I am not confrontational. I am not a crusader. |
I commissioned the cartoons in response to several incidents of self-censorship in Europe caused by widening fears and feelings of intimidation in dealing with issues related to Islam. |
I do not think they are asking for respect in this case. They want me to follow one of their taboos in the public domain. And I think there's a very fundamental principle in secular society that you cannot insist on everybody paying special attention to your religious feelings. |
I feel sorry if Muslims feel offended and that was not the intention. But the cartoons were within the acceptable boundaries of free speech in Denmark. |
I have committed an error. I am 100 percent with the newspaper's line and Carsten Juste in this case. |
I think it's very unfortunate that now Danish interests, Danish buildings are being attacked in Syria, but let me also say that Syria is a police state, and this could not have happened if not the authorities in some way had allowed it to happen. |
My newspaper is trying to establish a contact with the Iranian newspaper and we would run the cartoons the same day as they publish them. |
No cartoon is worth a human life. But what is happening has more to do with the situation in the Middle East than 12 cartoons in a Danish newspaper. |
The cartoonists treated Islam the same way they treat Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism and other religions. And by treating Muslims in Denmark as equals they made a point: we are integrating you into the Danish tradition of satire because you are part of our society, not strangers. The cartoons are including, rather than excluding, Muslims. |
The cartoons did nothing that transcends the cultural norms of secular Denmark, and this was not a provocation to insult Muslims. |
The furor over the cartoons has been a wake-up call for Danes. |
The furor over the cartoons has been a wake-up call for Danes. We are used to seeing ourselves as a permissive and open society on the side of the good, and it is shocking to see Danes as objects of hate. |
The idea wasn't to provoke gratuitously—and we certainly didn't intend to trigger violent demonstrations throughout the Muslim world. Our goal was simply to push back self-imposed limits on expression that seemed to be closing in tighter. |
There is no disagreement whatsoever between me and the company. I'm tired, I have been under huge pressure, and I am grateful to the paper for this time off. |
There was a story out there and we had to cover it. We just chose to cover it in a different way, according to the principal: don't tell it, show it. |