– Unfortunately, this shows that terror, violence and threats work. Governments in the free world bend their necks in fear, writes editor Vebjørn Selbekk to news. Selbekk believes that the turnaround operation in Denmark shows that the terrorists are given veto power over teaching. Kurt Westergaard’s drawing of the prophet Muhammad once again raises questions about the relationship between freedom and security. WITHDRAWING THE SUPPORT: Minister for Children and Education Mattias Tesfaye explained to the Norwegian Parliament that the government will not support the proposal to make education in the caricature controversy compulsory after all. The reason is a new threat report. Photo: JOHN THYS / AFP A majority in the Danish Parliament wanted to make the caricature controversy part of the school curriculum. Then a threat report came on the table. The majority crumbled and the proposal was shelved. – The intelligence service has assessed that showing the Muhammad drawings could have security consequences, said Minister for Children and Education Mattias Tesfaye in the Folketingsalen. The Danish Minister of Education does not wish to comment on the matter to news. – Threats work Editor Vebjørn Selbekk believes that the caricature debate should become compulsory in school – also in Norway. – Danish and Norwegian students should have knowledge of what happened at the time and of the values-related context of the caricature dispute. It should be included in the curriculum, he says. In 2006, Selbekk chose to publish the Muhammad drawings in the Christian newspaper Magazinet. He received death threats and had to go into hiding. Instead of getting support from the political side, Selbekk experienced that he was made a scapegoat. Ola Svenneby, leader of Unge Høyre, agrees that Norwegian students should be taught the caricature controversy. – If the security authorities think the teaching is too dangerous, there should be a good enough reason in itself to carry it out, he writes to news. Looking back, he is embarrassed by the way society handled the caricature controversy. – I find it hair-raising that Selbekk has not yet received his apology, he says. Facts about attacks and threats in the caricature controversy Facts about attacks and threats in the caricature controversyID: 10571474 * 2005: Jyllands-Posten prints caricatures of the prophet Muhammad. Several European newspapers, including Norwegian ones, print the caricatures. Danish and Norwegian interests in the Middle East are under attack. Jyllands-Posten and cartoonist Kurt Westergaard have been the target of several planned terrorist attacks. * 2006: The French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo prints caricatures of Muhammad, including two from Jyllands-Posten. * 2007: A Swedish newspaper prints drawings of the prophet Muhammad as a dog. The cartoonist, Lars Vilks, has subsequently been subjected to death threats and attempted murder. * 2011: A firebomb is thrown at Charlie Hebdo’s editorial premises in Paris after the magazine prints a caricature of the Prophet Muhammad on the front page. Nobody gets hurt. * 2015: On 7 January, two armed men storm the premises of Charlie Hebdo. Twelve people are killed, among them the editor Stéphane “Charb” Charbonnier. * 2015: On 14 February, an armed man attacks a debate meeting in Copenhagen. The police consider it an attempted murder against Lars Vilks, who is attending the meeting. The perpetrator then kills a person at the synagogue in the town. Three police officers are wounded before killing the attacker. * 2015: On May 3, two men open fire on police and are then killed outside an exhibit of Muhammad caricatures in Garland, Texas. Source: NTB The teacher chooses SHOULD BE SAFE: Teachers should be able to feel safe regardless of the teaching program they choose, says State Secretary Kjetil Vevle. Photo: Ministry of Education The curricula in KRLE and social studies in Norway are open to teaching about the Muhammad caricatures. – In KRLE, for example, students must identify ethical dilemmas and discuss moral issues. They must also deal with issues on which there is deep disagreement. That’s what Hedda Birgitte Huse says. She is a department director in the Norwegian Directorate of Education. But with open competence targets, it is still the teacher who has to choose the teaching topics. Kjetil Vevle, state secretary in the Ministry of Education, believes that teachers have room to teach controversial topics. – The individual teacher has great pedagogical freedom to use current and historical issues in teaching, including controversial topics, he writes to news. – It is also important to me that all employees in the school should be able to feel safe in everyday life, regardless of what they teach about, adds Vevle. KILLED AFTER TEACHING: Teacher Samuel Paty was beheaded on October 16, 2020 near the school where he taught, after showing the Muhammad caricatures in an ethics class. Photo: THOMAS COEX / AFP – Not a task for PST According to the Norwegian Police Security Service (PST), their task is to describe the threat picture as they assess it. – It is not a task for PST to set frameworks for teaching or curricula in Norwegian schools, they write in an e-mail to news. – The terrorist threat level in Norway is moderate. This means that one or more actors may intend to carry out terror in Norway, they add. In the past, PST has stated that violations of Islam are the main driver of radicalization into extreme Islamism and terror. Last week, 14 people were charged in the case in which a French teacher was beheaded by an Islamist extremist in 2020. The teacher Samuel Paty was a history and geography teacher and showed Muhammad caricatures to the students during a school lesson.
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Reacts to Denmark reversing Muhammad cartoons – news Norway – Overview of news from various parts of the country
