Comments on: Friends of Denmark http://pdberger.com/friends-of-denmark/ The blog of a British freelance writer living in New York Wed, 20 Aug 2008 02:45:01 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.2 by: Richard Landes http://pdberger.com/friends-of-denmark/#comment-8959 Fri, 24 Feb 2006 18:32:44 +0000 http://pdberger.com/friends-of-denmark/#comment-8959 Friedman is only partly right. It is true that in this world of high-speed and ubiquitous media, you get a vivid sense of just where you are, and that Muslims have looked in the global mirror and seen how poor they look. but if you don't understand that that is then mixed with a sense of history gone wrong, of a deep, theocratic sense of entitlement -- we muslims should rule the world -- only then will you be able to understand the rage and violence. there are lots of africans and asians and latin americans who live in underachieving cultures of poverty, who don't "keep up", but they don't get suicidally genocidal or riot at the slightest slight. for a change, in his own sly way, friedman ends up being a materialist who doesn't register the religio-psychological dimension. r Friedman is only partly right. It is true that in this world of high-speed and ubiquitous media, you get a vivid sense of just where you are, and that Muslims have looked in the global mirror and seen how poor they look. but if you don’t understand that that is then mixed with a sense of history gone wrong, of a deep, theocratic sense of entitlement — we muslims should rule the world — only then will you be able to understand the rage and violence.

there are lots of africans and asians and latin americans who live in underachieving cultures of poverty, who don’t “keep up”, but they don’t get suicidally genocidal or riot at the slightest slight. for a change, in his own sly way, friedman ends up being a materialist who doesn’t register the religio-psychological dimension.

r

]]> by: New York City Apartments --> NYC Real Estate Tips Weblog http://pdberger.com/friends-of-denmark/#comment-8955 Fri, 24 Feb 2006 16:07:15 +0000 http://pdberger.com/friends-of-denmark/#comment-8955 <strong>UrbanDigs in METRO..!</strong> A: If you can, pick up a copy of the METRO today and go to the Blogarithms section (Page 8) written by Paul Berger. UrbanDigs is featured in this week's column! Blogarithms is a weekly column written by Paul Berger... UrbanDigs in METRO..!

A: If you can, pick up a copy of the METRO today and go to the Blogarithms section (Page 8) written by Paul Berger. UrbanDigs is featured in this week’s column! Blogarithms is a weekly column written by Paul Berger…

]]> by: pdberger http://pdberger.com/friends-of-denmark/#comment-8946 Thu, 23 Feb 2006 20:58:02 +0000 http://pdberger.com/friends-of-denmark/#comment-8946 Paddy, I think you're wrong. Yes, there are tensions in Denmark. And yes, more could be done to ease those tensions. But from my reading of the cartoon furor it is Muslims outside of Denamrk who are far angrier than those inside Denmark. And most of that anger is directed at the West rather than at Denmark. As for the latest Danish marriage laws, to the best of my knowledge they were aimed at stopping arranged marriages. Anecdotally, I understand Danes were getting fed up of the few cases in which young Muslim girls born in Denmark were being forced into marrying Muslim men from abroad so that they could immigrate to Denmark. Since the law applies to all non-EU citizens it discriminates against Muslims and non-Muslims. (In fact, the couples I know who have been adversely affected bvy these laws have all been Israeli Jews.) It seems a shame that everyone must suffer for the actions of the few, and yes, the law must change, but I don't see why attempts to block these kinds of arranged marriages are disgraceful. If anything, I think the fact that they still take place is much more shameful. The tone of a couple of those cartoons was disrespectful. But I don't think they are sufficient to brand the Danish government and Danish journalists as racist. The message of those cartoons was that Islam is being used by extremists as a weapon of fear and violence. It may be an uncomfortable message. But it is the truth. Paddy, I think you’re wrong. Yes, there are tensions in Denmark. And yes, more could be done to ease those tensions. But from my reading of the cartoon furor it is Muslims outside of Denamrk who are far angrier than those inside Denmark. And most of that anger is directed at the West rather than at Denmark.

As for the latest Danish marriage laws, to the best of my knowledge they were aimed at stopping arranged marriages. Anecdotally, I understand Danes were getting fed up of the few cases in which young Muslim girls born in Denmark were being forced into marrying Muslim men from abroad so that they could immigrate to Denmark. Since the law applies to all non-EU citizens it discriminates against Muslims and non-Muslims. (In fact, the couples I know who have been adversely affected bvy these laws have all been Israeli Jews.) It seems a shame that everyone must suffer for the actions of the few, and yes, the law must change, but I don’t see why attempts to block these kinds of arranged marriages are disgraceful. If anything, I think the fact that they still take place is much more shameful.

The tone of a couple of those cartoons was disrespectful. But I don’t think they are sufficient to brand the Danish government and Danish journalists as racist. The message of those cartoons was that Islam is being used by extremists as a weapon of fear and violence. It may be an uncomfortable message. But it is the truth.

]]> by: Paddy http://pdberger.com/friends-of-denmark/#comment-8944 Thu, 23 Feb 2006 20:28:03 +0000 http://pdberger.com/friends-of-denmark/#comment-8944 This whole thing is getting really old, but it still amazes me that nobody even tries to look beyond the cartoons, at the political climate in which they were published. Denmark used to be a place of great tolerance, but is now run by a government who relies on the support of an openly xenophobic party (Dansk folkeparti) for majority. A party who ran a highly racist campaign in the last elections, with campaign posters of muslim faces and the words "is this your Denmark?". Racist laws have been passed, one which forbids Danes to marry any non-EU citizen under the age of 25. Hundreds of Danes move to Sweden every year because of this law. Now, tell me how a muslim living in Denmark, who has had to live with this kind of discrimination for years already, could NOT be offended by a cartoon depicting Mohamed as a crazy-eyed savage with a bomb in his turban. It wasn't a joke at all, it was a provocation. And now everybody is supporting this racist government and its' racist journalists. It's a freakin' disgrace, and I'm ashamed to be affiliated with it. /a half-Dane in Sweden This whole thing is getting really old, but it still amazes me that nobody even tries to look beyond the cartoons, at the political climate in which they were published. Denmark used to be a place of great tolerance, but is now run by a government who relies on the support of an openly xenophobic party (Dansk folkeparti) for majority. A party who ran a highly racist campaign in the last elections, with campaign posters of muslim faces and the words “is this your Denmark?”. Racist laws have been passed, one which forbids Danes to marry any non-EU citizen under the age of 25. Hundreds of Danes move to Sweden every year because of this law. Now, tell me how a muslim living in Denmark, who has had to live with this kind of discrimination for years already, could NOT be offended by a cartoon depicting Mohamed as a crazy-eyed savage with a bomb in his turban. It wasn’t a joke at all, it was a provocation. And now everybody is supporting this racist government and its’ racist journalists. It’s a freakin’ disgrace, and I’m ashamed to be affiliated with it. /a half-Dane in Sweden

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