Editor's Note: The Voice of Europe reports that the Danish minister of immigration and integration said in an article that Danes have “lost” and been “silenced” by Islam and its fundamentalist followers. Silencing is exactly what opponents of Motion M-103 think it is intended to do.
Inger Støjberg, the Danish minister of immigration and integration, said in an article for newspaper BT and in a Facebook post, that the Danes have “lost” and have been “silenced” by Islam and its fundamentalist followers.
Titled “The Sad Truth About Islam” in Danish, the article starts with talking about a new play that had its premiere on January 25 in Copenhagen. The play, named “The Book of Mormon”, in the words of Robert Bengtsson, an actor playing in it, “is famous for being offensive”. What minister Støjberg emphasizes is when Kasper Holten, the director, told Denmark’s TV2: “If you are a mormon and do not want us to make fun of your faith, then do not go and see the play.” In response to this “correct” statement, Støjberg says: “Try changing ‘Mormon’ to ‘Muslim’ and say that if you are a Muslim and do not want us to make fun of your faith, then do not go and see the play. An unthinkable act in Denmark 2018? Yes, unfortunately.” She then describes a scene in the play wherein an actor allegedly points his middle finger at the sky and screams “curse that bastard” and writes: “Could you imagine that an actor in Denmark standing with his middle finger outstretched at the sky screaming ‘stupid bastard’ at Allah? … Under no circumstances! We all know what would happen. Hysterical protests about crimes against Muslim’s religious feelings. Demonstrations against the play. Vandalism. Death threats against actors and director. It would never be allowed. The point is that we have lost. We have become scared by a religion whose fanatics have threatened us to silence.” What the immigration minister is referring to is incidents such as when satirical paintings of the Prophet Muhammed by Kurt Westergaard were removed from a Danish museum and, obviously, the al-Qaida terrorist attack against the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in January 2015 that left 12 dead. “But where are all these people with ‘the right position’ now when Mormons are being violated?” Støjberg asks. “Where are the angry politicians talking about how horrible it is that these Mormons are being hurt?” “Unfortunately the answer is simple: because even though Mormons are offended, argue and get hurt over their dissatisfactions, they do not resort to weapons and terror. No theatres were burning. No one was killed.”
The Danish minister concludes: “There is no difference between the satire. Or the annoyance religious people fell over the satire. The difference is that, in reality, it is primarily the followers of the so-called religion of peace, Islam, which actually engages with weapons, violence and terror.” This article was originally published on the Voice Of Europe website on February 5, 2018 and can be viewed on their site by clicking here.