“To Muslims of the world”

Muslim Citizens:
Allow me to say that our newspaper, Jyllands Posten, believes in the freedom of religion and respects all individuals. We apologize for the great misunderstanding caused by the publication of the caricatures which presented Prophet Mohammed and fed feelings and fuelled militaristic feelings with regard to Denmark and provoked the calls to boycott the Danish products. I’d also like to dispel some misunderstandings. On September 30, 2005, our journal published the caricatures of 12 Danish caricaturists about Prophet Mohammed not to offend him but to open the debate of the freedom of expression. However, we did not know how sensitive Muslims of Denmark were as well as the world.
The publication of these caricatures violates no Danish law with regard to the freedom of press and freedom of expression. However, it has offended the sensibility of millions of Muslims. This was not our intention. Therefore, we apologize. Our journal received the European Commission Excellence Award after the publication of a group of articles in its special edition devoted to the pacific cohabitation, the mutual respect between the Danish people and the minorities that live in Denmark.
To this, we should add that blasphemous caricatures were intentionally spread in the Muslim world and those have nothing to do with the ones published by our publication. We express our deepest rejection for the amalgam in which we have been involved with those tendentious caricatures. Our 12 caricatures have been presented, unfairly, as a terrible campaign launched against the Muslims of Denmark and the rest of the world. We reject and condemn this approach for we believe in the freedom of religion and consider sacred the freedom of individuals to practice their own religious worships. On our side, in an honest attempt to dispel this misunderstanding, we have had several meetings with the representatives of the Muslim community in Denmark. They have been positive and the dialogue has been productive. It’s our goal to achieve the consolidation of the ties with the Muslims of Denmark by all means.
In our publication, we expect to see the pacific cohabitation between the peoples and the spirit of dialogue with the Danish Muslims to reign. Finally, allow me to, on behalf of newspaper Jyllands Posten, present my apologies for what has happened and affirm my total disapproval with regard to every single act against any religion, nationality or people.