Rune Engelbreth Larsen skriver om den gamle affære i det berømte amerikanske nyhedsbrev CounterPunch:
Among the most important and often overlooked elements in understanding why the Cartoon Crisis originated in Denmark and how it escalated into the biggest international crisis in the history of Danish foreign politics since World War II, are. 1) The increasing acceptance of demonizing and antagonistic rhetoric directed against Muslims in Danish mainstream politics and the media since the mid-1990’s. 2) The lack of diplomatic efforts by the Danish government to prevent the escalating crisis. 3) The stridently patronizing and arrogant approach of the Danish government and media towards ambassadors from Muslim countries as well as the deliberate misrepresentation of their intentions displayed by the then Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen in October, November and December 2005.
Without these elements, an escalation of the crisis would have been highly unlikely, and the violent protests and riots seen in some Muslim countries four months after the publication of the cartoons would never have taken place. The whole affair would have most likely blown over before it became a global media phenomenon.
Gennemgangen er god at få forstand af, og det er godt (og mildest talt på tide) at en analyse af de grumsede indenrigspolitiske farvande her i Danmark kommer uden for landets grænser også. Hvordan kan et næsten helt homogent land gå i så voldsom, nationalistisk selvsving, at et højreekstremt politisk parti som Dansk Folkeparti kan anses for at være en normal del at det politiske billede?
Det kan i hvert fald få grimme konsekvenser, ikke mindst for os danskere – men, som Engelbreth påpeger, i netop dette tilfælde har dansk arrogance og Foghs lunkne, indenrigspolitisk beregning haft “held” til at gøre hele verden til et lidt dårligere sted at leve:
This so-called Muhammad Cartoon Controversy has succeeded in establishing a rift between Denmark and many ordinary Muslims worldwide, as well as providing a host of anti-Muslim movements in the West with ammunition in their proclaimed struggle for ‘freedom of speech’. A struggle which often seems to be nothing more than an excuse for the ‘right’ to demonize Muslims! At the same time radical Islamists have benefited from the cartoons by ‘proving’ that freedom of speech and other human rights serve to legalize blasphemous and Islamophobic hatespeech, whereas various types of anti-Semitism on the other hand are often considered serious offences.
Unfortunately, these double standards are the rule rather than the exception, enforcing an ongoing conflict that stimulates anti-Muslim tendencies in the West, as well as anti-Semitic and anti-Western tendencies in the Muslim world. In this way, the fundamental weakness of Danish diplomacy, coupled with a constant flow of anti-Muslim rhetoric and provocations in Denmark have played a key part in deepening the religious and ethnic rift that unfortunately dominates parts of the international political arena today.
Artiklen er også tilgængelig på Engelbreths egen engelsksprogede hjemmeside Panhumanism.