Muslims retaliate against Danes

2006-01-30 14:05

Copenhagen - The Foreign Ministry has advised Danes in the Middle East to "show extra vigilance" because of rising tensions over a Danish newspaper's publication of caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed.

The Danish Red Cross said on Monday it was evacuating two of its employees from Gaza and one from Yemen.

"There have been concrete threats against our employees. The fact that they are Danish nationals has made the difference," Danish Red Cross spokesperson Anders Ladekarl said.

In a statement issued on Sunday evening on its website, the Foreign Ministry called for Danes to be cautious in Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Pakistan, Iran, Syria and Israel and the Palestinian territories.

The 12 drawings - published in September by Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten and republished in a Norwegian paper this month - included an image of the prophet wearing a turban shaped as a bomb with a burning fuse.

All orders cancelled

Islamic tradition bars any depiction of the prophet, even respectful ones, out of concern that such images could lead to idolatry.

"In the present situation, where the Jyllands-Posten daily's drawings of the Prophet Mohammad has caused strong negative feelings among Muslims, Danes should show extra vigilance," the ministry said.

Saudi Arabia recalled its ambassador to Denmark last week, and Libya has closed its embassy in the Danish capital.

On Monday, masked gunmen took over an European Union office in Gaza City to protest the caricatures.

A Norwegian aid group on Monday said it was withdrawing its two Norwegian representatives in Gaza after the threats, but that operations would be maintained by eight local staff.

Ivar Christiansen, spokesperson for Norwegian People's Aid, said: "We have seen fliers with threats against Swedes and Danes. We haven't seen anything in writing against Norwegians, but decided to be cautious."

Consumers in many predominantly Muslim countries were boycotting Danish goods.

Denmark-based dairy group Arla Foods said the consumer boycott of its products in the Middle East was almost total.

"All Arla's customers in the region have cancelled their orders, and sales have come to a standstill in almost all markets," Jens Refslund, foods production division manager, said in a statement.

Arla Foods products have been removed from shop shelves in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, Europe's largest dairy group said.

"Once sales in the Middle East have come to a standstill, this inevitably has consequences for production," Refslund said.

The Middle East is Arla Foods' main market outside Europe. Arla Foods has a 2.6 billion kroner ($350m) in annual sales in the Middle East and about 1 000 employees in the region.

- AP