Vs: Muslim-bashing in Denmark

[MUSTAFA HUSSAIN]

Dear members of the list,

In the aftermath of the terrorist attack on the WTC and the Pentagon, the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC) in Vienna, an advisory body and documentation centre of the EU on matters related to racism, requested its member countries to provide an immediate report on incidences of islamophobia in politics, media as well as on the public behaviour towards the Muslim minorities. A full version of this reporting is available at www.eumc.eu.int      
Although an inconclusive and perhaps an incommensurable in its nature, the trends of anti-Muslim sentiment at the national level are quite obvious in the report: Denmark, against the expectation at the world at large, once again, appears as the most racist member of the European Community. The Danish rapporteur, anthropologist, Dr. Peter Hervik, concedes that the situation in Denmark is much worse than in Austria - a country usually associated with new-racism and anti-semitism.  
What might perhaps be more interesting for the researchers or academics working with issues on mass media and racism is the fact that the free press of Denmark has kept a tight gate-keeping on the news. The greater section of the mass media, including public-service, and especially the national channel TV-2, are more busy with Muslim-bashing than to stick with their professional standards of fair reporting on newsworthy events and trends in the society.
Anyhow, the subtle propaganda against the Muslim minorities by the influential part of the Danish mass media is not something new in this country and can not be indebted to the September the 11th alone - a fact which the above-mentioned report has also indicated about.   
Sincerely,
Mustafa Hussain 
( sociologist and researcher on ethnic relations)
Knastebakken 151.1.
DK-2750 Ballerup, Danmark
tlf. +45 44660171;
+45 51539889
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