United Jordanian media campaign to counter Danish cartoon war

AMMAN-The republication of the Danish cartoons depicting Prophet Muhammed (pbuh) is a clear indication that the perpetrators of this deed are unconcerned about the fact that Muslims feel deeply offended by this attack on their religion. The 17 Danish newspapers deliberately set out in a united manner to make their position known: that they totally disregard the sensitivities of Muslims. The issue of the cartoons is only one part of the broad international campaign against Islam and Muslim. It is not a random, disconnected phenomenon but a deliberate and calculated assault on Islam.  

The campaign to demonize Islam is a carefully orchestrated with clear objectives. Hence the response to this must also be clear and well-planned.

The media in Jordan has taken the unprecedented and historic step to join hands in a concerted stand under the slogan: ‘The Messenger of Allah unites us.’ The primary motivation of this campaign is to expose those who are driving the demonization of Islam.

The campaign will address this attack on Islam in a calm and rational manner without the usual fiery rhetoric and emotionalism. The purpose is to expose the mischief-makers and put a stop to their evil designs.

The media here will act responsibly in dealing with the issue, unlike the Danish media which has disgraced itself by transgressing all norms of decency and ethics with the veneer of justification of freedom of expression. The Danish media has, quite clearly, aligned itself with the forces that oppose Islam. 

The Zionist driven war on Islam

As stated, the cartoon attack must be seen as being part of a broader campaign. This campaign has both a religious and a political dimension. At the centre of it is Israel. A huge number Christians believe that the Bible has prophesized the creation of Israel. They interpret the biblical statement: ‘He who blesses Israel will be blessed by me,’ as an injunction by God that Israel must be given total, unqualified support. These Christians who support Israel are evangelical Christians broadly referred to as Christian Zionists. There are millions of them in the United States, the largest and most vocal group known as Christian Action for Israel.

Then there are the Zionists who are Jewish. They support Israel unreservedly and are responsible for motivating the Christians to stand by Israel. Hence, the marriage between the Christian Zionists and the Jewish Zionists has created a formidable front that is responsible for shaping US foreign policy towards the Arab and wider Muslim world. They hold high positions within government and are described as the Neo-conservatives. They have worked collectively to create a divide between the Muslim world and the West.  

George Bush, the forefather

In 1831, a relative of the great-grandfather of the current president, George Bush, a reverend who was also called George Bush published a book , “Life of Mohammad” in which he called for the destruction of the “Empire of Islam and replace it with an empire exclusively for Jews” in the holy land of Palestine. 

In his book he described our honorable Prophet (pbuh) in a demeaning manner. It was an attempt by Reverend Bush to formulate a new “religious conscience” in the minds of Christians that could accept the idea of the Armageddon. According to this ideology, this is a necessary pre-condition for the advent of the millennium of peace and the second return of the Messiah to earth to govern it with the remaining members of mankind for a thousand years. 

The 3rd Millennium – an era of war

George Bush the President seems to have taken up the ideology of the reverend. After the 911 attack he declared: “God has called me and entrusted me with the sacred mission.” And with this started the call to war against the enemy, Islam. The attack on Afghanistan and Iraq was carried out concurrently with the ‘War on Terror,’ a global assault on Islam and Muslims.  

The Cartoons

In 2006 the Danish newspaper, Jyllands-Posten, published the offending cartoons and ignited a huge wave of anger in the Muslim world. Investigations revealed that an arch-Zionist who was also a notorious Islamophobe, Daniel Pipes, an American Jew, had met with the editor of the newspaper, Flemming Rose in October, 2004 in Philadelphia, United states. Immediately afterwards the newspaper called for cartoonists to submit drawings of the Prophet (pbuh

Pipes, in an interview with an Arab TV channel said, “Yes I met the Danish journalist Flemming Rose …but it was a journalistic meeting and I never met him again since that time.”

Pipes is the founder of the think-tank, the Middle East Forum, which plays a very important role in shaping US foreign policy in respect of the Arab and Muslim world.  A strong supporter of Israel, he endorses the sentiments expressed by the Neocons in their document: “ The Project for a New American Century,”which, among other things advocates ‘endless wars’ and a redrawing of the map of the Middle East. He also supports Ariel Sharon’s plan for an alternative Palestinian homeland in Jordan.

This Pipes-Rose conspiracy to further widen the gap between the West and Islam was confirmed by the US journalist for the American Free Press, Christopher Bollyn. In one of his articles, Bollyn said, “Rose’s relationship with the Zionist Christians or what is called in the West,  the Neocons, is confirmed and constant”. He referred to an interview with Rose by the New York Times when he was asked the question why he didn’t draw a caricature of Sharon strangling a Palestinian child, he answered, “This would be a racist action.” He also refused to answer a question by the American Free Press as to why he defends Sharon who is accused of war crimes against the Palestinian but at the same time demeaning the Prophet (pbuh).

After meeting with Pipes, Rose wrote an article praising him highly.  

A multi-pronged attack

The Danish newspapers did not retreat in the face of Muslim objections to their actions. They seem to be emboldened into launching a fresh crusade. 17 of them united in a concerted republication of the cartoons. They were joined by others in neighbouring countries such as Holland and France. It coincided with a rise in Islam-bashing in the West.

In Holland there was a move to ban the hijab. Prime Minister  Jan Peter Balkenende, leader of the right-wing Party of Freedom, confirmed that his government will use every possible legal means to discourage the wearing of the niqab in public places. This sparked huge tension between the Muslims and Christians in the country.

In Britain all hell broke loose at the suggestion by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the head of the Anglican Church, Rowan Williams that some aspects of Sharia law should be included in the British penal code.

In Turkey Prime Minister Erdogan came under vicious attack by secularists when he pronounced that Muslim girls will be allowed to wear the hjiab at schools, university and work offices. 

The planned response

A move that was highly effective in combating the plans of the Zionists to create division between Muslims and Christians was that which was taken by the Council of Churches in Amman. It took the unprecedented step of approving the decision of the Jordanian government to expel missionary groups that were involved in suspicious activities in Jordan.

More than 40 missionary groups, who used humanitarian activity as a cover, were caught while apparently involved in dubious activity that would have impacted negatively on the wonderful coexistence that characterizes the relationship between Muslims and Christians in the country.

Similar incidents took place in other Arab countries to precipitate crises to serve Zionist interests. In Egypt tense relations surfaced between the Christian Coptic and Muslims. Documented evidence revealed that Daniel Pipes held secret meetings with the Coptics in Cairo. In Yemen there was a sharp public debate about the widespread activities of missionary groups and a similar outcry arose in Algiers, Lebanon and Sudan.  

Messenger of Allah Unites Us

All these incidents, the publishing of insulting cartoons, the anti-Islamic campaigns in Holland, France, Britain, the missionary campaigns in Arab countries and Bush’s declaration that Israel is for Jews only, indicates that the Zionists are firmly committed to ignite the ‘clash of civilizations.’

As it becomes clear that there is a full-scale war on Islam driven by the Zionists it is now easier to confront and terminate it.

Under the banner of “The Messenger of Allah Unites Us” media organizations have come together and decided on a united stand to confront the evil plans of the Zionists to create discord in the world.  

Considered response  

A seminar organized by Islamouna Net and the FI Media Group on February 18 brought together Muslim scholars, Christian leaders, intellectuals and delegates from various think-tanks. They unanimously agreed that the republishing of the cartoons demeaning Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) by certain Danish newspapers transgressed all norms of respect for religious values and symbols.

 They concluded that the publication of the cartoons had nothing to do with freedom of expression but was in fact an unjust attack on freedoms. The stubborn pursuit of reproducing these cartoons would lead to increasing anger and could even lead to global discord and even conflict between nations.

In the seminar entitled “Accept the Messenger of Mercy”, the participants called for one united front -- a firm and immediate Arab-Islamic response that finally puts an end to this continued offence against Islam that is perpetrated in a number of western countries. There was also a request that the Eastern Churches should also step forward to condemn these evil acts and declare that such attacks are regarded as an abomination by all religions.

The participants recommended the formation of an Arab Islamic net to monitor violations offending Islam and its symbols. They stressed the necessity to back Islamic organizations in the west and establish strong alliance with European bodies friendly to Islam and provide these institutions with the necessary information that explains the true bright image of Islam.

They called for activating the boycott of Danish products and finding a mechanism to sustain this boycott until anti-Islamic practices come to a halt.

A complaint should be filed to the European jurisdiction and the Danish court to take charge of suing those involved in publishing the demeaning caricatures.

The participants also called for opening meaningful dialogue with European parliamentarians, research centers, think tanks and opinion leaders, who are not aligned with the Zionists and discuss with them any problem related to Islam. In addition they said that Arab and Muslim countries should work towards enacting an international law that bans the abuse of any religion and its symbols.

Because Denmark has stubbornly continued to reproduce the insulting cartoons, it was imperative for Arab and Muslim states to break off diplomatic relations with this country, the participants said.

They also recommended looking for a mechanism to maintain contacts between the Eastern Church and the western churches so that there would be communication and understanding about the huge damage done by such acts and also to show how the rights of Christians in the Levant are guaranteed and so also, the Muslim communities in the west should be treated in the same way.

Participants in the seminar also called for promoting the culture of tolerance, moderation and the acceptance of the other and underlined the need for establishing a research center specialized in studying the political, cultural and religious thinking of the people in the West.  

Is offending the Prophet freedom of expression?!

Jordanian intellectuals and media leaders rejected the Danish government’s claim that it cannot stop publication of these cartoon nor can it apologize for this because it relates to freedom of expression.

The president of the Jordanian Press Association, Tareq Moumani, said that our laws are far ahead of those in the West and what has happened in Denmark has nothing to do with the press freedom or freedom of expression. Rather it is a deliberate abuse of all religions.

‘Our Press and Publication Law prohibits publication of any article that could be demeaning to any of the prophets,’ he said.

The Editor-in-Chief of the Jordanian daily, Al Rai Abdel Wahhab Zegheilat, said that this is an insult to all humanity and not just against one specific group. The fact that the western media has gone so far  stems from their hatred of Islam, he said. He urged all Arabs and Muslims to stand together to find a final solution to this vicious attack which is not allowed by any law on earth.

The columnist for the Al Arab Al Yawm daily, Fahed Al Khitan, said that there are certain policies and private agendas that target Islam and Muslims by attacking  Prophet Mohammad (pbuh). There are also certain extremist groups whose main job is to spark religious discord between East and West and create clashes between civilizations, he added. There is no sense of responsibility by the  Danish officials towards religious beliefs and values of other nations, Zegheilat said. 

The Jordanian writer, Jamil Nemri, from the Al Ghad daily said its absurd to say that publishing the cartoons is an exercise in the freedom of expression. It is a complete disregard of the religious feeling of Muslims and other peoples.

The extreme right-wing groups in the US and Europe are working to widen the East-West gap and cause a religious conflict between Muslims and Christians, he said.

Senator Abdel Majid Thneibat said that the basic objective of Crusader Judaism is to increase racial division and creating a clash of civilization between nations.

The Arab and Muslim world should denounce these repeated attacks and launch a large scale campaign to explain to other nations the noble values and principles of Islam which reject all forms terrorism and extremism, he said.

Source : Fact Int-Exclusive