Denmark to correct IslamOnline

IslamOnline published an article this week headlined "Danish Islamophobia kills Muslim Teen". (Btw, this was the first and only reference I saw in the news to the boy's religion). The article describes the recent murder of Deniz Özgür Uzun (16) by three Danish teens as a racist and Islamophobic murder, which was brought about by the reprinting of the Mohamed cartoons.

According to witness reports the attackers did shout racist slurs at the victims (slurs which change according to different news reports), but the IslamOnline article doesn't mention at all that police and social services in the neighborhood don't think this murder was racially or religiously motivated. The three Danish teens were part of a gang, and had been involved in violent criminal activity.

Denmark's foreign ministry will now try to get IslamOnline, considered one of the most read and influential Muslim news sites in the world, to nuance their coverage of the case, that there is currently nothing that shows that the victim's religion played a role in the murder.

Klaus Holm of the foreign ministry says that when there's public and serious errors it's damaging for Denmark's reputations, and that is why they want to correct it.

The foreign ministry will contact the people responsible for the site. Klaus Holm says that Denmark wants a balanced picture of the case. They had already informed ambassadors from Muslim countries about the case, and will now do so for IslamOnline.

Jihad Alfara, from the Danish Islamic Council, who was interviewed by IslamOnline, did not want to comment on Danish radio.

In a recent case where a Danish politician was misquoted in an Egyptian newspaper, Denmark had complained to the paper, which later published an apology.

Source: DR (Danish)

See also: Copenhagen: Reactions to murder of Turkish boy, Egypt: Danish politician misquoted


Update

Ayman Qenawi, news editor at Islam Online, says that they will write a new article mentioning that the police doesn't think the murder was racist or islamophobic, as well as getting Alfara's response to it. Qenawi will not apologize for the article, since he thinks Alfara is responsible for the statements in it.

Source: Nyhedsavisen (Danish)

Update 2

IslamOnline: Danish Muslim Teen Murder Not Racist

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