Topic: Flemming Rose

Flemming Rose (born March 11, 1958) is a Danish journalist, author and the current cultural editor at the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten. He was principally responsible for the publishing of the cartoons that initiated the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy.

Rose has a major in Russian language and literature from University of Copenhagen. From 1990 to 1996 he was the Moscow correspondent for the newspaper Berlingske Tidende. Between 1996 and 1999 he was the correspondent for the same newspaper in Washington, D.C.. In 1999 he became Moscow correspondent for the newspaper Jyllands-Posten and in April 2004 the cultural editor of that paper (KulturWeekend), replacing Sven Bedsted.

Rose is best known for commissioning the drawings of Muhammad in the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy that were published on 30 September 2005. His reasoning was that the public of Europe had witnessed severe examples of self-censorship because of possible violent threats from groups from the Muslim minority. Eventually it was the experience of a Danish writer of children's books, Kåre Bluitgen, who seemingly couldn't find illustrators to a book about the life of the Prophet Muhammad. Jyllands-Posten asked illustrators to depict Muhammad "as you see him". Among the cartoons there were two which caricatured the writer, Bluitgen, one that made a laugh of Jyllands-Posten itself, caricatures of Danish politicians and one which depicted Muhammad with a bomb in his turban. In the text that supported the publishing of the 12 cartoons Rose wrote: "The modern, secular society is rejected by some Muslims. They demand a special position, insisting on special consideration of their own religious feelings. It is incompatible with contemporary democracy and freedom of speech, where you must be ready to put up with insults, mockery and ridicule."