15/02/2008 12:28:28 pm
Freedom of the Press. It is a very important sign of strength that several Danish newspapers - and one Swedish, Sydsvenskan - published the infamous Mohammed Cartoons again. The message cannot be misunderstood: we stand up for the freedom of speech and press, even when threatened.

The issue captures one of the most important and difficult challenges of the Western world today. Islamic fundamentalists that hate political, religious and economic freedom use violence to make us change. And we have to stand by our principles, anything else is interpreted as weakness.

But the proper response is not for us to oppose every muslim or shut them out from our societies. Then we would betray several of our own principles, such as religious freedom. And most importantly, this is a battle within islam. The majority is not fanatic.

In fact, Turkey is a very positive example of a muslim country that respects religious freedom and is increasingly free also in economics and politics. That path is what we should set for other muslim-dominated countries too.