Akram's Razor - Reflections on Islam, Muslims & America

The Arab Street is owed an apology!

Most of the time I post stuff about Denmark, it tends to be bad news--of course, if you're a Muslim observer of Danish politics there's often been, sadly, pretty good reason for that--so I thought I'd try to atone a bit by translating this very thoughtful and topical piece by a Danish pundit on the lessons of the Arab Spring.

One could quibble about a few small things (e.g., identifying Saudi-funded establishments as "ultra-orthodox"; their claim to orthodoxy is rather debatable), but I think his thesis is dead-on. For years, it's been customary to dismiss the Arab masses with this offensive shorthand that casts them as a mindless  herd of animals, and Western media need to eat some crow now that their lazy, dehumanizing cliches have been so spectacularly disproven.

[Moved it over to the Tikkun Daily blog.]

No doubt I've translated some things poorly, so Danes lurking out there are encouraged to chime in and correct any mistakes.

You'll note that this isn't in Jyllands-Posten (the newspaper that became an international household name by publishing the infamous political cartoons that launched a thousand protests, demonstrations and ugly stereotypes).  Denmark has a number of national newspapers. Unlike Jyllands-Posten, Politiken is on the Left--the Danish equivalent of The New York Times, not that I find the Gray Lady  particularly leftist most of the time--and when it comes to the cartoons and Danish Muslims it has almost been "The Anti-Jyllands-Posten."

Its then editor in chief, the recently deceased Tøger Seidenfaden, was very critical of the decision of his counterpart at Jyllands-Posten (Fleming Rose) to publish the cartoons--as was I at the time--and one of its most prominent columnists, Rune Engelbreth Larsen, has long been a one-man Danish answer to the Southern Poverty Law Center, exhaustively documenting the rising tide of xenophobia and Islamophobia within Danish society and giving the desperately-needed straight dope on the significance of the cartoons and the factors in their bizarre transformation from mole hills to mountains.

Speaking of how different Politiken's political role has been, the newspaper under Seidenfaden's leadership even went so far as to issue an apology last year to Muslims for the cartoons. They were reacting to an international class action suit by Sayyids (i.e., descendants of the Prophet, peace be on him). Ironically, here we part company, as I think this move was a big mistake, not to mention a pointless gesture given how Seidenfaden and Politiken had nothing to do with the cartoons in the first place.

Now, I respect the good intentions at work and think the desire to turn a new page in Danish-Muslim relations was quite understandable, but the lawsuit was a farce. Its premise (that a group a Muslims who happen to be allegedly descended from the Prophet were especially harmed by the cartoons and somehow had legal standing to seek damages on his and/or the Ummah's behalf) was absurd, geopolitically counterproductive and self-evidently contrary to the precepts of international law.

That lawsuit reminds me of these short-sighted and ultimately dangerous campaigns by Middle Eastern countries to get the UN to outlaw blasphemy. It's rather embarrassing to see representatives of Muslim countries displaying such appalling ignorance of the fundamentals of law and Western political values  (though this is obviously intended more for domestic political consumption, not unlike the immoral, theocratic blackmail over family planning and abortion that Washington regularly engages in when Republicans are in charge). International law should only (and, indeed, ultimately can only) concern itself with the welfare of human beings, so the advocacy of pet religious dogmas or even religious faith itself simply has no place in such matters.

To go down any other road calls the entire legal edifice into question. And, besides, if these leaders had any understanding of law, they'd realize there already was a legal framework for taking action against Islamophobic demagoguery. To the extent real harm is being caused by such cases of "blasphemy," there  undoubtedly already is legal precedent under international law by virtue of their incitement of hatred between communities (not unlike how anti-Holocaust denial laws work).

But I digress, as usual.

Update: I've moved the translation over to Tikkun Daily blog.

 

Yallahrup Færgeby

What would you get if you crossed the early 1990s urban themed variety show "In Living Color"  with the UK's Muppets-style political parody show "The Spitting Image" and then plopped it in the middle of Scandinavia?   It might look something like "Yallahrup Færgeby". [HT: Islam in Europe]

The program follows the misadventures of two dimwitted boys of Middle Eastern background in  the fictional Danish ghetto suburb neighborhood of Yallahrup Færgeby.  The eponymous neighborhood  is a play on words that mixes the Arabic exclaimation Yalla! and the Islamic name for God with commonplace  place names (in Danish -rup and -by are a bit like -ton or -ville in English).

Islam in Europe:

Yallahrup Færgeby, DR2's Christmas show, is about two immigrant boys, Ali (Palestinian, 12) and Hassan (Moroccan, 13). The two, who live in a suburb called Yallahrup Færgeby, dream of being gangsters. They love to rap Tupac Shakur, started a [marijuana --Svend] smoking club and in general refer to girls as "whores".

The series, which is rated for 15 and up, has received quite a lot of criticism about their portrayal of Danish immigrant youth.

It's a caustic, crude and at times sidesplitting funny puppet show lampooning Danish multiculturalism from the right. I'm not comfortable with the offensive way it portrays immigrants or Islam, but I'm not all that surprised given current events, and it certainly gives you a window into the stereotypes that prevail in Danish society.

Denmark, like the rest of northern Europe in my experience, can be to be a bit less sensitive about multicultural sensitivities--I remember a cousin in Jutland chiding me for being "politisk korrekt" when I expressed horror at her reference to a child with Downs Syndrome as a mongoler ("mongol")--than the US, so it comes as no surprise that the show freely resorts to stereotypes (e.g., the Pakistani mullah singing the song mentions 72 virgins after the bomb goes off). And risqué by American standards.

Below is the YouTube video of  their music number "En krammer til Osama" ("A hug for Osama"). I've translated its lyrics quickly, not that it probably adds much to the experience given how the lyrics are so random as to almost be  incoherent. The focus is clearly on goofy rhymes. (It all rhymes humorously in Danish.)

Unfortunately for most of you, everything's in Danish. Which is a shame, as the dialog and foreign accents can be wickedly funny. And the satire is quite biting at times.

But you don't need to understand Danish to pick up on the following important dynamics if you watch some episodes on their website:

• Minority youths in Denmark, like in many places, identify instinctively and passionately with hip-hop culture.  (Wanna see an example?)
  
  
• Like in much of Europe--and unlike in the USA--in Denmark the issue of immigration and assimilation is inextricably intertwined in the popular consciousness with Muslims and Islam.  If in America, African-American men are the feared Other of urban life, in Denmark and much of Europe that dubious honor is held by Muslim men (and, increasingly, even Muslim women).
  
  
• English and American popular culture permeate Danish life. (One skit features a Tupac Shakur puppet rapping in agonizingly American-accented Danish.) 

Lyrics: Der er så mange der tror at man er sur og trist bare fordi man nu tilfældigvis er fundamentalist . Der er nu ingenting der ku være mere forkert Kom til mig små drenge, I skal ikke være genert Bare fordi man har giftet sig med Allah behøves man ikke være grim og gå med brillah Man kan sagtens gøre noget ud af sig selv selvom man bare skal ud og slå uskyldige ihjel OMKVÆD: Hvis du ser Osama, giv ham en krammer ikke et gok med en hammer eller  lænker der strammer Det er noget der fremmer glæden med det samme og hiver smilet frem Giv en krammer En krammer til Osama x 3 Der er så mange der tror man er alvorlig At vi aldrig går i bad og lugter dårlig.  Jeg tænker haha bare de vidst' hvor meget grin og pjat man har når man er fundamentalist Er du klar over hvor lang tid jeg har brugt for at barbere min krop lige så smukt Lidt rødt på kinderne og så lidt gloss Det er rart at være lækker når man skal ud at slås OMKVÆD Jeg står nu frem -- og beder om et kram så kom her min ven og tæl ned fra fem fire, tre, to * BUM * ... en! Bim bam bum, den vantro han er dum Bum bim bam, jeg tror jeg bomber ham

Many think yo'€™re mad and sad just because you happen to be a   fundamentalist. Nothing could be more wrong. Come to me, little boys, don’t   be shy.      Just because you'™re married to Allah, it doesn'™t mean you'€™re ugly and   go around with glasses. You can easily make something of yourself, even though   you have to go out and kill some innocent person.     CHORUS: If you see Osama, give him a hug and not a knock with a   hammer or chains that are tight. It’s something that brings happiness and a   smile out right away. Give a hug.     Give a hug to Osama (x 3) Many think we'€™re serious. That we never bathe and smell bad. I think,   haha, if only they knew how much fun you have when you’re   fundamentalist.     Do you know how much time I'€™ve spent to shave my body so pretty. A   little red on the cheeks and a little gloss. Itâ's nice to look hot  when you’re   heading out for a fight.        CHORUS I come forward and ask for a hug, so come here my friend and count   down from 5, 4, 2, [BOOM] 1! Bim bam bum, that infidel he'€™s dumb. Bum bim bam, I think I'll bomb him.

Update (2008-01-12):  A few stylistic tweaks and edits.

Jyllands-Posten's noble efforts finally bear fruit

Some considerably less upbeat news from the state of Denmark, and from Jutland, Jylland-Posten's heartland. 

The Danish newspaper Politiken reports (my translation):

According to Aalborg Police, approximately 110 threating letters have been mailed directly to northern Jutlanders with Muslim-sounding names.

"In the past, we have had individual cases of racism but nothing at all on this scale.  So we take it very seriously.  It is deeply tasteless action and a punishable offense," said Chief Criminal Inspector Aage Nøgaar Jensen, Aalborg Police.

Threats and racism
He reports that the letters are a mix of threats and racist remarks, plus pictures of among others Adolf Hitler and Rudolf Hess.

Both the Center for Documenting and Counseling against Racial Discrimination [Have no idea what the official English name is for the Dokumentations- og Rådgivningscenteret mod Racediskrimination. -Svend] and the Institute for Human Rights have stated that this is the first time they've registered something of this sort here at home [i.e., in Denmark].

"We have not experienced such a surge before.  It should be taken very seriously because the general political climate--and the way we discuss foreigners today--can provide fertile ground for extremism and because the police are increasingly concerned about far-right groups," says Morten Kjærum, Director of the Institue for Human Rights.

More complaints filed with police
The threatening letters come at a time when numbers of complaints about racist abuse filed with the police are on the rise.  According to the Danish Security Intelligence Service (PET), the number rose from 37 in 2004 to 81 in 2005.  [And during the first half of 2006, we have over 110. -Svend]

PET Chief Criminal Inspector Ørting Jørgensen will not comment specifically on the case, but acknowledges that the agency is taking these developments seriously. "I can confirm that this year we have seen a higher level of activity, especially on the far right.  Various forms of threats, intimidation, and harassment are being resorted to to create conflict between the broader society and ethnic minorities."

Here's an example of one of the letters (click the image above to see the original), which the bigots considerately composed in English:

Foreigner, Listen....

Your fucking treasonable helpers, such as "Radikale Venstre", "SF", "Enhedslisten", "DKP" and "Antiracistisk Netværk" [Leftist political parties. --Svend] can't help you in the longer term.  They are few compared with the national majority.  Before the civil war (Svendborg, just a silent, vague start) a last reminder:  GET OUT OF HERE!!!!

DANMARK FRIT ["Free Denmark" --Svend]
- It means you don't belong here, bastard!

I'm sure the Fleming Rose and his merry band of Muslim-bashers are proud to see their noble efforts finally bear fruit.

The sentiments of this fascinating missive are the the logical and predictable outcome of the  confrontation with Muslims engineered by Jyllands-Posten in the "defense" of free speech, not to mention the kind of careless rhetoric about Turks in Germany that I commented on yesterday.

You don't have to be a rocket scientist to know that needless confrontations that pit the majority against an already unpopular and misunderstood minority will result in outbreaks of bigotry and nativism of this sort.  So it's no surprise that Denmark is now seeing Neo-Nazi agitation against foreigners normally associated with Germany.

I don't for a minute imagine that these vile sentiments represent the average Dane,  but it's probably fair to surmise  that such attitudes are becoming less uncommon and more socially acceptable in the post-cartoon era.  More importantly, these atavistic passions are the logical outcome of the anti-Muslim hysteria one sees in Danish politics (and, increasing, in some sectors of dank, smelly corners of American politics and media).

This is what happens when responsible leaders remain silent day after day as hardliners bash immigrants as the root of all evil in the public square.  When people hear something go unchallenged enough, they will eventually believe it.  It's a lesson that many leaders across Europe would do well to consider.

P.S.  It's interesting that the letter should mention Svendborg (which, I modestly note, literally means "City of Svend"), a small town in the south of Funen where I once lived.

I spent some time in the mid-1990s with my grandmother Kamma, who passed away two years ago (God rest her soul). It's a cozy and sleepy little coastal town.  I have fond memories of wandering its quite cobbled downtown streets, chasing her poor cat Mathilda around the house during childhood visits from the US, and later as an adult making my poor mormor (Danish for maternal grandmother) watch really bad American action movies (not to see the movies, but to elicit her hilarious reactions).

Wasn't aware of any problems with immigrants there.  Would some kind Dane lurking out there mind filling me in?   I would've expected problems in Odense (where I also lived) before Svendborg.

Priests spank imams in Denmark

This has to be one of the odder images of interfaith dialogue yet. Priests and  imams settling the Crusades on the soccer field. 

I'm sad to report that my team (though I must confess to being a bit torn, being both Danish and Muslim) got thrashed 7-0, and despite some healthy trash talking (apparently, the imams made the mistake of playfully promising to "eat them for breakfast"; I guess the priests decided to dust off their Viking helms and just go medieval on them).

Too bad the imams couldn't draft Tariq Ramadan, who I understand was an avid and talented footballer in his younger days in Switzerland.  He could've been our Saladin.

The event was to kick off a three day "Islam Expo" in held Copenhagen recently.  The background is Amalienborg, a castle and winter home of the royal family in Copenhagen.

The Danish-enabled can read about it here.

Who would the "soccer hooligans" be here?  Hizbul Tahrir?

BTW, what's with the harnesses?

National Review on Denmark's "Democratic Muslims"

There's an unremarkable piece in The National Review by Andrew Stuttaford on Denmark's Naser Khader and his Democratic Muslims group.

Predictably, the article cites Ahmed Akkari's infamous quip about killing Khader by blowing up the Ministry of Integration as prima facie proof of dangerous extremism, as opposed to what such silly melodramatic declarations generally are in the real world, exagerrations for dramatic effect and/or rants to let off steam.

Yes, I said "silly", not "outrageous" or "dangerous".  I don't know Akkari, but I do know that like everybody else, Muslims sometimes joke in poor taste, overreact, exaggerate, misspeak, or otherwise stick their foots in their mouths by saying things in way that can misconstrued as endorsing violence, prejudice, or some other dark force in human affairs. 

When a cleancut non-Muslim does so towards Muslims, the media briefly and mildly chides the offender for his unenlightened words; the offender explains that his words have been misunderstood either because they were taken out of context or because they do not represent his values; and the world forgives, forgets and moves on. 

When a Muslim commits the same sin, a firestorm of indignation erupts, along with a that now familiar chorus of I-told-you-so's from the bigot gallery, the offender is instantly tried in the media, found guilty of the worst possible intent (regardless of his explanation), and branded an extremist for for all eternity. 

So, Muslim utterances are to be judged by a special standard.  That's the beauty of the circular reasoning of Muslim bashers today.  No matter what Muslims actually say, their words get spun as incriminating, which reinforces the stereotypes fueling this whole cycle in the first place.

The same pundits who explain away "Bomb Mecca"-type rhetoric against Muslims and Islam take Akkari's quip as an unamibiguous threat rather than what probably was given the context, an expression of hostility towards an unpopular and polarizing figure among Muslims. 

Imagine if Clarence Thomas, an outspoken critic of Affirmative Action and rightwinger whose politics are deeply out of step (if not downright offensive to) the values of most African Americans, were being considered to head the NAACP.  To many Black people, this would not only be an insult but a grave threat.  Would it be all that shocking if Al Sharpton were were to joke that he'd blow the place to smithereens before he let that come to pass?  Well, the situation was similar in the case of Khader being considered for the post of Minister of Integration.  By Khader's own words, his foremost qualification for such a post is that he'd be his conservative Muslim opponents' "worst nightmare".  Sounds like an unlikely peace maker, and a figure who's guaranteed to raise Muslims' hackles and inspire passionate reactions.

Finally, there's the "How is this any of your damn business?" factor.  Is it frankly anyone's business, much less that of non-Muslims who aren't even part of the Danish Muslim community, what kind of jokes Akkari makes in private to his associates?  Is it my business whether you tell offensive jokes to your buddies?  Is it a legitimate subject of public outrage if X person makes politically incorrect jokes behind closed doors?  Is this something for the government to be sticking its nose into, all you proponents of "small government"?

Imagine if the FBI started tracking deeply offensive statements about or possible threats against Muslims  comparably.  I bet a single table's dinner conversation at a reception at just one of the various Beltway institutes promoting endless conflict with Islam and Muslims (e.g., AEI, WINEP,...) would keep the agency busy investigating nebulous threats for days.  Worse, imagine if they started monitoring prominent online fora like LittleGreenFootballs, where Muslims, Arabs and Islam are slurred in language that would make a Klansman blush, as they do Islamic  websites.

I will give the author a bit of credit, though, for realizing that Khader's cultural brand of Islam is out of sync with that of many if not most Danish Muslims.  (He notes his doubts that Khader's religious sensibilities reflect those of most Danish Muslims.) 

The irony is that were Khader not the avowed foe of the National Review's enemies and were Islam-bashing not the new rallying call for much of the American Right, he'd probably getting tarred as another postmodern liberal intellectual.  But happily for him, geopolitics trumps religious values these days.  (There was a time when a conservative American publication might've been less kind to Khader's worldview, as the criticisms of Salman Rushdie from prominent American conservatives during the 1980s show.) 

Random Platitudes dissects the cartoon row

A Danish academic has provided a series of really informative and insightful posts on the historical backdrop to the cartoon controversy (e.g., Random Platitudes - The "Cartoon Row" dissected -- part 1) .  He gets into detail about recent Danish history and shows the real (and underreported) politico-cultural context to this truly bizarre turn of events.  And, unlike most of the Danish blogs providing intelligent analysis on the matter, he writes in English.

Grab a cup of coffee and curl up with his blog.  There's a wealth of info.

Random Platitudes: A digression: Origins of xenophobia in Denmark

In today's Denmark, xenophobia is an important political factor. This is a significant point, since it is a fact that deviates quite strongly from the way Danes tend to view themselves. Ask any Dane, and they will tell you that it is typically Danish to be helpful and open towards foreigners. This is the way Danes see themselves, and it is fundamental to their worldview.

Yet a significant portion of the same people who claim to be open and tolerant will, given the right circumstances, openly utter strongly xenophobic remarks directed at a particular segment of the population of Denmark -- to wit, the large group of first- or second-generation immigrants living in Denmark.

As of January 1 2000, 7.1% of Denmark's population were first- or second-generation immigrants. Of these, the largest groups were Turks, Germans, Bosnians and Lebanese, with Pakistanis, Yugoslavs, Iraqis, Somalians, Norwegians, Swedes, Iranians, Poles, Britons, and Vietnamese as other major groups. The Turks made up the most significant group, with twice as many Turks as Germans.

Die Zeit on 'Fortress Denmark'

Germany's Die Zeit weekly has just run a series of withering pieces on Denmark's rising xenophobia,  "In der Festung Dänemark"
(which I'm pretty sure means "In Fortress Denmark").

The Danish newspaper Politiken has a summary of the coverage in Danish (appropriately entitled "Tysk magasin hudfletter Danmark", German magazine flays Denmark). 

Haven't found a summary in English yet.

Some interesting points:

I've noted before how I suspected that few Danes realized how much of a barrier their language is to successful integration into Danish society.  The author, Wolfgang Zank, makes a similiar point:

"To non-Danes, the Danish language seems designed to be as difficult as possible to be learned.  It overflows with irregular and illogical prepositions.  For example, Danes don't spend time 'in' but 'on' the hospital."

One particulary shocking detail:  Danish citizenship laws have been revised in recent years making in effect two tiers of citizenship.  Those who are not of Danish descent and have resided in Denmark for less than 28 years (!) cannot bring a foreign spouse into the country.  Brown people are, when it comes to immigration and family reunion, literally "second-class citizens".

Zank points out the hollowness of Rasmussen's "we're not responsible for those cartoons" defense, pointing out how the political establishment is complicit in these phenomenon by its refusal to speak out when Danish extremists preach hatred:

The reason Denmark  is unique among European nations for the political latitude it allows xenophobia is that the Social Democrats remain silent every time the topic of foreigners comes up, says Zank.

He also notes that before the cartoon crisis Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen had never distanced the government from the anti-Islamic tirades of members of the Danish People's Party.

The Ugly Duckling and the Cartoons

Haven't gotten a chance to read it yet completely, but the Danish Institute for International Studies has put out an intriguing analysis of  the cartoon controversy entitled "The Danish Ugly Duckling and the Mohammed Cartoons". 
(The ubiquitious metaphor of the "ugly duckling", if you didn't already know, comes from the timeless tales of Denmark's greatest storyteller, Hans Christian Andersen.  He also wrote other classic and deeply symbolic fairytales like "The Little Mermaid", "The Emperor and his new clothes", "The Princess and the Pea", and "The Nightingale".)

I particularly like how this paper explores the Danish psyche in world affairs.

Learning (and learning to be) Danish

Some non-cartoon related musings about Denmark.

"Danish queen raps radical Islam"

the queen is quoted as voicing disapproval of "these people for whom religion is their entire life".

I'm not sure how I feel about this point.  I certainly object to the way some Muslims subject every aspect of life and the world to a narrow, sometimes, purritanical conception of Islam, BUT I fear that this is not what she's talking about.  My worry is that the Queen considers a desire to apply religious principles in one's own life more strictly than others to be extremist.   That puts you on a slippery slope to (ir)religious tyrrany.

In a truly inclusive, free and democratic society, religious people shouldn't have to become secular and/or non-practicing to be granted that most coveted of all political designations, normalcy.

One hopes that there is more uniting Danes today than drinking Carlsberg beer,  eating leverpostej (Liver pâté , a pork dish), or wearing tight jeans.   With its rich culture,  proud history and dynamic society, there certainly should be.

The queen said Muslims should learn Danish properly, so they would not feel excluded from society.

As the Queen's husband can attest--The Prince Consort Henrik (Danish for "Henry") is a Frenchman who was well known, and widely resented, in Denmark for speaking Danish poorly and with a thick French accent--Danish is a difficult language to learn. 

Granted, grammatically, Danish is easy as pie--e.g., its verbs are even easier than English (in English, I run, you run, he runs, we run, ...; in Danish, jeg render, du render, han render, vi render, ...)--but its pronunciation is cruelly whimsical. 

Danish intonation is tricky, there are all sorts of subtle glottal stops, and Danish has a wealth of nuanced vowel sounds.  A Danish Foreign Ministry brief introduction to the Danish language sums it up well:

Many foreign observers of spoken Danish have noticed something unique about the pronunciation. A 16th century Swedish statement claims that Danes press out the words as though they are about to cough. The word ‘cough‘ must be a reference to the Danish glottal stop, a means of expression which is extremely rare in other languages, but in Danish is used in the pronunciation to distinguish between numerous words which would otherwise be identical, for instance: anden (second) - anden (the duck); kørende (driving) - køerne (the cows/queues); møller (miller/mills) - Møller (surname); garret (combined) -garret (the pair).

The glottal stop is a powerful braking of the vibrations of the vocal cords, approaching closure, and this may undoubtedly sound discordant, staccatoish, like a kind of brief, dry cough. Danes avoid glottal stops in art song.

Altogether many non-Danes find it very difficult to decode Danish pronunciation. Danish is a very vowel-rich language, with important distinctions between for instance mile, mele, mæle, male (dune, flour, voice, paint) and ugle, Ole, åle, Me (owl, proper name, chaff, early). The final sounds in hav, leg, bær, flad (sea, game, berry, flat), which are very common, can also cause problems
[You really have to hear these words spoken in quick succession to grasp how subtle these shifts in pronunciation are. And how arbitrary the final sounds in the last set of words sound to non-Danes.  -Svend]

It is difficult to deduce the pronunciation from the written word. Vejr, hver, vær, værd (weather, each, be, worth) are thus pronounced identically [Roughly, VAIR as in "air". -Svend] as are hjul and jul (wheel, Christmas). [YOOL . -Svend]  Seks (6) is pronounced ‘sex‘, seksten (16) ‘sajsten‘. [I'd render it "SIGH-sten". -Svend] The way from spoken to written word can also be difficult to predict. The diphthong ‘aj‘ can be written ej, eg ail ig as in sejl, regn, maj, sig (sail, rain, May, oneself) - and in even more ways in words of foreign origin. The Danish t is different from other t-sounds in being slightly sibilant.

They also could have mentioned how letters in Danish are often pronunced based on the grammatical role played by the word. Let's take the letters "af" as an example:

• kaffe [coffee] is pronounced "KAH-fuh";
• en aftale [an agreement] is pronounced "een OW-ta-luh"
• Slap af! ["Relax", literally "slap off"] is pronounced "slap AY".

Intuitive, right?

Another reason the writer of this introduction concedes that it is "difficult to deduce the pronunciation from the written word" is that many written letters dissappear when pronounced.  There are a million examples, but perhaps the most obvious one for me is how the 'd' in "Svend" is silent.

This account also neglected to mention how, as Danes always say, "Danish is not so much a language as a throat disease."  The Danish sounds of

• 'æ' [Think of the sound an English speaker makes when he nervously mumbles, "ehhh".],
• 'y' [Identical to the gutteral French 'u' and the German 'ü'.],
• 'å' [An extended "oh" sound.] , &
• 'ø' [Think of the sound a seal makes to get you throw it a fish.]

arent' easy even for other Scandinavians.

Keep in mind that the mother tongues of many Muslim immigrants in Denmark are diametrically opposite to Danish in terms of pronunciation.  Both Arabic and Urdu, for example, are spoken more or less how they are written (let's not get in `Ammiyya vs. Fusha issue; most languages have dialects and a high/colloquial dichotomy).  I genuinely feel for a middle-aged Arab immigrant, whose mother tongue has relatively few vowel sounds--What are there, 6 vowel sounds in Arabic?  In Danish there are over 20, more than consonants.--trying to learn to distinguish all these subtle Danish vowels.

Finally, there's the fact that Danes speak English so darned well. What makes Denmark a dream tourism destination for Americans makes it all the more difficult, I suspect, for foreigners to motivate themselves to study Danish seriously.  You don't need it in Denmark, as everyone speaks and understands English.   

If it's tempting for Americans, Brits and Australians residing in Denmark to get by on just English--I took a Danish language course with such a group of expats in Odense (the birthplace of Hans Christian Andersen) a decade ago and remember how getting them to study Danish was like pulling teeth.--imagine how tempting it must be for a Turk or an Arab to focus on improving their mastery Danish over the international lingua franca, English. 

In addition to English, Danes often speak German (especially in the south) and can understand Swedish and Norwegian, which are cognate languages. Being from a small country that engages heavily in international trade,it's not surprising that Danes should be polyglots.  They don't have a choice and, thus, grow up eagerly soaking up the internationallanguages.  The situation is different for people from America,Germany, China, Turkey, the Arabophone Middle East, etc..  Picking up a language later in life is harder when you've only spoken one up to that point.

As my father can attest--We spent a year in Denmark when I was young, and by the end he could barely order a cup of coffee på dansk (in Danish). --Danish is an exceedingly difficult language for people to acquire later in life.  That doesn't justify laziness or change how important speaking the language of your society is, of course, but it does partly explain some of these problems.

Also, while I've certainly observed the phenomenon of foreigners refusing to learn Danish, I wonder whether this "problem" isn't part of human nature to some extent.  I wonder whether a bunch of middle aged Danes plopped in the middle of Anatolia or Punjab would fare much better linguistically, whether they'd make much more of an attempt to integrate into the highly unfamiliar surrounding society if everyone around them spoke Danish well.

"Cartoons story uses a tired script"

The author is a good friend of mine

Cartoons story uses a tired script - baltimoresun.com

Americans are thoroughly comfortable with what we know well, such as in thinking that the enlightened West basks in the doctrine of free speech while pious Muslims condemn hate-filled cartoons with violent demonstrations.