off and denied that Sheikh
al-Qaradawi was a hidden hand behind the protests, despite the
Qatar-based cleric's call last week for a 'global day of anger'
over the cartoons.
The cleric had been 'too busy' to see the Danish delegation as he
was preparing for a major meeting of the 56-nation Organisation of
the Islamic Conference, Mr Abu Laban said.
'The idea of a mastermind is very annoying to me,' he added.
The Danish imams were sharply criticised by their own prime
minister, Mr Anders Rasmussen, for touring the Middle East with a
43-page dossier outlining what they called the racism and
Islamophobia suffered by Muslims in Denmark.
Mr Rasmussen said he was 'speechless', especially after it emerged
that the dossier contained three highly obscene images which the
delegates said were sent to Danish Muslims as hate mail.
But Mr Rasmussen may have aggravated the dispute by refusing last
October to meet ambassadors from Muslim countries - a decision
publicly criticised by 22 retired Danish diplomats, said the
Telegraph.
Mr Abu Laban's reputation is at an all-time low among many Danes
after he condemned the consumer boycott on Danish television but
told the al-Jazeera channel he was 'happy' about it.
Mr Abu Laban was keen to stress his moderation on Monday.
Danish Muslims were not looking for a victory or confrontation, he
said. 'The whole story is about dialogue of civilisations,' he
said.