Letter from the National Council of Churches in Denmark, in view of the recent depiction of the Holy Prophet through cartoons in the newspaper

Frederiksberg, April 10, 2006 

Dear sisters and brothers in Christ,

Greetings from the National Council of Churches in Denmark.

We write to express our solidarity with you in the wake of the international turmoil caused by the cartoons of the prophet Mohammed that were originally published by Jyllands-Posten here in Denmark. 

It is with deep concern that we have experienced the disregard and disrespect towards Muslims from some groups in our own country and seen how this national crisis has spread to affect Muslims all over the world. When what is sacred for one religion is attacked, all religions suffer. We express our sympathy with Muslims in Denmark and the rest of the world whose religious feelings have been offended because of this uncalled-for lack of respect. 

From our perspective, the freedom of speech is a fundamental right that must be exercised with responsibility and a code of ethics that respects others. Freedom of speech does not exclude respect for the faith of other. With freedom of speech follows respect for others. Such respect has not been exercised with the publication of the cartoons. To provoke or offend another person’s faith for the sake of provocation alone does not serve any purpose. We therefore deeply deplore this provocation as well as the violent reactions the publication of the cartoons has caused. 

It is with deep concern that we have followed the consequences of the cartoons in your countries. The National Council of Churches in Denmark wishes to express its solidarity with the churches of the Middle East, Asia, and Africa where Christian-Muslim relations have been seriously jeopardized because of the publication of the cartoons. We commend you on your on-going efforts to increase cooperation and respectful dialogue with your Muslim neighbours.

We support the Minute on Mutual Respect, Responsibility and Dialogue with People of other Faiths adopted at the 9th Assembly of the World Council of Churches which you will find enclosed with this letter. We recommit ourselves to the nurturing of Muslim-Christian relations, and will continue in Denmark to work to create and support platforms where Muslims and Christians can deepen dialogue and cooperation in the struggle for tolerance, peace and mutual respect. 

In Christ,