In the first success achieved by the legal efforts regarding the Cartoon Drawings of the Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him), which were published by the Danish Newspapers, Politiken (one of the newspapers had published the Cartoon Drawing) declared its apology for the offence it had caused against Islam, Muslims, and their Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him).
On Friday, 26 February 2010, corresponding to the 12th of Rabee’ Al-Awal 1431H, Politiken published its apology and the draft of the settlement which has been reached between the newspaper and the Law Firm of Ahmed Zaki Yamani (Lawyers and Legal Consultants) mandated by Corpc Unison Kinsfolk Home Wolq (the International Organization of Ilaf Al El-Bait) which exist in eight countries, namely Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Libya, Lebanon, Qatar, Australia, and Palestine, and has more than (95.000) ninety five thousand members who are the descendants of the Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him).
Mr. Faisal Ahmed Zaki Yamani, the Executive Partner of the Law Firm of Ahmed Zaki Yamani (Lawyers and Legal Consultants) and the Lead Council of the Prophet Case said: “We thank God for our success in reaching a settlement with the Danish Newspaper which has recognized its mistake, apologized, and indicated not to reoffend Muslims and their Prophet (peace be upon him). We wished that all the Danish Newspapers which published the Drawings accepted to enter into a settlement as Politiken did, and published an apology to avoid multiple jurisdictional litigations and costly damages in favor of our clients, who have mandated us and our team of international litigators to raise claims against the newspapers on their behalf.
Mr. Faisal Yamani pointed out that on the authorization of Corpc Unison Kinsfolk Home Wolq (the International Organization of Ilaf Al El-Bait) to the Law Firm of Ahmed Zaki Yamani (Lawyers and Legal Consultants) the Law Firm more than once sent letters to the seventeen Danish Newspapers requesting them to apologize in order to avoid multiple jurisdictional litigations against them. The Danish Newspaper Politiken accepted to settle this matter by apologizing and removing the drawings of its websites in order to avoid such litigation.
Mr. Yamani stated: “we have succeeded in reaching a settlement with the newspaper, however, we will continue as mandated by our clients (the organizations) as they are the descendants of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and have been harmed as all Muslims around the world by the publication of the Cartoon Drawings.
And he added: “We have asked the Danish Newspapers three demands, namely:
- To provide an apology for publishing the drawing, on its hard copy publication.
- To remove the drawing from all the websites and the ones they control.
- To promise not to republish the drawing again.
Politiken was the only newspaper that responded to these requests as indicated by what it has published.
Mr. Faisal Ahmed Zaki Yamani said “In our view all religious icons of all religions, such as the Virgin Mary, Jesus Christ, Moses, and (not to be compared to prophets and messengers) others who are non-religious icons but have contributed to humanity like Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, the Dalai Lama, and others such as Ibn Sina ,Ibn Al-Haitham and Albert Einstein all deserve respect and protection from ridicule and defamation. Why? Because they give meaning and play an important and valuable role in the lives of the people, who believe in them.”
Jyllands-Posten the Danish Newspaper, was the first which published the Cartoon Drawings of the Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) on 30 September 2005, when it published an article on its third page entitled “the Face of Mohammed”, with twelve drawings of the Prophet (peace be upon him) one of them drawn by the cartoonist Mr. Westergard, and in it ridicules our Prophet (peace be upon him). On the next day, sixteen Danish Newspapers republished the Drawings.
The Drawings sparked public outrage in many Muslim nations, who went out in demonstrations and boycotted Danish Products. Consequently, Corpc Unison Kinsfolk Home Wolq (the International Organization of Ilaf Al El-Bait) in their capacity as the descendants of the Prophet (peace be upon him), authorized the Law Firm of Ahmed Zaki Yamani (Lawyers and Legal Consultants) to address the Danish
Newspapers in order to reach an amicable settlement or to seek legal action against them.
Yamani noted that this is what we actually have done and this was the first harvest of what we have achieved with the grace and praise of God.
Mr. Yamani concluded his speech at the Phoenicia Intercontinental Hotel Beirut, saying: “Let me be very clear, I will continue as I am mandated by my clients to pursue this matter legally, if I have to. However, my clients and my legal team will continue our efforts to settle this matter amicably in order to avoid multiple jurisdictional litigation in pursuit of a very significant amount of damages on behalf of my clients. I truly do hope and once again I extend my invitation to the editors of the Danish Newspapers to try to understand our point of view and stop being hostile to a simple request that would benefit Denmark's cultural image and commercial ties.
With regard to Denmark’s image I note the courageous acts of Danish citizens in the Second World War who risked their own lives to save Denmark’s Jewish citizens from the atrocities of the holocaust.
I also note that you are a nation of leaders in the medical, dairy production, shipping, and energy industry.
It would be a shame if the acts of a few were allowed to tarnish and continue to negatively affect Denmark's image.”
