Preachers urge reconciliation after cartoons
10/03/2006 - 16:26:41
Muslim and Christian scholars and clerics agreed at a conference today that
the West and Islam must use dialogue to repair ties frayed by the crisis
over the Prophet Mohammed cartoons.
However, the Muslim panellists accused the Danish government of mishandling
the crisis and said it must apologise to the Muslim world if wants an Arab
boycott on Danish goods to be lifted.
"We request an official apology from your government to the Muslim nation
and to the Muslims in Denmark," said Tariq al-Suweidan, an Islamic scholar
from Kuwait. He also demanded that the European Union enact a law "that
forbids the insult to religious figures."
Despite massive Muslims protests and in some cases violent attacks on Danish
embassies, the centre-right government in Copenhagen has refused to
apologise, saying it cannot be held responsible for the actions of an
independent newspaper.
The cartoons were published in Danish paper Jyllands-Posten in September,
and have since been reprinted by other Western media.
Amr Khaled, a popular Egyptian preacher, suggested Danish people and their
government should reach out to Muslim countries - for example, by
initiatives to promote small businesses or health care. He told the crowd,
including 50 youths from Denmark and Muslim countries, it was time for
moderate forces on both sides to come together to solve the conflict.
"The reasonable among us must be heard and our voices must come out clearer
than the voices of the extremists," said Khaled, who is known for his
youthful style and his sermons applying Islam to day-to-day modern life.
But amid the calls for reconciliation, a rift over free speech was revealed
between some Danes in the audience and the Muslim panellists.
http://breakingnews.iol.ie/news/story.asp?j=175585024&p=y7558573x
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