Magda Al-Ghitany reports on the attempts of Egyptian diplomats to combat anti-Islamic sentiments Assistant Foreign Minister Wafaa Bassim met with the ambassadors of Denmark and Norway this week, handing each a letter in which Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit urged the Danish and Norwegian governments to act to contain the anger of Muslims following the publication, in Danish and Norwegian papers, of cartoons denigrating Prophet Mohamed. The letters are part of a concerted campaign initiated by Cairo last October when the Danish paper Jyllands- Posten printed cartoons that provoked widespread anger across the Muslim world. While Egypt has not followed the lead of those Arab countries that recalled their ambassadors from Copenhagen or Oslo it did oppose the nomination of a Danish candidate to one UN commission. Working under the umbrella of the Arab League and the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, Egypt has joined other Arab and Islamic states in promoting a resolution in the UN General Assembly condemning all forms of incitement against religions and their sacred symbols. "Combating the Smearing of Religions", the Egyptian draft resolution, was presented by Yemen -- current chair of the Arab group of missions to the UN -- and adopted by the UN General Assembly. "Egypt wants to make sure Western governments condemn campaigns against Islam and diplomatic efforts to achieve this goal are just beginning," said Assistant Foreign Minister Mohamed Shaaban. Speaking to reporters on Monday, Shaaban said protests against the Danish cartoons are just one battle in the ongoing war to end incitement to hatred of Islam and Muslims. The following day, after the Danish newspaper that printed the cartoons apologised, Shaaban told Al-Ahram Weekly the language of the apology, and statements made by Danish officials, were unsatisfactory. Cairo, like many other Arab and Islamic capitals, is still seething after Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen refused a request for a meeting, forwarded by the Council of Ambassadors to Islamic Countries in Copenhagen, to discuss ways of containing the furore that resulted from the publication of 12 caricatures deriding Prophet Mohamed in Jyllands-Posten. Last month Norway's Magazinet reprinted the 12 offending caricatures though the angered response of Muslims prompted Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr to issue an apology shortly afterwards. Reaction to the cartoons across the Arab and Muslim world has led many to boycott Danish products. While Egyptian imports from Denmark stand at just $40 million, Saudi Arabia imports almost $2 billion worth of Danish products annually. The boycott, say diplomats, prompted the Association of Danish Industrialists and some Danish commentators to appeal to their government to take the steps necessary to assuage the anger felt in the Arab and Islamic world. Egyptian diplomats have also praised the chief of the diplomatic mission in Copenhagen, Mona Omar, and other Arab and Muslim diplomats, for launching an extensive campaign to put the Arab and Muslim point of view across to the Danish press. Danish concern over a continued boycott despite the apology issued on Tuesday by Jyllands-Posten was reflected in Copenhagen's suggestion that it was considering referring the matter to the European Trade Commission, which in turn suggested that it might take the issue up with the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Such threats are discounted by diplomats in Egypt and elsewhere who point out that the WTO has no authority to interfere in a civil boycott campaign. "This is not about trade or access to markets, it is about politics and public opinion," said one Arab diplomat. Ways to combat the growing tide of anti-Islamic propaganda were discussed by foreign ministers during their December meeting at the Cairo headquarters of the Arab League and are expected to reappear on the agenda of the preparatory meetings for the next Arab summit, scheduled to convene in March.
