Children’s writers have always written with the desire to mold young minds and change the world, I think, but Kåre Bluitgen, the author of The Koran and the Life of the Prophet Muhammad couldn’t have known the effect his children’s book would have on the world. Times Online reports:
Mr Bluitgen, who lives in an area of Copenhagen that has a large Muslim population, and whose former wife taught in a Muslim school, thought that there was a need to explain Islam to Danish children.
He said that he had no idea that it would result in the biggest crisis between the West and Islam since the affair over Salman Rushdies The Satanic Verses two decades ago.
Its bizarre. I write a book to promote understanding between cultures and now I see Danish embassies burning in the Middle East, he said. All I can do is sit on the sidelines and watch.
He supports Jylland-Postens publication of the cartoons. We have a history in Denmark of satire of religion and politicians. I support it. If you remove freedom of speech, you lose democracy, he said.
He has received one death threat but has not taken any safety precautions.
You Might Also Like
tags:
