Timeline of the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy

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Main article: Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy
Jyllands-Posten
Muhammad
cartoons controversy

Events and reactions

Primary parties involved

This is the timeline of the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy. The cartoons were first published by Jyllands-Posten in late September 2005; approximately two weeks later, nearly 3,500 people demonstrated peacefully in Copenhagen. In November, several European newspapers re-published the images, triggering more protests.

Labour strikes began in Pakistan the following month, and several organizations criticized the Danish government. More protests occurred in January 2006, and later that month a boycott of Danish goods began. Several countries withdrew their ambassadors to Denmark, and widespread protests, some of them violent, began. The protests continued in February. In Damascus, Syria, both the Norwegian embassy and a building containing the Danish, Swedish, and Chilean embassies were stormed and set on fire by protesters. In Beirut, thousands of people protested on the streets, and the Danish General Consulate was stormed and set on fire. As of March 2, 2006, at least 139 people have died primarily during riots stemming from protests.

Contents

[edit] 2005

[edit] September

[edit] September 30

[edit] October

El Fagr's Headline Page for 17 October 2005 - One of the controversial cartoons of Muhammad, as it appeared on the first page of the Egyptian Newspaper El Fagr.
El Fagr's Headline Page for 17 October 2005 - One of the controversial cartoons of Muhammad, as it appeared on the first page of the Egyptian Newspaper El Fagr.

[edit] October 14

  • Up to 5,000 people stage a peaceful demonstration outside the Copenhagen office of Jyllands-Posten.[1]
  • Two of the cartoonists are advised to go into hiding after receiving death threats.[2]

[edit] October 17

  • Egyptian newspaper El Fagr publishes six of the cartoons during Ramadan along with an article strongly denouncing them. The publication of the images does not provoke any known protests from either Egyptian religious authorities nor the Egyptian government.[3][4]

[edit] October 19

  • Ambassadors from ten Muslim countries request a meeting with the Prime Minister of Denmark, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, to ask him to distance himself from the cartoons in Jyllands-Posten as well as various other allegedly derogatory comments about Islam in the Danish media. The Prime Minister refuses to meet the ambassadors, on the grounds that he cannot infringe on the freedom of the press.[1]

[edit] October 28

  • A number of Muslim organizations file a complaint with the Danish police claiming that Jyllands-Posten had committed an offence under section 140 and 266b of the Danish Criminal Code.[5]

[edit] November

[edit] November 3

[edit] November 7

  • The Bangladeshi government issues a diplomatic protest to the Danish government following the initial publication of the cartoons.[7]

[edit] November 24

  • The United Nations Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief and Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance request the Permanent Danish Mission to the UN to deliver their observations of the case[8]

[edit] December

[edit] December 2

  • A Pakistani political party, Jamaat-e-Islami apparently offers a roughly $10,000 reward to anyone who kills one of the cartoonists.[2] It was later discovered that this was a considerable exaggeration, based on a small note in a local newspaper, citing Jamaat-e-Islami as promising a reward up to a million rupees for the deaths of the cartoonist. Jamaat-e-Islami claims to be wrongly cited, having merely suggested that the Pakistani government could promise such a reward. On its way through the Danish ambassador to the Danish media, this fact is blown up as involving multiple papers and flyers with the reward.[9]

[edit] December 5

[edit] December 6

  • At a 6 December 2005 summit of the OIC, with many heads of state in attendance, the dossier was handed around by the Egyptian foreign minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit on the sidelines first [3], but eventually an official communiqué was issued.[4]

[edit] December 7

[edit] December 17

[edit] December 19

  • Twenty-two former Danish ambassadors criticize the Prime Minister of Denmark for not meeting with the eleven ambassadors in October.
  • The Council of Europe criticises the Danish government for invoking the "freedom of the press" in its refusal to take action against the "insulting" cartoons.[11]

[edit] December 29

  • The Arab League criticizes the Danish government for not acting in the matter.

[edit] 2006

[edit] January

[edit] January 1

  • The Prime Minister of Denmark makes his yearly New Year's speech, where says: "I condemn any expression, action or indication that attempts to demonise groups of people ..."[12]

[edit] January 6

  • The Regional Public Prosecutor in Viborg decides to discontinue the investigation of whether Jyllandsposten had committed an offence under section 140 (publicly ridiculing or insulting dogmas of worship of any lawfully existing religious community in Denmark) and 266b (dissemination of statements or other information by which a group of people are threatened, insulted or degraded on account of e.g. their religion) of the Danish penalty law because there was not a reasonable suspicion that a criminal offence indictable by the state had been committed and "the right to freedom of speech must be exercised". The original claim was filed on October 27, 2005.[5]

[edit] January 7

10 January - Magazinet republishes all 12 cartoons
10 January - Magazinet republishes all 12 cartoons

[edit] January 10

[edit] January 23

  • The Danish government delivers its official response to the UN Special Rapporteurs' request of 24 November 2005.[13]

[edit] January 24

  • The government of Saudi Arabia issues its first public condemnation of the cartoons.[14]

[edit] January 26

  • Saudi Arabia recalls its ambassador from Denmark, and Saudi Arabian consumers begin to boycott Danish products. Consumers in Kuwait and in some of the other Middle Eastern countries soon follow.[15][1]
  • The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs sends a letter to their ambassadors in the Middle East stating that one of the pillars of Norwegian society is freedom of speech, but they expressed regret that Magazinet did not respect Muslims' beliefs.[16]

[edit] January 27

  • Thousands of people in Iraq use Friday prayers to denounce the cartoons.[1]

[edit] January 28

[edit] January 29

  • Libya closes its embassy in Denmark.
  • The Danish government announces that Denmark's ambassador to Saudi Arabia only expressed his own opinion in the 28 January interview with AP-TV. The Danish People's Party, Dansk Folkeparti, demands he be reprimanded.
  • The Danish ambassador in Jordan is summoned for a hearing.
  • The President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai calls the printing of the cartoons a mistake, and hopes that this will lead to the media being more responsible and respectful in the future.
  • The Flag of Denmark is burned in the West Bank cities of Nablus and Hebron.
  • Yemen's Assembly of Representatives (Majlis al-Nuwaab) condemns the cartoons.
  • The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) heads to the UN with a resolution that forbids attacks on religious beliefs.
  • Bahrain condemns the cartoons.
  • Syria condemns the cartoons.
  • A new denial-of-service attack on Jyllands-Posten's web site. The first happened on January 27.
  • Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement gives Danes, Norwegians, and Swedes 48 hours to leave the Gaza Strip.
  • Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades gives Danes and Swedes 72 hours to leave the area.
  • A poll from Epinion for Danmarks Radio, the national broadcasting company of Denmark, showed that of 579 Danes asked, 21% believe that the Prime Minister of Denmark should apologise to the Muslims, with 52% citing that would not be political interference with the freedom of press, while 44% thought the Prime Minister should try harder to resolve the controversy. 38% of those asked believed that Jyllands-Posten should apologise, and while 58% did feel that while it was the right of Jyllands-Posten to publish the cartoons, they could understand the Muslim criticism.[17]
  • Boycott of Danish goods begins in Qatar

[edit] January 30

  • Jyllands-Posten sends out an apology in both Danish and Arabic. Apologising, not for the printing of the cartoons, but for hurting the feelings of Islamic society.
  • The Mexican newspaper La Crónica reprints the Danish cartoons.[18]
  • Armed Palestinians from Fatah take over an EU office as a protest against the cartoons.[19]
  • The Prime Minister of Denmark says that he personally distances himself from the cartoons, but reiterates that the government cannot intervene in what the media writes.[20]
  • The European Union backs Denmark, saying that any retaliatory boycott of Danish goods would violate world trade rules.
  • The Danish Red Cross says that it will evacuate some workers in Yemen and the Gaza Strip after receiving threats.[21]
  • Jyllands-Posten sends out a second open letter, this time both in Arabic, Danish, and English, trying to clear up several misunderstandings, and once again apologising for hurting the feelings of the Islamic society.
  • A Iraqi militant Islamic organisation, the Mujahideen Army, calls for terror strikes against Danish and Norwegian targets.
  • Armed gunmen from al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades storm the European Union's office in Gaza and threaten to kidnap the workers unless they receive an official apology for the cartoons from the EU.

[edit] January 31

  • Following a live televised interview on al Jazeera, it is reported that the "apology for any offence caused" made at the opening of the interview by Flemming Rose, Jyllands-Posten's cultural editor, was not translated into Arabic.[22]
  • The Danish Muslim Association is satisfied with yesterday's apologies from Jyllands-Posten and the Prime Minister, and say they now will help improve the situation. They claim to be deeply sorry and surprised the case got this far.[23][24]
  • A bomb threat against Jyllands-Posten leads to evacuation of two offices in Aarhus and Copenhagen.[25]
  • al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades denies that the threat against Scandinavians is real.
  • The foreign ministers of seventeen Islamic nations renew demands for the Danish government to punish the authors of the cartoons and to "ensure that it doesn't happen again."[26]
  • The Prime Minister of Denmark, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, holds a press conference in both Danish and English in which he repeats that he urges Danes not to take any action that could worsen the situation. He urges Muslims in Denmark to take actions that can improve the situation. He also repeats that freedom of speech is a vital part of the Danish society and that the Danish government is not in a position to have any influence on what the press is printing. He states that he wants to come back to a situation of dialogue, based on the friendship that has existed for a long time between Denmark and the Muslim world.[27] The prime minister is asked by the TV broadcaster Al Jazeera to appear in a program, but has not yet decided whether he will accept.
  • The National Assembly of Bahrain demands an apology from Denmark's head of state, Queen Margrethe II, as well as from the government. If the demands are not met, they will urge an official boycott of Danish goods and the cutting off of oil exports of 159,000 barrels per day, in association with other GCC members.
  • Hamas leader Adnan Asfour demands that Denmark punish the twelve artists and Jyllands-Posten.[28]
  • Former US President Bill Clinton states that he fears antisemitism will be replaced with anti-Islamic prejudice and condemns "these totally outrageous cartoons against Islam".
  • Russian president Vladimir Putin indicates in a speech in the Kremlin that the Danish political authorities are using the theme of freedom of expression to protect those who have insulted the Muslims.
  • The Icelandic newspaper DV publishes six of the twelve cartoons.
  • The German newspaper die tageszeitung publishes two of the cartoons.
  • In Greece Eleftherotipia publishes one of the cartoons.[29]
  • al Jazeera broadcasts a speech from Danish-based leader of the Muslim Brotherhood Muhammed Fouad al-Barazi, in which he tearfully describes Danish plans to burn the Quran, leading to worldwide outrage.[30]

[edit] February

[edit] February 1

  • The French newspaper France Soir publishes the cartoons, adding one of their own. Managing director Jacques Lefranc is fired later the same day by owner Raymond Lakah, a French-Egyptian binational and Roman Catholic (the chief editor, Serge Faubert, is not fired).[31] The French Government dissociates itself from the initiative.[32]
  • The German newspaper Die Welt publishes some of the cartoons,[33] as do the German newspapers Tagesspiegel and Berliner Zeitung.
  • The Italian newspaper La Stampa publishes the cartoons.
  • The Spanish newspaper El Periódico de Catalunya publishes the cartoons.
  • The Dutch papers Volkskrant, NRC Handelsblad, and Elsevier publish the cartoons.
  • The Danish embassy in Syria is evacuated because of a hoax bomb threat.[34]
  • Syria recalls its ambassador from Denmark.[35]
  • The Finnish Minister of Foreign Affairs criticises the Danish government for its slow actions on the matter.
  • The Russian Orthodox Church and the Muftiat condemned the European newspapers that republished the cartoons.
  • Chechen warlord, politician, and leader Shamil Basayev condemns the cartoons.
  • Jyllands-Posten's headquarters as well as its office in Copenhagen is again evacuated after a bomb threat.[36]
  • An influential Muslim organization in Malaysia, the Muslim Consumers Association of Malaysia, calls on the Malaysian government to protest the cartoons with the Danish government.[37]
  • A spokesman from the Indonesian Foreign Ministry condemns the cartoons, saying that freedom of expression should not be used as a pretext to insult a religion.[38]
  • Boycott of Danish goods is instituted by Omani retail chains.

[edit] February 2

  • German newspaper Die Zeit publishes one of the cartoons on page five.[39]
  • The Prime Minister of Denmark appears on the TV station Al-Arabiya. The recording was made 1 February.
  • The Jordanian newspaper al-Shihan prints the cartoons. The newspaper's manager is fired.[40][41]
  • The American newspaper New York Sun publishes two of the cartoons.[42]
  • The Belgian newspaper Le Soir publishes two of the cartoons.[43]
  • The French newspaper Le Monde publishes a cartoon of Muhammad's face formed only from words that read "I may not draw the Prophet."
  • The Swiss newspapers Le Temps and Tribune de Genève publish some of the cartoons, as does the Hungarian newspaper Magyar Hirlap.[44]
  • The Uruguayan newspaper Terra prints all 12 cartoons.[45]
  • The Portuguese newspaper Público publishes one of the cartoons - the most heated one - Muhammad with a bomb on his head.
  • The Argentine newspaper Página/12 publishes the cartoon featuring Muhammad with a bomb on his head.[46]
  • The director of the Sakharov Museum in Moscow, Yuri Samodurov (by coincidence, last name means "despot; petty tyrant, wilful person" in Russian) says in the 25th Hour TV Program, that the museum will do an entire exhibition about the cartoons. Furthermore he wants to illustrate the new Russian edition of Salman Rushdie's Satanic Verses with the original Danish cartoons.[47]
  • The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark advises Danish citizens to leave Gaza.
  • Mullah Krekar, alleged leader of Ansar al-Islam and living in Norway, calls the cartoons a "declaration of war" and says that "[we] Muslims are ready for this".[48]
  • "Fleeting glimpses" of some of the cartoons are shown in British television news programmes on the BBC, ITV and Channel 4.[49] On its flagship current affairs programme Newsnight, the BBC recreates portions of the cartoons but with the image of Muhammad edited out of the scenes.
  • In a joint statement, the Roman Catholic bishops of the five Nordic countries deplore the publication of the cartoons. "Again and again, in our Nordic area, it seems that certain opinion makers feel that they are wholly free to say what they wish without any respect for the understanding and beliefs of other people (..) Our sympathies go out to our Muslim sisters and brothers".[50]
  • Armed gunmen from Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades storm the European Union's office in Gaza for the second time in a week and kidnap a German national. He is later released unharmed.[51]
  • Palestinian gunmen shut down the EU headquarters in Gaza, in protest of the Jyllands-Posten cartoons. According to CNN, "Masked members of the militant groups Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the armed wing of the Palestinians' former ruling party, Fatah, fired bullets into the air, and a man read the group's demands....The gunmen left a notice on the EU office's door that the building would remain closed until Europeans apologize to Muslims, many of whom consider the cartoons offensive."[52]
  • The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer on PBS displays some of the cartoons in its segment on the issue.
  • British Islamist group Al Ghurabaa publishes an article entitled Kill those who insult the Prophet Muhammad (saw), justifying such action using the Qur'an and Hadith, and applying its argument primarily to Jyllands-Posten, Magazinet and to the Danish and Norwegian governments.[53]
  • Protesters in Rabat, Morocco stage a sit-in before the Parliament in response to the cartoons. On the same day, delivery of the Wednesday issue of the 'France-Soir' and Friday issue of the 'Liberation' daily newspapers was barred by the Moroccan government.[54]
  • Danish company Arla Foods reports millions in losses from boycotts.
  • British National Party publishes cartoons at their web page[55][56]
  • Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Shia movement Hizb Allah, says "If there had been a Muslim to carry out Imam Khomeini's fatwa against the renegade Salman Rushdie, this rabble who insult our Prophet Muhammad in Denmark, Norway and France would not have dared to do so".[57]

[edit] February 3

3 February - Danish prime minister shaking hands with Chargé d'Affaires from Libya
3 February - Danish prime minister shaking hands with Chargé d'Affaires from Libya
  • Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen meets with several Muslim ambassadors in Copenhagen. Egyptian ambassador responds that Rasmussen's response is inadequate and that Denmark should try harder to 'appease the whole Muslim world'.
  • At the Danish embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia an angry mob demands access to the embassy, and upset lamps and furniture in the lobby in the process.[58] The ambassador talks to the leaders of the demonstration, and the group disperses.
  • The Belgian newspaper De Standaard publishes the cartoons. Another Belgian newspaper, Het Volk, prints cartoons of Muhammad by Flemish cartoonists and quotes Etienne Vermeersch as saying Belgian papers should publish such caricatures every week "so that Muslims can get used to the idea."
  • The South Korean newspaper OhMyNews prints the cartoons.[59]
  • The weekly New Zealand newspaper National Business Review prints one of the cartoons.[60]
  • The Times of India prints the 12 cartoons. Muslims start burning copies of the paper.[61]
  • British foreign secretary Jack Straw praises the British media for not publishing the cartoons and condemns the decision of the European newspapers who brought the cartoons as "disrespectful".[62]
  • The Costa Rican newspaper Al Día publishes the cartoons.[63]
  • In Honduras El Heraldo prints the cartoons.[64]
  • Australian TV broadcasters Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) show images of some of the cartoons in their evening news bulletins.
  • The Belgian Muslim Executive, of which some former members have been linked to terrorism, strongly condemns the cartoons as "an unacceptable attack on Islam".
  • Islamist demonstration outside Danish Embassy in London. Hundreds of Muslims march from the London Central Mosque to the heavily protected Danish embassy. Chants include "7/7 is on its way" and placard slogans include "Slay [also "butcher", "massacre" and "behead"] those who insult Islam", "Free speech go to hell", "Europe is the cancer and Islam is the cure", "Exterminate those who slander Islam", "Europe you will pay. Your 9/11 is on its way!!" and "Be prepared for the real holocaust!"[65][66]
  • The controversial Danish imam Ahmad Abu Laban and the editor of culture of Jyllands-Posten meet on the BBC program HARDtalk.[67]
  • A US Department of State spokesman stated "We all fully recognize and respect freedom of the press and expression but it must be coupled with press responsibility. Inciting religious or ethnic hatreds in this manner is not acceptable."
  • Newly elected Hamas organizes protests and demonstrations in the Palestinian territories. Demonstrations are significantly more violent than in previous days.
  • The Senate of Pakistan adopted a unanimous resolution condemning the Danish newspaper for publishing blasphemous and derogatory cartoons.[68]
  • Saudi cleric Sheikh Badr bin Nader al-Mashar refers, in an audio message posted online, to the cartoon furore as "part of the war waged by the decadent West against the triumphant Islam" and issues a call "to the billion Muslims: where are your arms? Your enemies have trampled on the prophet. Rise up."[69]
  • Canada's CTV television network news broadcasts a brief static close up of the cartoons.[70]
  • Judge Mohammed Jajbhay pre-emptively bans the publication of the cartoons in South Africa following a request for an urgent interdict by the Muslim Jamiat-ul Ulama Transvaal organization. This move is widely criticized by opposition political parties and journalist organizations.[71]
  • Islamic retailer Ziyad Brothers suspends business with Arla Foods.
  • Belgian newspaper La Libre Belgique prints a game in which people have to connect the dots in order to find the image of Muhammad[72]
  • Colonel Ažubalis, the Commander of the Lithuania-led Ghor Provincial Reconstruction Team, Afghanistan, took decision that Danish mobile communications and surveillance group will not implement any tasks during the period February 3-8, according to BNS. Also the number of operations was diminished by Danish battalion in Iraq peacekeeping mission where near 50 Lithuanians served.[73]

[edit] February 4

  • The daily New Zealand newspaper The Dominion Post prints the cartoons and an accompanying article.
  • The Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita publishes the cartoons, much like the most influential Czech daily MF DNES.
  • The editor of the Jordanian newspaper al-Shihan, Jihad Momani, was arrested.[74]
  • Islamist demonstration outside Danish Embassy in London continues with organisation from Hizb ut-Tahrir. Building student Omar Khayam, 22, from Bedford, was photographed wearing a garment resembling a 7 July 2005 London bombings type suicide bomber's jacket outside the Embassy. A speaker calls on "the governments of the Muslim world to completely sever all contact with European governments" until they had "controlled the media". Police later say that two men were arrested near the embassy during the protest. "They were arrested to prevent a breach of the peace, after a search by officers found leaflets including cartoons of the prophet Muhammad," a Metropolitan Police Service spokeswoman said.[75]
  • The building which houses the Chilean, Swedish, and Danish embassies in Damascus, Syria, is set on fire after being stormed by angry mob. The Swedish and Chilean embassies were very badly damaged,[76] but the Danish embassy, which is located on the 3rd floor, was only partially damaged. As a response to this incident, the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a warning urging Danish citizens in Syria to leave the country immediately. The Danish ambassador had asked the Syrian government for proper protection of the embassy before the attack. Danish government does not rule out severing diplomatic ties with Syria.
  • The Norwegian embassy in Damascus is attacked and set on fire. The Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jonas Gahr Støre, advises all Norwegians to leave Syria. Støre told the media that he sees the situation as a very serious diplomatic crisis and threatens to sever the diplomatic ties with Syria.[77]
  • Several demonstrations in Hillerød, Denmark collide and become violent.[78] One demonstration was arranged by a small nationalistic group and included at least one neo-Nazi. Other groups represented were Muslims, Danish anti-racists, and a group well known to the police for becoming violent (named autonome). 162 people were arrested. Around 110 were demonstrating against the nationalistic group and the rest were mostly Muslims also demonstrating against the nationalistic group.
  • The Holy See says the right to freedom of expression does not imply the right to offend religious beliefs,[79] but also that a government should not be held responsible for actions of a newspaper.
  • UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan calls for calm and urges Muslims to accept an apology from the Danish paper that first published the cartoons.
  • A new network of Danish Muslims (called Moderate Muslims) is founded as a response to the cartoon controversy, with the Danish Muslim member of parliament Naser Khader as one of the founding members. This new network will represent Muslims that focus on freedom of speech, democracy, and positive and peaceful relations between Muslims and non-Muslims.[80]
  • An op-ed in The Wall Street Journal reported that "Danish Muslims ... added two particularly inflammatory drawings that had never been published by the paper -- one involved a pig's nose and the other an indecent act with a dog."[81] The pictures are in the Akkari-Laban dossier.
  • The US blames Syria for not sufficiently protecting the embassies in Damascus. The White House stated: "We stand in solidarity with Denmark and our European allies in opposition to the outrageous acts in Syria today."[82]
  • The president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, orders to cancel contracts with all countries where media have published the cartoons.[83]
  • Jyllands-Posten is revealed to be the winner of the annual "Victor prize" given by the newspaper Ekstra Bladet, for defending the freedom of press under heavy pressure.
  • The German center of culture in the Gaza Strip was ravaged by demonstrators.[84]
  • The Danish newspaper Politiken reveals that Jyllands-Posten in 2003, denied an unsolicited submission that caricatured the resurrection of Jesus, with the reason, that it would lead to an outcry.[85]

[edit] February 5

  • The UK's Shadow Home Secretary David Davis says to the Sunday Telegraph that some of the placards held at the Muslim protest in London on February 3 amounted to "incitement to murder" and protesters should be dealt with firmly by police.[86]
  • Iran recalls its ambassador from Denmark and bans journalists from its country.[87]
  • The Danish consulate in Beirut, Lebanon is set ablaze during a demonstration.[88] The police arrest many people, almost half of them are from Syria.[89]
  • Demonstrators in Lebanon from a demonstration at the Danish consulate cause property damage in Christian neighborhoods of Beirut.[90]
  • In a press conference in Copenhagen, Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs Per Stig Møller assures that no Qur'an burnings had taken place in Denmark, and urged all parties to "talk down the crisis" so that they could "move forward together".
  • The Arab European League, a conservative Arab nationalist organization, puts several anti-Semitic cartoons on its website in response to the Danish cartoons.
  • The Syrian newspaper Al-Thawra, which is owned by the state, claims that the Danish government is responsible for having the embassy burned down.[91]
  • The Iraqi Ministry of Transportation freezes contracts with Denmark and Norway.
  • In Brussels, Belgium, thousands of Muslims spontaneously gather and hold a peaceful protest against the cartoons.[92]
  • The Lebanese Interior Minister, Hassan Sabeh, announces his resignation in reaction to the torching of the Danish consulate in Beirut, and to the following criticism.[93]
  • A peaceful demonstration is arranged for peace, dialogue, and understanding in Copenhagen. Almost 3000 Muslims and non-Muslims participate.[94]
  • The US ambassador to Denmark, James P. Cain, says he is pleased major American newspapers have not re-printed the cartoons.[citation needed]
  • The Islamic Army, a militant Iraqi group with ties to al-Qaeda, says Danish citizens, and citizens of other countries who have published the cartoons, should be captured and killed.
  • The Prime Minister of Norway, Jens Stoltenberg, will formally complain to the United Nations against Syria for its failure to protect the Norwegian embassy in Damascus.[95]
  • Charges against the two Jordanian editors that published the cartoon are dropped.[96]
  • 500 Muslims protest peacefully against the cartoons in Vienna, Austria.
  • At a press conference, the Danish Foreign Minister says that this is no longer about Denmark and the twelve cartoons and it is no longer a crisis between Denmark and Arab Muslim countries. Instead, it is a crisis for Western-Arab cooperation, and has to be solved using international cooperation.
  • The Conference of European Rabbis expresses its concern at the publication of the cartoons, which "humiliate and disparage the feelings of Muslims", comparing them to anti-Semitic caricatures.[97]
  • Andrea Santoro, a Catholic priest, is murdered on February 5th at the Santa Maria Church in Trabzon, Turkey where he served. A 16 year-old high school student is arrested two days later carrying a 9mm pistol. The student tells police he had been influenced by the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy.[98]
  • More than seven hundred protesters march through the streets of Auckland, New Zealand after four newspapers in New Zealand reprint the cartoons.[99]

[edit] February 6

  • The Ukrainian newspaper Sevodnya publishes the cartoons.[100]
  • The Slovenian newspaper Mladina publishes several cartoons
  • A protest of approximately 5,000 people is planned in Jakarta, Indonesia at the Danish embassy.[101]
  • Approximately 1,000 protesters march for three hours in Paris, France in response to the publication of the cartoons in several European newspapers. French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin condemned the violence that had occurred internationally in response to the cartoons, but called for tolerance and respect toward other faiths.[102]
  • Three dead at Afghan demonstration against the cartoons.[103]
  • Danish soldiers in Iraq are shot at while trying to give first aid to 10-15 Iraqi children who were hit by a truck in a traffic accident. The Danish soldiers manage to save some of the children and bring them to a hospital. The Danish army says that this may be a reaction to the cartoons.
  • The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark recommends not spending holidays in the following countries: Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Libya, Sudan, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan, Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. This will affect 3,000 people who already bought their tickets.[104]
  • Ahmed Akkari, spokesman for 29 Muslim organisations in Denmark, offers to go on Arab television with Prime Minister of Denmark Anders Fogh Rasmussen in order to explain why it is not the Danish Prime Minister or the Danish Queen who should provide apologies.[105]
  • Sterling Airlines A/S, an Icelandic owned low-fare airline based in Copenhagen, stops all flights to Egypt as a consequence of the travel recommendations from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark.[106]
  • Demonstrators in Indonesia damage the Danish consulate and try to damage the US consulate. At the American consulate, they clash with police, and warning shots are fired.
  • The government of Lebanon apologizes to Denmark for not having protected the consulate well enough.[107]
  • The embassy of Austria in Tehran, Iran, is attacked by fire-bombs. The firebombs do not catch fire, and shortly afterwards the security forces protect the embassy.[108] Austria is the current chairman of the European Union.
  • UK Prime Minister Tony Blair expresses his full support and solidarity with Denmark.[109]
  • Secretary General of NATO, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, expresses his full support for Denmark.[110]
  • The Israeli English language newspaper, The Jerusalem Post, prints the drawings, although very small, almost impossible to see.[111]
  • Iran stops all trade with Denmark, thereby violating their agreements with the EU.[112]
  • The Danish embassy in Indonesia shuts down in order to secure the employees.
  • The Danish embassy in Iran is attacked. About 20 firebombs are thrown at the building, but no damage seems to have been done.
  • The American ambassador in Denmark repeats in several media that USA supports Denmark and is 100% behind Denmark. He also states that USA is fully behind freedom of speech and would never intervene against media who publishes the cartoons.[113]
  • The Grand Mufti of Syria is sorry that the relationship with Denmark has deteriorated, but hopes to restore it as soon as possible. He says that 10,000 people were at the demonstration at the Danish Embassy, but only 10-15 were responsible for burning it down. He says that the Syrian population will rebuild the embassy, even nicer than it was before. It would be a gift to the Danish population. When TV 2 visits him, he gives them a gold plate with citations from the Qur'an as a gift to the Danish people. Syria has officially apologized for not protecting the embassy well enough.[114]
  • The Danish Refugee Council, the largest humanitarian aid organisation in Chechnya and supplier of food for 250,000 people in Chechnya and Dagestan, is asked by the government of Chechnya to leave the country, citing the current controversy. The organisation also has problems with delivering humanitarian aid in Sudan.
  • Ferial Haffajee, editor of South African newspaper The Mail & Guardian, which reprinted the cartoons, reports receiving threats.[115]
  • An Iranian newspaper, Hamshahri, announces a competition for cartoons on The Holocaust, apparently in retaliation to the Jyllands-Posten cartoons.[116]
  • Two people die at a protest near the Bagram Air Base. The death toll in Afghanistan is now at five. [8]
  • In Somalia, a teenage boy dies after protesters attack police.[117]
  • US vice secretary of foreign affairs, Daniel Fried, states that Denmark has nothing to excuse.
  • A man in Aarhus, Denmark files charges against Jyllands-Posten both for blasphemizing and, in doing so, harming the country.[118]
  • Terry Davis, secretary general of the Council of Europe, says that the publication of the cartoons crossed an ethical line even if it still was legal.[119]
  • Danish illustrator Christoffer Zieler reports that in April 2003 he submitted a series of satirical cartoons about the resurrection of Christ to Jyllands-Posten, but they were turned down by the editor, who said "I don't think Jyllands-Posten's readers will enjoy the drawings. As a matter of fact, I think that they will provoke an outcry. Therefore, I will not use them." The cartoons were not solicited by the newspaper. [9]
  • Approximately 1,000 protesters marched in Paris, France in response to the publication of the cartoons in several European newspapers.[120]

[edit] February 7

Four demonstrators are killed in an attack on a Norwegian-led military base in Maymana, capital of the Faryab province in western Afghanistan. At least 20 others, among them five Norwegian soldiers, are injured by grenade splinters.[123]
  • Thousands of students protest in Egypt [10] and Peshawar, Pakistan.[124] Peaceful anti-Denmark protests also occur in Niamey, Niger, (tens of thousands) Kano, Nigeria (where lawmakers burned Danish flags), Kashmir, Pakistan, and Cotabato, Philippines[11]
  • Protest take place in Helsinki, Finland in front of the Danish embassy, around 200 people attend.[125]
  • Ali Khamenei, the spiritual leader of Iran, expresses the hypocrisy of Western media in publishing these cartoons during an address, to Iranian air force personnel.[126]
  • Nestlé publishes posters denouncing the rumor that any of its products are Danish in origin.[127]
  • The defacement of Danish websites by pro-Muslim hackers reaches 578 within 1 week.[128]
  • The Prime Minister of Italy, Silvio Berlusconi, asks Turkey to "neutralize fanatics", after the murder of an Italian Roman Catholic priest.[citation needed]
  • Amnesty International publishes a statement declaring that Freedom of Speech is not absolute and should be used responsibly.[129]
  • The Taliban urge Muslims to declare Jihad over the cartoons.[130]
  • After an investigation Danish police come to the conclusion that a story concerning the attack on a hot-dog stand steward by two Turks on February 3 was a fake story.[131]
  • A student newspaper editor is suspended for publishing an image of the Prophet Muhammad. Cardiff University's student union paper Gair Rhydd is the first UK publication to use the image which has caused global protests, and has recalled 8,000 of its copies.[132]
  • Approximately 100 demonstrators attack the Norwegian embassy in Tehran, Iran throwing stones and firebombs.[133]
  • A couple of Danish Muslim organisations arrange a peaceful demonstration (300 participants) in Aarhus with the motto "In favor of Denmark", in an attempt to make the Muslim world recognize, that Denmark should not be punished.[134]
  • US President George W. Bush calls Anders Fogh Rasmussen to confirm that he and the United States support Denmark during this crisis.
  • The editorial staff of the alternative weekly New York Press walk out en masse, after the paper's publishers backed down from printing the Danish cartoons.[135]
  • The Yemeni government canceled the publishing license of two Yemeni private newspapers, Yemen Observer and Al-Hourriah(freedom), after they have published the Danish illustrations depicting the Prophet Mohammed.[136]
  • In Lithuania Respublika prints 4 (or 1 and 9 on 2006-02-06 and 2006-02-08) of the controversial cartoons.

[edit] February 8

  • French weekly newspaper, Charlie Hebdo, publishes the twelve cartoons plus a new cartoon representing Muhammad by French cartoonist Cabu. French Muslim organisations, including the French Council of Muslim Faith (CFCM) and the Grand Mosques of Paris and Lyon had unsuccessfully sued Charlie Hebdo the day before to avoid this publication.[137]
  • Former Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Uffe Ellemann-Jensen, states that he thinks that the chief editor Carsten Juste of Jyllands-Posten should quit. Uffe Ellemann-Jensen is a member of the same political party Venstre, to which the prime minister also belongs, but is no longer active in politics.[138]
  • The organisation, Moderate Muslims, is to begin a campaign in Arab countries in favor of Denmark. They will use SMS and newspaper advertisements, paid for by their Muslim members only.[139]
  • The picture allegedly of Muhammad dressed up as a pig is revealed to be a photo of the "pig-squealing" champion Jacques Barrot in France.[140][141]
  • Muslims demonstrators burn Danish, Norwegian and Croatian flags in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia-Herzegovina. This follows the publication of the controversial cartoons in a Croatian weekly on February 6.[142] The organizator later apologized for the burning flags, stating there were only three men who on their own burned paper flags.
  • Veja, Brazil's largest magazine in terms of circulation, publishes three of the original cartoons in both their print edition and on their website.[143]
  • The Paraguayan newspaper La Papa publishes several cartoons of the prophet Muhammad."ONU condena reproducción de caricaturas del profeta Mahoma", La Papa, 2006-02-08. </ref>
  • Administration at the University of Prince Edward Island, Canada, ordered a halt to the on-campus distribution of the student newspaper Cadre after the cartoons were re-printed in the newspaper. Campus authorities also attempted to seize all 2,000 copies of the edition containing the cartoons.[144]
  • Professor Peter March at Saint Mary's University, Canada, is directed by administration there to remove copies of the cartoons that he posted on his office door. The professor was later the subject of an on-campus student march, and claimed to have received anonymous messages stating that his actions may have repercussions for Canadians being held hostage in Iraq.[145]
  • On February 8 Flemming Rose the cultural editor for Jyllands-Posten told CNN: "My newspaper is trying to establish a contact with that Iranian newspaper [Hamshahri], and we would run the cartoons the same day as they publish them". Later that day the paper's editor-in-chief said that Jyllands-posten under no circumstances would publish the Holocaust cartoons.

[edit] February 9

  • The Egyptian newspaper El Fagr removes from its website the front page image of its October 17, 2005 edition which included six of the cartoons.
  • The Danish tabloid B.T. reports that Bjarne Sørensen, the Danish ambassador to Egypt, has confirmed reports that the cartoons were published in the Egyptian newspaper El Fagr on October 17