Ahmed Akkari (born 1978 in

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus lie ...

) ( ar, أحمد عكاري) is a Danish

political activist A political movement is a collective attempt by a group of people to change government policy or social values. Political movements are usually in opposition to an element of the status quo, and are often associated with a certain ideology. Some ...

who became known for his involvement in the

Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy The ''Jyllands-Posten'' Muhammad cartoons controversy (or Muhammad cartoons crisis, da, Muhammedkrisen) began after the Danish newspaper ''Jyllands-Posten'' published 12 editorial cartoons on 30 September 2005, most of which depicted Muhamma ...

. Widely called an "

Imam Imam (; ar, إمام '; plural: ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, serve ...

" in the media, he himself denied being one. He was a co-author of the

Akkari-Laban dossier The Akkari-Laban dossier ( ar, ملف عكّاري لبن) is a 43-page document which was created by a group of Danish Muslim clerics from multiple organizations set out to present their case and ask for support from Islamic leadership in Egypt, ...

, which played a major role in the ''

Jyllands-Posten ''Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten'' (; English: ''The Morning Newspaper "The Jutland Post"''), commonly shortened to ''Jyllands-Posten'' or ''JP'', is a Danish daily broadsheet newspaper. It is based in Aarhus C, Jutland, and with a weekday circula ...

'' Muhammad cartoons controversy by bringing the issue to the attention of influential decision-makers in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

. In 2013 he distanced himself from his former position and in June 2020 became one of the founders of the political party New Centre-Left.

Early years

Ahmed Akkari was born in

in 1978. In 1985 the Akkaris family came to

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

, where they obtained

asylum Asylum may refer to: Types of asylum * Asylum (antiquity), places of refuge in ancient Greece and Rome * Benevolent Asylum, a 19th-century Australian institution for housing the destitute * Cities of Refuge, places of refuge in ancient Judea ...

, but returned to

in 1990. Upon their return to Denmark a year later they found they did not qualify as refugees again, because the

Lebanese Civil War The Lebanese Civil War ( ar, الحرب الأهلية اللبنانية, translit=Al-Ḥarb al-Ahliyyah al-Libnāniyyah) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 120,000 fatalities a ...

was over. With the support of some Danish local media, which featured young Ahmed as a model immigrant, they were granted a humanitarian residency permit in 1994. Ahmed Akkari subsequently went to high school and trained as a teacher in

Århus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and approximately northwest ...

. He became a Danish citizen in 2005 which made him eligible to be evacuated from Lebanon again in 2006.

Legal matters

In 2001 Ahmed Akkari was sentenced to 40 days in prison for beating an 11-year-old schoolboy on 3 November 2000 because the boy had allegedly been bullying Akkari's little sister. The sentence was suspended because Akkari was a first-time offender. Akkari, who was studying to be a teacher at the time, was present that day at Muslim private schoo
Lykkeskolen
in Aarhus where he was working as an apprentice teacher. According to sources at the school quoted in ''Ekstra-Bladet'', his 11-year-old sister was playing with a boy from her class and the boy accidentally pulled her headscarf off. Akkari sought out the boy, pulled his ear drawing blood, and threw him to the ground kicking him several times.

Cartoons controversy

During the

Akkari acted as a spokesman of the Danish-based European Committee for Prophet Honouring and spokesman of the Islamisk Trossamfund (Islamic Society in Denmark).

Controversial statements

In a documentary published by French television channel

France 2 France 2 () is a French public national television channel. It is part of the state-owned France Télévisions group, along with France 3, France 4 and France 5. France Télévisions also participates in Arte and Euronews. Since 3:20 CET on 7 A ...

on 23 March 2006, Akkari was recorded - using a

hidden camera A hidden camera or spy camera is a camera used to photograph or record subjects, often people, without their knowledge. The camera may be considered "hidden" because it is not visible to the subject being filmed, or is disguised as another obj ...

- in conversation with Sheikh Raed Hlayhel (who was the head of the delegation to disseminate the "

"). Akkari made a statement which can be interpreted as an

implicit Implicit may refer to: Mathematics * Implicit function * Implicit function theorem * Implicit curve * Implicit surface * Implicit differential equation Other uses * Implicit assumption, in logic * Implicit-association test, in social psycholog ...

death threat A death threat is a threat, often made anonymously, by one person or a group of people to kill another person or group of people. These threats are often designed to intimidate victims in order to manipulate their behaviour, in which case a d ...

against Naser Khader, who is a moderate Muslim and, at the time, a member of the Danish parliament for the Social Liberal Party. According to the footage Akkari said: ''"...If Khader becomes minister of integration, shouldn't someone dispatch two guys to blow up him and his ministry?..."''. The comment was disputed. In the Arabic-French translation, Akkari calls for an attack on the ministry, but in two Arabic-Danish translations, Akkari merely states the possibility of such an attack. TV2's Arabic-Danish translation says ''"...If he (Khader) becomes minister of integration, isn't it possible that a couple (of people) would come to blow up him and his ministry?..."''. A fellow party member from Khader's

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often featu ...

Elsebeth Gerner Nielsen reported Ahmed Akkari to the police. Ahmed Akkari initially denied the statements, but later apologized and stated it was meant as a joke. The following day, 24 March 2006, Islamisk Trossamfund announced that Ahmed Akkari was no longer spokesman for the organization; Akkari denied this.

Apology

In July 2013 Akkari distanced himself from the actions he took as an Imam in promoting fundamentalism. He stated that he had come to see the value of free speech, and apologized for his behavior during the Muhammad crisis. He also met with the cartoonist

Kurt Westergaard Kurt Westergaard (born Kurt Vestergaard; 13 July 1935 – 14 July 2021) was a Danish cartoonist. In 2005 he drew a cartoon of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, wearing a bomb in his turban as a part of the ''Jyllands-Posten'' Muhammad cartoons, w ...

and apologized in person. hmad Akkari, Danish Muslim Leader In Cartoon Rage Regrets Role, Apologizes To Cartoonist Kurt Westergaard http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/10/ahmad-akkari-danish-cartoon-_n_3736359.html /ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Akkari, Ahmed 1978 births Living people People associated with the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy Lebanese emigrants to Denmark Former Muslim critics of Islam Danish critics of Islam Former Muslims turned agnostics or atheists