1.      This crisis was caused by a very small number of people, who do not have the slightest sense of responsibility.  They have played havoc with the feelings and emotions of Muslims and they are not aware of the serious crime they have committed.

-         This crisis has now fallen into a vicious circle of actions and reactions.

-          History has taught us that major disasters have started with small

       crises similar to the one we are facing today.  An Arab sage

      once said, “The greatest of fires are started by the smallest of sparks.”

2.      We know that the people of Denmark love peace and their history attests to that.  They have not been previously known to attack either Muslims or non-Muslims.  They have never before attacked anyone either verbally or physically and we commend them on this noble virtue.

-         Suffice to say that this is the first crisis in the history of Denmark since 1938, when it was the invaded by the Nazi armies.

3.      In this conference, (from here in Cairo, the heart of the Arabic and Islamic world), I address the Danish youth and women, to tell them that we are a peace-loving people with a religion that we cherish.

-         A religion that believes in coexistence, acceptance and dialogue with others.  Allah says what can be translated as, “O you mankind, surely We created you of a male and a female, and We have made you races and tribes that you may get mutually acquainted ….(TMQ 49:13).[1]

-         A religion that believes in tolerance and clemency, and our Prophet (SAWS)[2] was a symbol of that.

-         A religion that rejects abuse or humiliation of others.  Allah says what can be translated as, “And do not abuse the ones whom they invoke apart from Allah, (or) then they would abuse Allah aggressively without knowledge …., (TMQ 6:108).

4.      It is imperative to contain this crisis, extinguish the fire; eliminate it, and clear up the misunderstanding.  None of this can happen unless we sit down together, open our hearts and talk to each other, so that the reality of the situation becomes clear to everyone.  This will put an end to the evil plan of Satan who wants the disagreement to persist.

5.      This is not only my opinion; a proclamation has been issued, and this is the first time that 42 of the Muslim preachers of the world have assembled, agreed on and signed a proclamation.  They are the main representatives of Da’wa[3], of the world, from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria, Morocco, India, Indonesia, and The Unites States.  The proclamation is now in effect.

-         This initiative to assemble the scholars was headed and organised by the honorable Dr. Ali Gum’a, the Mufti[4] of The Arab Republic of Egypt, and Sheikh Habib Ali al-Jafari, may Allah reward them amply.

-         Representing this proclamation, among those present today, is Dr. Ali Gum’a, to whom we owe this assembly, Dr. ‘Abla al-Kahlawi, Hajji Yasmine el-Hossari, and myself.

-         There is also a press conference on Monday in Amman, for the same

      purpose, set up by another group of Du’ah in Jordan.

                 Article eight of the proclamation states the following, and we would like to

                 stress that it is our duty now to move on to the phase of dialogue to

                 acquaint the world with our Prophet (SAWS).

6.      In light of that, I would like to say to the youth and women of Denmark who are listening right now, before we disagree, let’s put together the points of mutual agreement that we share.

What unites us?  We have seven points in common:

i.         We are brothers and sisters in humanity – Allah says what can be translated as, “O you mankind, be pious to your Lord, Who created you of one self …, (TMQ 4:1).

ii.       We share a high regard for noble virtues (honesty, integrity, honour, pride enthusiasm, dignity, and freedom).

iii.      We share a pride that we live in a world in which diversity of thought intellect, and religion prevails.  Allah says what can be translated as, “And if your Lord had (so) decided, He would indeed have made mankind one nation …, (TMQ 11:118).

iv.     We share an agreement on the mutual benefit of financial, intellectual, commercial, and cultural exchange.

v.       We share the desire to coexist in a world where security prevails.

vi.     We share dialogue as our preferred approach to come to an understanding in cases of disagreement.

vii.    Lastly, we share mutual respect, mutual respect, mutual respect.

These seven major values are being tested today.

The only difficulty is that the matter cannot be resolved by one party alone; both

parties must meet and each should come up with their part of the solution. 

            O youth of Denmark, there are things you must do, and there are things we must

do, for we have fallen short of our duty with regards to acquainting you with ourselves and our Prophet (SAWS); we have not let our voices nor yours be heard.                  If we can achieve that and communicate, then this crisis will be transformed into an advantage.

7.      I received on my web site (after a speech I gave to the youth, via the television channel Iqra’, to encourage them to have their say in what they wanted to do) in only six days, 10,000 messages, you can read them on my web site at http://www.amrkhaled.net/, the translation of the messages has begun in order to make the opinions of the youth clear.  The messages are from the Muslim youth expressing their desire to turn the page and to emerge with a stronger friendship between Muslims and the people of Denmark.

Also, in a poll to find out the opinion of the youth on setting up dialogue, 80,000 took part in four days.  Ninety-three percent want to set up dialogue and acquaint Denmark with our Prophet (SAWS).

I hope to receive from you, O people of Denmark, a similar expression of positive sentiments, so that we can take the next step towards the resolving this crisis.

8.      We are willing to come to Copenhagen, I do not speak for myself only, I speak on behalf of the delegation of Du’ah who signed the proclamation, representatives of our youth would accompany us and we would like to sit with the representatives of the youth and intellectuals of Denmark in order to come to an understanding with regards to five items:

a.       Who our Prophet is

b.      What our religion is

c.       The notion of freedom of speech.

d.      Respect for the sacrosanct.

e.       To agree on practical projects, that will firmly establish understanding, dialogue, and coexistence in the future.

9.      The successful outcome that we wish to achieve from this initiative, is major indications that the people of Denmark respect Islam and the Prophet of Islam and have positive and respectful feelings toward Muslims.

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