Jordan foreign ministry summons Danish consul

(AMMAN) Jordan on Saturday summoned Danish honorary consul to Amman in the wake of the mounting protest across the Arab and Islamic world against Danish newspapers cartoons considered offensive to Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) and to Islamic religion. Foreign Minister Abdel Ilah al-Khatib called in the Danish Consul on Saturday and discussed with him the deliberate abuse to Islam and the message of Prophet Mohammad by a Danish paper.

Last September, the Danish paper Jyllands-Posten published cartoons that have been deemed insulting to Prophet Mohammad and causing a large scale public outrage across Arab and Muslim countries. Earlier, Khatib made a telephone call with his Danish counterpart Jonas Gahr Stoere in which he emphasized Jordan's stand that rejects any harm to Islam under any pretext and called for taking necessary measures to avoid repeating such an incident.

He also reaffirmed the importance of "Amman Message", whose essence aims to highlight the true image of Islam and calls for tolerance and coexistence amongst all believers in God. On his part Stoere denounced any statement or action designed to distort and harm any people on the basis of their religion or ethnicity.

Source: [Petra News Agency]

He said freedom of speech should be observed through mutual respect and understanding and the use of good wording. He said he also agreed on the necessity to denounce any offensive remarks. In a related development Stoere has sent a letter to Arab foreign ministers through the Arab League Secretary General in which he said the Danish law prevents any action or statement of racial nature and those, held responsible for this can be brought to the court.

Some Danish groups have issued reports against the Danish paper and the concerned authorities are investigating this issue, he added. Meanwhile, the Danish non-resident Ambassador to Jordan arrives in Amman on Sunday for talks on this issue.

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