A Danish newspaper which reprinted the famous Mohammed Cartoons has backed down and apologized to radical Islamofascists, much to the dismay of the Danish people including the Prime Minister:
Danish daily Politiken on Friday apologised to Muslims for possibly offending them by reproducing cartoons of Prophet Mohammed in 2008, but said it did not regret publishing the drawings.
"We apologise to anyone who was offended by our decision to reprint the cartoon drawing," the newspaper said in a statement.
Politiken is the first Danish newspaper to formally apologise to those who may have resented the publication of the cartoons.
It published on Friday an agreement reached with eight organisations from Australia, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the Palestinian territories representing 94,923 descendants of the Muslim prophet.
Politiken's apology was widely condemned by Danish politicians, who charged that the paper had caved in to pressure and had sacrificed freedom of expression, which is considered a cornerstone of Danish democracy.
Jyllands-Posten, which first published the 12 caricatures of Mohammed in September 2005, blasted Politiken's decision.
"It's a sad day for Danish media, it's sad for freedom of expression and it's sad for Politiken," Jyllands-Posten chief editor Joern Mikkelsen wrote.
Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen said he refused to get involved, citing "the freedom of expression and respect for editorial decisions."
He did however say he was concerned that the apology could be seen as "a break with the cohesion that existed in the media and in Danish society," he told TV2 television news.
The cartoons, including one featuring Prophet Mohammed wearing a turban shaped like a bomb with a lit fuse, angered many Muslims worldwide and sparked angry protests in January and February 2006.
The protests culminated with the torching of Danish diplomatic offices in Damascus and Beirut and the death of dozens of people in Nigeria.
