Berkley Center

I was on a bus returning to Copenhagen from Malmo, Sweden when I received a text from my dad telling me there had been a shooting in Copenhagen. It seemed almost impossible to be true considering the incredibly low rate of gun violence in Denmark. But soon it was all over the news: how a man had killed one person and wounded others at a free speech event. Late that night, the same man took another innocent life at a synagogue in the center of the city. The main Metro station had to be evacuated, causing confusion and anxiety among those trying to get home. By the early morning, the police had found and killed the perpetrator.

After a night of violence most likely inspired by the similar events that took place in Paris a month earlier, I had expected the residents of Copenhagen to be distraught and anxious in the following days. However, people seemed to carry on with life as usual. Except for a somber memorial service and a slight increase in police presence, there was little change in the way people acted. No one was willing to let one fanatic interrupt his or her life.

Just as in Paris, the Danes refused to let the attack scare them into silence, and I soon learned how important free speech is in this country. It is visible in everyday life through the Danes’ demeanor. Danes, and perhaps Europeans in general, can come off as very blunt. Perhaps because their society is so homogenous and they share so many of the same values, Danes worry less about being rude since they are unlikely to truly offend anyone. They say what they mean without beating around the bush and do not adhere to the same rules of political correctness that Americans do.

However, Islam has been a sensitive subject in Denmark lately. In recent decades, there has been a large influx of immigrants from the Middle East, and not everyone is happy about it. Anti-immigration protests, while not necessarily representative of most Danes’ beliefs, are relatively common.

The major example of conflict between Muslim and non-Muslim Danes occurred a few years ago, when a local newspaper hosted a competition for drawings of Muhammad. In Islam, it is forbidden to create visual representations of the Prophet, and a few of the drawings were especially incensing for some Muslims. But for Danes, the right to free speech always comes first.

The likely target of the first shooting, Lars Vilks, is a Swedish artist who has created controversy with his own drawings of Muhammad. To him and to most Danes, using the topic of Islam for satire is entirely justified. Making fun of Islam, just as certain writers and artists make fun of Christianity and Judaism, puts all religions on a level playing field. Danes believe that they are making Islam equal to other religions by not giving it special treatment.

It is easy to see how miscommunication could occur between these artists and Muslim leaders. However, I believe that the artists never meant to be insulting—they onlywanted to start a conversation. And almost no one on either side of the story believes that violence is a productive means to deal with the tension at hand.