Denmark: Al-Qaeda’s New ‘Itsy Bitsy Satan’
I saw no panic or calls for surrender in Copenhagen after the deadly attack on the Danish embassy in Pakistan: Denmark is standing impressively steadfast in the face of its new 'status" as the third enemy of Islamists after the US and Israel.
I happened to be visiting Copenhagen at the time of the recent car bomb attack on Denmark’s embassy in Pakistan for which al-Qaeda claimed responsibility today. Hence, I was able to witness a Danish politician looking into the television camera and declare that their little Denmark appears to be up at the top of the terrorist target list with the United States and Israel.
What’s amazing about the statement is that he’s right.
Why has this tiny state, with a population smaller than that of little Israel and best known for its quality cheeses and butter, become Public Enemy Number Three in much of the Muslim world?
If America is the Great Satan and Israel is the Little Satan, then Denmark seems to be the Itsy Bitsy Satan. The immediate answer, of course, is the cartoon controversy, which in itself is a pretty bizarre story. Back in September 2005, the magazine Jyllands-Posten decided to show support for freedom of speech by running critical cartoons about Islam and its founder, Muhammad. But the resulting explosion of hatred-which included burning Danish embassies and flags-did not just happen spontaneously.
Less well-known is the fact that a group of Danish immigrant imams set out to provoke the protests. In doing so, they also added to their publicity package cartoons that had not been published in the newspapers’ series, in fact had never been published anywhere. These proved to be the most “provocative” in making Muslims angry. The cartoon controversy affected far more countries than Denmark, but what was most significant was the Danish reaction. Contrary to fellow Scandinavian states Sweden and Norway - where, in one case, the foreign minister pressured an Internet site off the air so as not to “offend” Muslims - the Danes stood firm.
Copenhagen hasn’t been strident but it has been tough, clearly to the dismay of some companies that have big export interests in the Middle East. A thousand years ago, the Vikings were the consummate international terrorists, looting monasteries and blackmailing rulers into a policy of paying to avoid being attacked. Today, the roles are reversed, at least in Norway and Sweden. There does seem to be a civilizational death wish among large portions of Norway’s intelligentsia and officialdom, one of whom said there was no Swedish culture worth protecting. Ironically, the extreme permissiveness that northern Scandinavia, with its virtually one-party social democratic states, has been famous for, has caved in all the faster.
A century or so ago, Denmark was a pretty poor place. Things were changed not by a welfare state but by a lot of hard work, entrepreneurship, land reform, and cooperatives. And, of course, during World War Two, of course, the Danes saved almost their entire Jewish population, an achievement no other European country even approached. Still, tendencies toward nervousness or fatalism are not altogether absent from Denmark.
Notably, a recent history of the country ended in the year 2000 not just because that’s a convenient date but, according to the author, due to the fact that Denmark doesn’t have a future. Yet here there is much more confidence. There is no rush to self-censorship, no over-the-top political correctness or smug multi-culturalism. Yet immigrants are treated pretty well, even compared to countries which make a fetish out of loving the “other” and hating the self.
Talking about limiting immigration is not taboo but there’s no shortage of immigrant hijabs among passers-by, yet Danes don’t seem to feel that what others choose to do should affect how they live. Especially significant is the fact that Denmark is the only place in Europe where there is a significant moderate Muslim political presence, personalized in the popular politician Naser Khader. Khader comes from parents who are Palestinian and Syrian, spent his early childhood in Syria, and is named after Egyptian radical nationalist president Gamal Abdel Nasser. Yet Khader’s devotion to Western democratic values is such that a radical Danish imam threatened to kill him.
Khader’s New Alliance party is small but plays a key role in coalition building. As proof of Danish “exceptionalism” the attack in Pakistan provoked no calls for surrender. Obviously, the Danes aren’t thrilled at their new-found notoriety but they don’t seem to think it possible to do much about it.
The left wants to increase aid programs in Muslim-majority countries; the right advocates back. But no one is panicking. Why did al-Qaeda attack the Danish embassy in Lahore?
That’s a very interesting question. It is important to note that this has been a bad year for al-Qaida. Its ability to stage attacks has declined; its insurgencies in Algeria and Saudi Arabia have been largely shut down; and it has not been too successful in penetrating Lebanon, Jordan, or the Palestinians. Most notably, the U.S. military surge in Iraq along with the Sunni tribes (albeit motivated by big American pay-offs) has caused many to turn away from al-Qaida. So the group had to do something, to prove it still has teeth. On the list of target toughness, a Danish embassy is simply going to lack the security invulnerability of its U.S. counterpart.
Another factor: Al-Qaida has been criticized for killing so many Muslims in Iraq, Algeria, and elsewhere. It needs a target that’s going to be popular. By going after Denmark, al-Qaida is saying that it’s fighting for the most basic Muslim interests, protecting their most cherished leader. Denmark is tailor-made for this reputed bad guy role.
That doesn’t mean there will be a wave of attacks on Denmark or even that the Lahore bombing is going to make al-Qaida more popular, but it’s a reasonable strategy from that group’s standpoint.
Meanwhile, Denmark has passed another test. Perhaps other Western countries will learn something from it.
Barry Rubin is director of the Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center and editor of the Middle East Review of International Affairs (MERIA) Journal. His latest books are The Israel-Arab Reader (seventh edition, Viking-Penguin), the paperback edition of The Truth about Syria (Palgrave-Macmillan), and The Long War for Freedom: The Arab Struggle for Democracy in the Middle East (Wiley).
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22 Comments
1. poul:“a civilizational death wish among large portions of Norway’s intelligentsia and officialdom, one of whom said there was no Swedish culture worth protecting” - is Barry Rubin confusing his Scandinavian countries, or doesn’t know that there is no love lost in Norway for Swedish culture? Norway celebrates its independence day - from Sweden.
Barry, stay with what you know, don’t write embarrassing articles on subjects out of your competency.
Jun 5, 2008 - 10:20 am 2. Leclerc:Poul, when you attack other people for not getting their facts righ, you should not make the same mistake yourself. Norways independence day refers to the declaration of independence from Denmark after the napoleonic wars. Sweden invaded Norway after the declaration and tried to stop norwegians from celebrating the day.
Jun 5, 2008 - 1:32 pm 3. Per Harry Hansen:(By the way - kiss me - I’m Danish!)
Jun 5, 2008 - 1:33 pm 4. Per Harry Hansen:Norwegian “Adresseavisen” imidiately published a new cartoon depicting a man in a T-shirt flashing: “I am Muhammed - nobody dares print me”.
The Norwegian newspaper Adresseavisen imidiately published a cartoon with a t-shirt flashing “I am Muhammed - no one dares print me”
Jun 5, 2008 - 1:50 pm 5. Tom W.:The Danes can take care of themselves:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JnGE1gx8bU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sd0osZoVjhU
Go Denmark!
Jun 5, 2008 - 3:23 pm 6. Sandra:When the Nazis ordered all Danish Jews to wear yellow armbands with the Star of David, King Christian went for his morning ride wearing a yellow armband. Soon, most Danes were wearing armbands.
The Islamofascists have tried to take humor from us as a weapon. I think cartoonists and comics all over the world should align themselves with the Danes and make fun of these ridiculous fundamentalists and their anti-life philosophy.
There’s an emigre Iranian comic in LA who has made a career of mocking the Mullahs (and beaming it to Iran, God love him)
Comedy in America is in an anti-intellectual trough. (as opposed to the golden age of Tim Allen, Brett Butler, et al, a time when everyone was doing comedy based on ideas), a period ignored by the critics who swooned over Seinfeld.
I would love to see mockery of the mullahs. Bring it onl
Jun 5, 2008 - 3:48 pm 7. ic:When the Nazis ordered all Danish Jews to wear yellow armbands with the Star of David, King Christian went for his morning ride wearing a yellow armband. Soon, most Danes were wearing armbands.
The Danes are exceptional people, but the King wearing a yellow star was a myth. However, the Danes saved most, if not all of their Jewish citizens. Whole villages and towns risked their lives to hide the Jews, and amuggled them out to neutral Sweden (or Switzerland? I always got them mixed up.)
Jun 5, 2008 - 10:56 pm 8. Ulla Lauridsen:The armband-story is not true, but we did save most of the jewish Danes.
Jun 6, 2008 - 1:15 am 9. A Dane:The article is mostly correct. There WAS one call for re-thinking our foreign policy, though, but it was met with a general outcry of disgust because of the timing.
The big difference between Denmark on the one hand, and Sweden and Norway on the other, is that in Denmark, the islam-scepticism and immigration-criticism have been right-wing, but out in the open, for many years.
In Sweden and Norway any discussion has been suppressed by the political establishment and the media, and has instead festered as white supremacism and widespread racism.
Very good article but I have a few comments though.
It was not a Norwegian who said that Sewdish culture was worth saving, it was the Swedish MP and former minister of integration, Mona Sahlin, who said this - while wearing a headscarf in a mosque. Sweden is doomed unless they take very drastic measures and even then they only have a slight chance of surviving.
Regarding Khader. He might be a democrat but he has been caught lying and committing fraud on more than one occasion, and he wishes to fully open the borders to the Middle East.
I don’t know if it was intended but you give the impression that muslims living in Denmark are well integrated which is not the case whatsoever. Since the muslims moved to Denmark our crime rate has increased drastically, still growing each year, and the vast majority of “Danish” muslims support sharia law.
We still fight over the solution to this huge problem, but due to the omnipresent cultural relativists the solution is not within reach at the present time.
I’m happy we are not (yet) living on our knees like the Swedes do, but the future definitely doesn’t look too bright.
Jun 6, 2008 - 2:07 am 10. Steve:The people of Western Europe are finally waking up to the Devil’s bargain they made with the socialists. The socialists took power and implemented generous social programs which was fine with everyone and at time when the only threat was the Soviet Union and the odds of direct conflict was remote. But now they are dealing with a threat right on their own soil and to their horror realize the same socialists will do nothing to solve the problem, in fact they go even further by bowing to the demands of these groups because not would be insenstive
Jun 6, 2008 - 5:42 am 11. Bill in New York:Knowing very little about the Danes, I have admired at least the courage to print the cartoons as demonstration of free speach… in spite of the threat of attack. Evil wins whenever good people cower in fear, hence the chosen method of “Terrorist” warfare. Where have all the “Crusaders” gone? Those who understand the price of freedom, and are willing to pay it… those who understand that one man with faith makes a majority… those who walk through the valley of death and have no fear… perhaps, it is Darwin’s natural evolution of a species that chooses secularism as their religion… and the Islamo-fascists know it.
Jun 6, 2008 - 6:03 am 12. Bill Perron:To all the socialists in the whole world I have a message from the conservatives: “We told you so, but you feel good idiots wouldn’t listen”
Jun 6, 2008 - 9:03 am 13. Gary Ogletree:Once Denmark gets its own house in order, it would be nice if they would invade Britain again (for old times’ sake) and help get the Brits back on track.
Jun 6, 2008 - 11:30 am 14. Per Harry Hansen:Gary: We shall never get our own house in order - just bevause of that damned freedom of speech!
Jun 6, 2008 - 11:48 am 15. Denmark: Al-Qaeda’s New ‘Itsy Bitsy Satan’ « Tizona’s Weblog:Bill: As a good socialist I’m now voting conservative - the social-democrats being so utterly conservative these days. It’s the wellfare, stupid!
[...] Pajamas Media [...]
Jun 6, 2008 - 12:03 pm 16. The Platform » Blog Archive » Wither freedom of speech:[...] this is no isolated case. Authorities in Scandinavia closed down a website for fear it would “offend” Muslims. A story this week in London’s Telegraph [...]
Jun 6, 2008 - 3:25 pm 17. Richard Jansen:May 17 is Norwegian Independence day, but independence in 1815 from Denmark not from Sweden. My father was born in Norway. I say with regret that the author was right about the leftist rot that has developed in both Norway and Sweden
Jun 6, 2008 - 3:33 pm 18. Saturday Afternoon - Where The Hell Is My Underwear - Laundry Time , An Ol’ Broad’s Ramblings:[...] Denmark: Al-Qaeda’s New ‘Itsy Bitsy Satan’ - Pajamas Media [...]
Jun 7, 2008 - 3:07 pm 19. tanstaafl:It appears (to this westerner, anyway) that the attitude of the Danes relative to (radical) Islam’s agenda of takeover in Europe is far healthier and admirable than that of the Norwegians and the Swedes.
Intimidation and stirring up the pot were what the Danish imam hoped to accomplish in circulating the Jyllands-Posten cartoons around the middle East. And accompanying them with three or so (unpublished) cartoons that showed the Prophet in truly disgusting poses, which cartoons served their intended purposes of inflaming the sensibilities of Muslims.
So it is the Danish Imam himself who should be held culpable for trashing the Prophet, not the innocent and humorous series originally commissioned by Jyllands-Posten.
Jun 10, 2008 - 7:39 am 20. Henrik R Clausen:Gary, I shall consider your proposal for Britain.
In the meantime, note that a Dane (Jens-Peter Bonde) staunchly defended Irish independence from a European Union takeover attempt. I consider that sortof a compensation for the plundering we did in Britain and Ireland a millenium ago
It’s not only Islam that causes us problems. Danes are waking up to the fact that the European Union constitutes a severe problem for our independence, and we’re speaking up against it, finally.
Yes, Islam sucks, too. But that’s almost too obvious to mention…
Jun 16, 2008 - 9:25 am 21. Frederik:Just to get the facts straight on Scandinavian history and politics;
Norway declared independence on May 17 1814 not from Denmark, but from Sweden. After the alliance of Denmark-Norway lost the war at the side of Napoleon, Denmark was forced to cede Norway to Sweden. Immediately after Norway declared independence, under the Danish crownprince Christan Frederik.
As for Muslim immigration into Denmark, it was founded with the most liberal immigration law in the world in 1983. Introduced by the Conservative government. The anti-immigration policy was introduced by Pia Kjaersgaard and the Danish Peoples Party in 1998, to the opposition of the entire political establishment (left+right). The development in the Netherlands follows comparable patterns.
Jun 16, 2008 - 5:19 pm 22. Great Dane:Outstanding article. Denmark will NEVER submit, and the world shall prevail over islamofascim. Long live democracy.
Jun 17, 2008 - 7:01 am