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Most racist country in Europe

Bob Morris, on Feb 6, 2006, 5:24 am

From Danish photojournalist Jacob Holdt

Danish Nazis

Most racist country in Europe.

According to many foreigners Denmark is now the most racist country in Europe. For me it is without comparison the worst racism since it is the only one I am responsible for.

Institutionalized racism might be worse in America, but since the Danes are more outspoken in their views and have not learned the political correctness of Americans, individual racism is far more extreme over here. Indeed, when I recently lived in the Ku Klux Klan head quarter in America it struck me after weeks of interviewing the Klan members that they had less hate in their hearts than what I find in my fellow Danes right now.

Puts a whole new slant on the Muslim cartoons, doesn’t it? As does this Telegraph Op-Ed.

If you get rid of the Danes, you’ll have to keep paying the Danegeld

There is no reason to doubt that Muslims worry very much about depictions of Mohammed. Like many, chiefly Protestant, Christians, they fear idolatry. But, as I write, I have beside me a learned book about Islamic art and architecture which shows numerous Muslim paintings from Turkey, Persia, Arabia and so on. These depict the Prophet preaching, having visions, being fed by his wet nurse, going on his Night-Journey to heaven, etc. The truth is that in Islam, as in Christianity, not everyone agrees about what is permissible.

Right now, at the fashionable White Cube Gallery in Hoxton, you can see the latest work of Gilbert and George, mainly devoted, it is reported, to attacks on the Catholic Church. The show is called Sonofagod Pictures and it features the head of Christ on the Cross replaced with that of a primitive deity. One picture includes the slogan “God loves F***ing”.

Like most Christians, I find this offensive, but I think I must live with the offence in the interests of freedom. If I find, however, that people who threaten violence do have the power to suppress what they dislike, why should I bother to defend freedom any more? Why shouldn’t I ring up the Hon Jay Jopling, the proprietor, and tell him that I shall burn down the White Cube Gallery unless he tears Gilbert and George off the walls? I won’t, I promise, but how much longer before some Christians do? The Islamist example shows that it works.

There is a great deal of talk about responsible journalism, gratuitous offence, multicultural sensitivities and so on. Jack Straw gibbers about the irresponsibility of the cartoons, but says nothing against the Muslims threatening death in response to them. I wish someone would mention the word that dominates Western culture in the face of militant Islam – fear. And then I wish someone would face it down.

The best way to stop it would be for the West to stop doing things that drive recruits to militant Islam.

Category: News | 9 comments - (Comments are closed)

  • http://www.alcaponeblog.com Al Capone

    No, the best way for the West would be to continue defending our most precious value: The freedom of speech and the right to make fun of everything. Nobody remembers the French philosopher Voltaire any longer? He said to one of his enemies: I disagree totally with your opinion but I’ll do everthing I can that you can express your opinion freely.

  • http://polizeros.com Bob

    “Does free speech include the right to yell ‘fire’ in a crowded theatre?”

    Germany has long banned holocaust deniers, saying that does not fall under freedom of speech.

    Such freedoms also assume responsibility, not deliberately throwing gasoline on fires.

  • http://www.alcaponeblog.com Al Capone

    @Bob: Let’s not mix up things here. Yelling “fire” in a theatre doesn’t have nothing to do with free speech. And I as a German can asure you that banning holocaust deniers didn’t help a thing, there are as many today (if not more) as in other countries. To the contrary: It’s the best proof that censorship doesn’t work (and we never should allow it).

  • http://polizeros.com Bob

    “Yelling ‘fire’ in a crowded theatre” has long been used in the States, including in Supreme Court arguments, in freedom of speech cases. Thus, that phrase is in the culture here. Should have made it clearer what it meant since those not in the US would obviously not know the cultural reference.

    I oppose biogoted religious/political extremists of any ilk, whether they incite hatred by deliberately printing racial slurs or burn churches in Lebanon in protest. It’s all madness.

  • http://polizeros.com Bob

    I do not favor censorship, but agree with the Times of London Op-ed that newspapers like this give governments an excuse to impose restrictions.

    What’s needed is massive public pressure to force the newspapers to back down. They may have the right to print inflammatory racist drivel, but we have the right to shut down the streets outside their offices in protest.

    Are there protests in Denmark now against this? Anyone know?

  • http://www.alcaponeblog.com Al Capone

    Okay, eventhough I live in the US I didn’t know this (just arrived, if that’s an excuse). But why should this newspaper back down? It published some rather lame jokes, so what? Who decides if a joke is permitted or not? Or let me put it this way: Ever seen lately a good (or a bad) joke about Jesus in a local newspaper in the Bible Belt? Or again the other way ’round: If there would be riots after that, what would we defend? Of course, I know, most probably they wouldn’t burn down the office of the newspaper, but that’s not the point.

  • Manuj

    The Western world needs to have a zero tolerance against all religious extremists. Whether they are Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindus, Hutus, Tutsi… it doesn’t matter. Let’s not forget that “religion” is the major culprit for genocide.

    In the Western world we can make jokes about our spiritual leaders, and although people protest, none of them create aggravated assault type riots. Isn’t ironic that the Islamic year in 2006 is 1427? In that same year, Christianity experienced it’s worst era – Inquisition. But, a major difference with this negative coincidence, is that in those days the Spanish Inquisition didn’t have bullets, chemical/biological/nuclear weapons. Today we do have that, and to have such an extreme exist makes a mockery of “human rights.”

    So, is it OK for Muslim people to say that they dream in regaining Cordoba (Spain)? That’s not much respect for Spain. I guess that a lot of Muslim people don’t know why (?) Cordoba became a paradise. Was it exiling someone? I guess that a lot of Muslim people don’t know much about medieval history. That’s similar to Americans with geography.

    If Islam is a religion of peace, then why do they promote riots against countries they don’t know? Could it be that Islam has been hijacked by extremists? If so, then they have some very serious internal problems. If they don’t police their own extremists, then Islam is no longer a religion of peace. But, a virus out of control and ethnic stereotype will become the norm of future governments. From the present events so far, the future for Muslim people doesn’t look that bright. But keep in mind that they always have a choice in how they want us to perceive them.

    If the Western oriented nations can’t practice their rights (freedom of speech in press) due to the mental instability of a religious group that is not native to those countries, then we’ll allow those extremists to dictate our lives. As a sign of solidarity, I would like to see all Western oriented countries to publish those cartoons, and if some Muslim people start riots… then they should be photographed, fingerprinted and deported to their natal countries.

  • Manoj

    Right to freedom of expression should come with a duty and respect towards our fellow citizens. I live in Canada where there is a significant number of Muslim population. We respect each other and it can be witnessed by the nature of peaceful protests by Muslims here. To some extent we in the west should acknowledge that we have double standards when it comes to freedom of expression. Can we really consider speeches of Abu Hamza, Bin Laden and other Muslim clerics who preach and incite as “freedom of expression”? Definitely not!! And in terms of these Danish cartoons I personally think that these are inciteful and should be denounced in the same way as we would denounce inciteful speeches by these Muslim clerics. Respecting others valuses is not a sign of timidness, rather tolerance is a sign of greater strength.

  • Jose

    Why all this discussion about freedom of expression? The cartoons are not
    really that offensive. Plus, we know that the really offensive ones weren’t
    actually printed by the newspapers in denmark. They were probably made up by
    the guys(the muslim fanatics) who want to incite hatred. I don’t think anyone
    should listen to these crazy ppl. Just treat them as crazy ppl or criminals coz
    that’s what they are.