Letter to the editor

Cartoons do not represent Danes

In the Feb. 24 issue of the Daily Bruin, Stephen Guillerm
commented on the 12 cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad that first
appeared in the right-wing Danish newspaper, Jyllands Posten
(“Right to cartoon can’t be absolute”).

He claimed that the cartoons taken as whole provide a portrait
of how people in Denmark view Islam.

That is a pretty strong statement, and certainly not true.

In a country with a free press, people express personal opinions
that may be stupid, offensive or simply wrong ““ and Guillerm
used that right.

Most Danish people do not share the views of the cartoonists, or
of the editor who decided to print them.

Jorn Olsen

Chairman, epidemiology department, School of Public Health