Once again, the misapprehension that this is a racial issue. And once again, no sign of awareness among Danish officials that Islam is any different from Christianity in its relation to the political sphere. Prime Minister Fogh Rasmussen has a lot to learn, and chances are that in the coming years, he’ll learn it. From Financial Times, with thanks to Anthony:
A vitriolic row over race relations erupted into the heart of Denmark’s general election campaign yesterday when Islamic leaders urged the country’s 170,000 Muslims to vote against the ruling centre-right coalition….
However, the race row erupted after Kasem Said Ahmad, a prominent Muslim community spokesman, said he advised all Muslims to oppose the government in next month’s vote. Mr Ahmad said he was organising a gathering of 25 imams (Muslim clerics), who plan to issue an anti-government message at next week’s Friday prayers.
Mr Fogh Rasmussen responded angrily and immediately to the proposed intervention of Denmark’s imams: “They should keep their fingers out of politics,” Mr Fogh Rasmussen said. “In Denmark we keep politics and religion separate. Imagine if Danish priests were to use church pulpits to urge people to vote for particular parties,” he said.