HAS DENMARK LEARNED THE RIGHT LESSONS FROM THE MOHAMMED CARTOON INTIFADA?

The BBC asks if Denmark has learned their lesson. What lesson might that be?

Almost everyone agrees that the ensuing row was a wake-up call for Denmark. Ironically, the controversy may have been what the country needed to begin engaging with its Muslim citizens.

As the row turned international, traders and supermarkets across the Arab world began boycotting Danish goods. The latest figures from Danish Industry (DI) suggest that export of Danish foods to Muslim countries has fallen 35% while other European countries have seen a 10% rise in exports to the same region.

The question everyone is asking is has Denmark learned its lesson?

The BBC neglects to mention that Danish exports to America were up 17%. It would seem to me that one lesson Denmark may then have learned is that America is their friend who will stick by them in times of trouble, and, well, Europe is not. So, I ask again, "Has Denmark learned their lesson?" I think they have:

53% of Danes: Publication of cartoons was right

A majority of Danes still support the decision to print the controversial Prophet Muhammad cartoons that enraged much of the Islamic world, according to a poll published Saturday on the one-year anniversary of the printing.

The survey by pollster Ramboell Management - published by the Jyllands-Posten daily, the newspaper that first printed the drawings - showed 53 percent of Danes still think it was correct to publish the cartoons as a demonstration of free speech.

Lesson learned. Thanks for fighting for free speech Denmark.