COPENHAGEN, Feb 23: Denmark on Thursday launched a charm offensive towards Muslim countries, pledging to host a conference on religious dialogue and help fund a UN programme aimed at overcoming prejudice between Islam and the West.
The move comes after weeks of violent protests against cartoon of Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) that have tattered Denmark’s reputation in the Islamic world. The drawings were first published in a Danish newspaper in September, but have since been reprinted other media, mostly Western.
Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moeller said a panel of Islamic and Christian scholars and clerics would be invited to take part in the conference in Copenhagen on March 10.
“Although we may disagree on some issues, including the significance of inherent values in European societies, there are undoubtedly more issues that bind us together than separate us,” the minister said in a videotaped statement that was sent to Arabic media and posted on the foreign ministry’s web site. “But we have to reflect on lessons learnt from the past weeks and months.”
The conflict over the cartoons simmered for months before it erupted into violent protests, flag burnings and attacks on Danish and other Western embassies in several Muslim countries. Dozens have been killed in the protests. Denmark temporarily closed its embassies in Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Indonesia and Pakistan.
Panellists at the conference would include Amr Khaled, a 39-year-old moderate Egyptian preacher; Karsten Nissen, a Danish Lutheran bishop; and two Danish scholars. Egypt’s Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa would also be invited, said Ole Woehlers Olsen, one of the organizers.—AP
