The global village places us all in proximity. We must learn to cultivate tolerance, for co-existence is the only option, writes Uffe Ellemann-Jensen* The sad thing about the conflict over cartoons depicting Prophet Mohamed is that it gives strength to extremists both in Europe and in the Islamic world. I very much regret the fact that the controversy started in my own country when a newspaper chose to publish the cartoons in a naive effort to demonstrate freedom of expression. It happened last autumn, and at that time I argued publicly against what I regarded as insensitive -- because it hurt other peoples' religious feelings. It was also an unnecessary provocation, and constituted in itself a caricature of our cherished freedom of expression, that is guaranteed in our constitution. As my father used to say -- an old journalist himself: Freedom of expression is the right to say what you think, but it is not an obligation to do so. When the controversy blew up a few weeks ago, a lot of fuel was added to the fire. Many incorrect stories were circulated about my country: false rumours that the Holy Qur'an had been burned in demonstrations; false information on the status of Islam in my country; incorrect translations of what our queen had said, etc. This added to the anger, and it led to the burning of embassies and threats of violence. The conflict has been called "a clash of civilisations". I would prefer to call it "a clash of the misinformed". There were so many mistakes on both sides. On one side, there was a lack of understanding of the deep religious feelings that were hurt by this display of disrespect. On the other, people were given exaggerated and even falsified stories of what had actually happened. To be sure, we do find deep differences between European and Islamic cultures and traditions. But we should all beware of those who seek to deepen these differences and turn them into insurmountable gulfs instead of inspirations for a richer life. The globalised world brings us not only economic challenges but also cultural and spiritual ones. The concept of "the global village" has taken new meaning with modern means of communications afforded to us over a very short span of time. Internet and SMSes developed over less than a decade. It has happened so swift that we still have not digested their implications. The Danish cartoonists and newspaper editors that published the cartoons obviously failed to understand that they were not just addressing themselves to a very local audience but to other inhabitants in the global village. If they had realised that, they would not have published the cartoons, as they stated very clearly when they made their apology. The time has come to learn from these unfortunate incidents. And the lessons are clear to me: we should all acknowledge that in the modern world it is increasingly necessary for all sensible people to work towards mutual respect, tolerance and better understanding. We must avoid situations where different values are confronted with each other in such a way that it triggers violence. Instead we must try to build bridges between religions, ethics and norms. Some people will not follow that road. They are not open to values other than their own. They do not want to build bridges. They want confrontations. And you find them in Europe as well as in the Islamic world. To me, it is not difficult to choose sides. I am guided by a very small poem of the late Danish poet and philosopher Piet Hein, who wrote in one of his famous "Grooks," called "That is the question": Co-existence or no existence * The writer is former Danish foreign minister, 1982-93, leader of the Danish Liberal Party (Venstre), 1984-98, and president of the European Liberal Party, 1995-2000. He is chairman of the Foreign Policy Society of Denmark.
