Creating Outrage: Meet the Imam behind the cartoon overreaction.

National Review ^ | 02/06/2006 | Lorenzo Vidino

[SirLinksalot]

Creating Outrage Meet the imam behind the cartoon overreaction.

By Lorenzo Vidino

Confused by the wave of protests, threats, boycotts, and attacks against diplomatic facilities that have shaken their idyllic tranquility after the publication of cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed on Jyllands-Posten, the Danes are asking themselves questions. They wonder if an attack will take place in their country, as threatened by various jihadi groups, and if freedom of speech is in jeopardy. But a more immediate question is puzzling some: Why has the outrage of the Muslim world exploded only now, in February, when the cartoons were published last September? At the time of the initial publication, international media had reported news of the blasphemous caricatures, not only in Danish, but also in English. Yet nothing happened, aside from timid protests from the Muslim community of the tiny Scandinavian kingdom. So what is different about the situation now? More than the question, it is the answer that is keeping a good chunk of Denmark's political and cultural elite awake at night. The recent anti-Danish emotional wave coming from the Muslim world, in fact, is far from a spontaneous reaction, but it has been cunningly orchestrated by a knowledgeable insider, a real snake in the grass who has been creeping in Denmark for the last 15 years.

Ahmed Abdel Rahman Abu Laban, a 60-year-old Palestinian imam who has been residing in Copenhagen since 1993, has become over the last few years the face of Islam in Denmark, creating his own persona of a moderate cleric who seeks dialogue but who is victimized by the widespread "racism" of the Danes. Despite his poor command of the Danish language, Abu Laban is a frequent guest on Danish television and in meetings with government officials, where he claims to represent the voice of the local Muslim community. Even though part of the establishment has always looked at him with suspicion (Prime Minister Rasmussen has always refused to meet with him), Danish intelligentsia has made him a celebrity — so much of one that even the Washington Post recently profiled him as "one of Denmark's most prominent imams."

But Abu Laban's real face has now been revealed. In September, the imam immediately condemned Jyllands-Posten's cartoons and led protests at the local level. Danish politicians and media, busy with local elections, ignored him. But Abu Laban is not the kind of person who gives up easily. After having contacted ambassadors from Muslim countries in Copenhagen, he put together a delegation with the goal of touring the Middle East to "internationalize this issue so that the Danish government would realize that the cartoons were not only insulting to Muslims in Denmark but also to Muslims worldwide," as he explained in an interview with "Islam Online". The delegation met with, among others, Arab League Secretary Amr Moussa, Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Sheikh Mohammad Sayyed Tantawi, and Sunni Islam's most influential scholar, Yusuf al Qaradawi. The delegation showed each of these leaders the 12 cartoons published by Jyllands-Posten, along with others that had never been published by any Danish publication. The new cartoons were every more offensive, as showing the Prophet Mohammed with a pig face or having sexual intercourse with a dog. While the delegation claimed that the differentiation was pointed out to their interlocutors, there is no other evidence, and rumors about the more blasphemous images began to circulate in the Middle East. Moreover, the booklet that was presented by the delegation contained several other lies about the "oppression" of Muslims in Denmark, claiming Muslims do not have the legal right to build mosques and are subjected to pervasive racism.

With emotions about the cartoons mounting, Qaradawi, the real brains of the Muslim Brotherhood's international network and a key opinion maker in the Middle East thanks to his weekly show on al Jazeera, attacked Denmark directly, warning that an apology would not be sufficient, and that "a firm stance" should have be taken by the Danish government. As Prime Minister Rasmussen refused to intervene, referring to the cherished tradition of freedom of the press in his country, Qaradawi and his ilk unleashed their propagandistic war against Denmark. Abu Laban, from his mosque in the Copenhagen suburb of Nørrebro, is now happily reaping the fruits of his hard work. But, in a quintessential exercise in taqiya (double-speak), Abu Laban has tried to hide his satisfaction to the Danes. Speaking on Danish television, Abu Laban has wept crocodile tears, condemning the boycott of Danish goods and the other consequences of his actions. Yet, interviewed by al Jazeera, the imam has said just the opposite, praising the outrage of the Muslim world at his adoptive country.

So just who is Abu Laban? The Danes are slowly getting a fuller portrait. Friday night, Danish state television DR broadcasted a long report on him and Danes have begun to understand more about the self-proclaimed voice of Islam in Denmark. According to DR, Intelligence documents reveal that Abu Laban has been in close contact for years with members of various terrorist organizations, and in particular with leaders of the Egyptian Gamaa Islamiya. In the beginning of the 1990s, in fact, several leaders of the Gamaa escaped the long arm of the Egyptian mukhabarat and relocated to Europe. Copenhagen became the new hometown of two of the group's leaders, Ayman al Zawahiri, currently serving as Osama bin Laden's right-hand man, and Talaat Fouad Qassimy. From the quiet of the Scandinavian capital, the men published Al Murabitoun, the Gamaa's official publication. Abu Laban worked as a translator and distributor of the publication, which glorified the killing of Western tourists in Egypt and urged the annihilation of Jews in Palestine. Then Abu Laban worked closely with Said Mansour, a Moroccan man currently charged in Denmark for running a publishing house that distributed jihadi material.

All of this is not news to Danish security officials, but now Danes are slowly becoming aware of the facts. And Abu Laban's celebrated celeb status is about history in Denmark. Danes have no more patience for those who preach love in one language and war in another, those who publicly play the role of the victim, demand tolerance and then secretly incite hatred. While much of Europe has been asleep at the wheel, oblivious to the monumental threat radical Islam poses to its future, at least one country is increasing awake. Denmark's first battle is domestic, unmasking the enemy's fifth column inside its borders. As embassies burn, the rest might want to catch on, too.

— Lorenzo Vidino is a senior terrorism analyst at the Investigative Project and author of the book Al Qaeda in Europe: The New Battleground of International Jihad.

[Max in Utah]

Thanks, I've wanted to see those.

Poor art work-- we can do better. I've got some ideas for a redo of #3. :)

[dennisw]

Where did they come across all those dutch flags?

Red sheet, white paint. Take a good look at the next pic you see - the flags are all home made. BTW, those are Danish flags. Dutch flags are for Holland.

I figured that out a few days ago. Danish flag is a very simple one which BTW incorporates a cross. A white version of the Christian cross on a red background (Christ's blood perhaps?)

So these mobs of Islamic crazies have profaned Christianity which I'm sure many were aware of

[tgambill]

No, their goal is to be world wide....it has been from the start. It's working very well. They have only begun, and the European countries are going to find out that the U.S. being in Israel is not the reason for their attacks. The American/Iraeli relationship is just another excuse. Many Americans actually believe that our "ally" with Israel is the reason for their attacks. It's not....the Muslims find excuses, reasons, justifications, for their riots and takeovers. If they can't find one, they create one......It is all about making the world a Muslim world. People don't understand this......they have to be fought. Talking WILL NOT succeed, nor will negotiation save three issues. When the country is ready for Islamization, you, me whoever, are given three choices... Convert, subjugate, or pay Jizm (money) or face Jihad. No other choices are on the table.

[freedomson]

There's no such place as Palestine.

[Cobra64]

I thought they were Danish flags, not Dutch.

[American Quilter]

One positive result of the recent Islamofascist (IF) activities (the riots and car-burings in France, the burning of Danish embassies, the Iranian nuclear uproar, etc.) is that the western world is getting a good look at the actual agenda of these savages. We could't be more clearly warned, and fortunately (at least in the US) there's time to muster the forces and will to defeat them.

[tillacum]

Shades of Arafat's speaches to the West reporters and speaches he made to Palestinians.

[butternut_squash_bisque]

Big, big I-Second-That motion to that idea, B.

[Mamzelle]

re: We could't be more clearly warned, and fortunately (at least in the US) there's time to muster the forces and will to defeat them.)))

And I think that the US taking a neutral pose (at least right now) is very smart. Let the Euros understand that they are going to have to stand up for themselves, and blaming the "cowboy" isn't going to accomplish anything.

I just hope we're keeping these characters out of the line for visas, and watching for them at the southern border.

[Lady Jag]

This may not be the Imam in question; it is just your "normal, average" Imam, what is normal for them. Makes me think of 3 year olds. Let it load; it's sometimes slow.

[SJackson]

If you'd like to be on this middle east/political ping list, please FR mail me.

Articles on Israel can also be found by clicking on the Topic or Keyword Israel.

..................

For those who don't remember Gamaa Islamiya, a Muslim Brotherhood offshoot, al-Gama'at al-Islamiyya aka Jama'a Islamia, their spiritual leader, Shaykh Umar Abd al- Rahman, is sitting in an American prison for the 1993 Trade Center attack. Among their other activities, they operate primarily in Egypt, numerous attacks on Copts, the Luxor attack which killed 58 tourists, and the attempt to assassinate Mubarak in Ethiopia.

For those who think this is a spontaneous reaction, perhaps triggered by the Hamas, another Muslim Brotherhood offshoot, “spontaneous” attacks on EU facilities in Gaza, consider Abu Laban’s words from last Novermber.

"This is not a case of freedom of expression," averred Abu Laban.

A delegation will visit Cairo to meet with Arab League Secretary Amr Moussa and Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Sheikh Mohammad Sayyed Tantawi

The delegation will also visit Saudi Arabia and Qatar to meet with renowned Muslim scholar Sheikh Yussef Al-Qaradawi

"We want to internationalize this issue so that the Danish government would realize that the cartoons were not only insulting to Muslims in Denmark but also to Muslims worldwide," said Abu Laban.

"It was decided to take such a step because it is wrong to turn a blind eye to the fact that some European countries discriminate against their Muslims on the grounds that they are not democratic and that they can not understand western culture."

There are more than 1.3 billion Muslims and scores of Muslim organizations worldwide. We belong to the same faith and share the same vision

I told a reporter from the newspaper that they have cheated the people because they did not open a debate

We have fled our countries because we were denied freedom of expression so no one should play this tune with us.

"This is not a case of freedom of expression

Danish Muslims "Internationalize" Anti-Prophet Cartoons, 11/18/2005

[SJackson]

While it isn't overly difficult to obtain flags of various nations in the industrialized world, in the third world it is another story. The article itself puts the lie to the idea that this was spontaneous. No, it was calculated from the start, for a number of reasons...

See post 31, they were planing it in November.

[infowarrior]

We're all agreed then, as to the fact that this whole thing was planned. Now the question to answer is, why? (Which is what the press should be, but won't be, doing...)

the infowarrior

[bkepley]

Remind you of anyone here in the U.S.?

[pragmatics]

Ushering in a confrontation with the Muslim world seems to be on the agenda for more than one group on each side of the issues. What's surprising to me is that the Middle Eastern (ME) militants and their spiritual / political leaders don't understand that West and Israel would hand them their own arses in a war. I think the west is using the Islamic world's own divisions and disorganization against them to bring things to a head before they unite with *nuclear leverage. The way things are playing out, it seems the West just needs to watch the ME leaders fashion their own noose. *See Iran

[StarCMC]

Ping

[StarCMC]

Bizzare!

[Lady Jag]

Can you believe that's SOP? Allegedly it is. Gee, and I thought the Brits' Parliament Hoorahs were weird!

[highlander_UW]

Looks like demonic possession.

[Lady Jag]

Looks like demonic possession.

Yes, and it is what's normal over there.   If Americans knew what those people really do day to day, they would be horrified and outraged. Why it's kept from them, I wish I knew.