Ten years after – The Muhammad Cartoons: Perspectives, Reflections, and Challenges

Aalborg, September 28-29, 2015

Ten years have gone since the Danish newspaper Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten decided to
publish 12 Muhammad cartoons of the prophet Muhammad as cartoonists ‘imagined him’. The
cartoons and the stories about them cost the lives of 150 people. Denmark’s reputation abroad
and export to Arab speaking countries were severely impacted. In addition, it has affected the
opportunities of immigrants, who experience they are being stigmatized and not fully allowed
to be Danes. Many Danes have had their ideas of womanhood among Muslims re-enforced,
ideas of incompatible values have been strengthened, and the debate about freedom of speech
reified. For many non-Western Muslims, the cartoon story has become an icon of Western
arrogance and hatred towards Islam. Their anger came from a deep sense that they are not
respected, that they and their most cherished feelings are “fair game.”
New research suggests that increased racial discrimination and enforcement of racial-cultural
logics of belonging facilitates mobilization of minority youth groups to crime, violence, political
activism, carelessness and terrorism. This development exposes a “schismogenetic” process
that merits academic attention analysis and solutions.
Some of the questions for the conference:
- How is the gap between “the academics” and “the politicals” being played out?
- Is there a gap between the understanding of the crisis in Denmark and abroad?
- What are the differences in the debates about Islam in contemporary Denmark and
other non-Muslim countries?
- Ten years after – did the insult, the ridicule, and the mocking lead to a better society?
- How does the cartoon story relate to the moralization of Danish society and the
emergence of online social media?
- How are democratic values and free speech affected ten years after by the spread of
Islamophobia, policies, and confrontational news media coverage and debate?
Key note speakers are Lene Hansen, Mark Allen Peterson, Deepa Kumar, Peter Hervik and
Arun Kundnani. Chairs of workshops are Carsten Stage, Signe Kjær Jørgensen, Anja Kublitz,
and Mikkel Rytter. Read more at the conference website:
https://www.ten-years-after.aau.dk
Please send your title, abstract, affiliation and contact information before 28 August via
https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=mc2015
Please send correspondence to:
Peter Hervik hervik@cgs.aau.dk