Paradoxes of Liberal Democracy: Islam, Western Europe, and the Danish Cartoon Crisis
Paul M. Sniderman, Michael Bang Petersen, Rune Slothuus, and Rune Stubager
Abstract
In 2005, twelve cartoons mocking the prophet Mohammed appeared in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, igniting a political firestorm over demands by some Muslims that the claims of their religious faith take precedence over freedom of expression. Given the explosive reaction from Middle Eastern governments, Muslim clerics, and some Danish politicians, the stage was set for a backlash against Muslims in Denmark. But no such backlash occurred. This book shows how the majority of ordinary Danish citizens provided a solid wall of support for the rights of their country's growing Muslim minority, ... More
In 2005, twelve cartoons mocking the prophet Mohammed appeared in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, igniting a political firestorm over demands by some Muslims that the claims of their religious faith take precedence over freedom of expression. Given the explosive reaction from Middle Eastern governments, Muslim clerics, and some Danish politicians, the stage was set for a backlash against Muslims in Denmark. But no such backlash occurred. This book shows how the majority of ordinary Danish citizens provided a solid wall of support for the rights of their country's growing Muslim minority, drawing a sharp distinction between Muslim immigrants and Islamic fundamentalists and supporting the civil rights of Muslim immigrants as fully as those of fellow Danes—for example, Christian fundamentalists. Building on randomized experiments conducted as part of large, nationally representative opinion surveys, the book also demonstrates how the moral covenant underpinning the welfare state simultaneously promotes equal treatment for some Muslim immigrants and opens the door to discrimination against others. Revealing the strength of Denmark's commitment to democratic values, the book underlines the challenges of inclusion but offers hope to those seeking to reconcile the secular values of liberal democracy and the religious faith of Muslim immigrants in Europe.
Keywords:
Mohammed,
cartoons,
Jyllands-Posten,
Muslims,
freedom of expression,
Muslim immigrants,
Islamic fundamentalists,
discrimination
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 2014 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780691161105 |
| Published to Princeton Scholarship Online: October 2017 |
DOI:10.23943/princeton/9780691161105.001.0001 |
Authors
Affiliations are at time of print publication.
Paul M. Sniderman, author
Stanford University
Michael Bang Petersen, author
Rune Slothuus, author
Rune Stubager, author
Aarhus University
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