International Free Press Society

Overview

The IFPS was created as an extension of the Danish Free Press Society, founded in 2004 by Lars Hedegaard among others. According to its own account, the Free Press Society arose because of increasing pressure on free speech, including the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoon crisis. The Free Press Society claims to be "Denmark's biggest organisation exclusively devoted to defending the right of free expression." The society is considered a key component of the counter-jihad movement and in the article The Muslim Conspiracy and the Oslo Massacre Liz Fekete, the executive director of the independent educational charity named Institute of Race Relations, argues that it is an instrument for pushing the boundaries of hate speech.

The International Free Press Society has contact with a range of international critics of Islam who argue that islamisation threatens Freedom of Speech, including Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Ibn Warraq, Daniel Pipes, Geert Wilders, Bruce Bawer and Henryk Broder. It also relays information from other sources, amongst which are the blogs Gates of Vienna and Jihad Watch, which have been characterised as islamophobic.

The Danish Free Press Society, among others, awarded Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard the Sappho Award, an award given to a 'journalist who combines excellence in his work with courage and a refusal to compromise'. His editor Flemming Rose is another recipient. As culture editor of Jyllands-Posten he commissioned the Muhammad cartoons, a move that resulted in the chief editor sending him on leave.

Muslim hate-speech case

On 22 December 2009 the Chairman of the Danish Free Press Society, and then member of the Danish People's Party, Lars Hedegaard, gave an interview in which he declared that Muslims "rape their own children. It is heard of all the time. Girls in Muslim families are raped by their uncles, their cousins or their fathers." He also stated that "Whenever it is prudent for a Muslim to hide his true intentions by lying or making a false oath in his own or in Islam’s service, then it is ok to do it."

Søren Krarup a fellow party member, said that Hedegaard's remarks were justified, though they could have been more "carefully" stated. He instead blamed the controversy on a "media mafia" whom he accused of distorting Hedegaard's statements. Søren Espersen defended Hedegaard's remarks. Others were more critical, and Hedegaard's interview led to the immediate resignation of three Free Press Society board members: Liberal Party MP Søren Pind the Conservative Party's Integration spokesman Naser Khader and the Lutheran priest Kathrine Lilleør. Vicechairman in the Integration Council in Aarhus Municipality Yilmaz Evcil reported Lars Hedegaard to the police, and the public attorney chose to make a case against him for violating the Danish anti-racism laws. His trial began 24 January 2011. He was acquitted of all charges on 31 January 2011; however, the Eastern Regional Court reversed the acquittal in May 2011. He appealed against the verdict, and in 2012, the Supreme Court acquitted him in a 7-0 decision.

Organization

The "Board of Directors" includes Lars Hedegaard, Diana West, Paul Beliën (editor of The Brussels Journal), Christine Brim, Bjørn Larsen and Edward S. May (editor of Gates of Vienna). It has national branches in such countries as the United Kingdom, where Paul Weston is or was the President of the English branch. The Board of Advisors includes Bat Ye'or, Andrew Bostom, Rachel Ehrenfeld, Brigitte Gabriel, Frank Gaffney, David B. Harris, Ibn Warraq, Hans Jansen, Ehsan Jami, Philippe Karsenty, Roger Kimball, Ezra Levant, Kenneth Levin, Andrew C. McCarthy, Daniel Pipes, Nidra Poller, Roger Scruton, Kathy Shaidle, Robert Spencer, Martin Mawyer, Mark Steyn, Brad Thor, Bruce Thornton, Allen West, Geert Wilders, Banafsheh Zand-Bonazzi, Sam Solomon, Helle Merete Brix and Stephen Coughlin.

Gunman attack on Lars Hedegaard

On 5 February 2013 it was reported that a gunman had tried to shoot the organization's president, Lars Hedegaard. Hedegaard was not physically harmed. The attack was condemned by Denmark's prime minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt, other leading Danish politicians and Dutch politician Geert Wilders.

References

References

1. Kühn-Nielsen, Peter. (28 April 2014). "Trykkefrihedsselskabet af 2004". Den store danske.
2. "Interview on rightsidenews.com".
3. [http://www.trykkefrihed.dk/free-press-society.htm Homepage of Danish Free Press Society] {{webarchive. link. (2012-05-11)
4. (17 September 2020). "Factsheet: Counter-Jihad Movement". Georgetown University.
5. Pertwee, Ed. (2020). "Donald Trump, the anti-Muslim far right and the new conservative revolution". Ethnic and Racial Studies.
6. Othen, Christopher. (2018). "Soldiers of a Different God: How the Counter-Jihad Movement Created Mayhem, Murder and the Trump Presidency". Amberley.
7. Fekete, Liz. (2012). "The Muslim conspiracy theory and the Oslo massacre". Race & Class.
8. "Interview with Ayaan Hirsi Ali".
9. "Sappho description".
10. [http://www.internationalfreepresssociety.org/ The International Free Press Society web page]
11. (7 February 2006). "Drawn conclusions". [[The Guardian]].
12. (24 April 2012). "Menn overrepresentert på islamfiendtlige nettsteder". [[Norsk Telegrambyrå]] in ABCnyheter.no.
13. "Welcome to The Free Press Society (Free Press Society web page)". Trykkefrihedsselskabet.
14. (15 September 2010). "Eva Agnete Selsings tale til Mark Steyn". Trykkefrihedsselskabet.
15. (10 February 2006). "Cartoon row editor sent on leave". [[British Broadcasting Company]].
16. Gwladys Fouché. (9 February 2006). "Danish paper in U-turn on Holocaust cartoons". [[The Guardian]].
17. (21 December 2010). "Lars Hedegaard:Muslimer er voldtægtsmænd og løgnere". Politiken.dk.
18. (2009-12-23). "Uproar in Free Press Society". [[The Copenhagen Post]]}}{{Dead link.
19. [http://politiken.dk/politik/article875282.ece Politiken.dk Politiken.dk - "Krarup: Hedegaard angrebet af kulturradikal mediemafia ", 7 January 2010]
20. [http://politiken.dk/kultur/tvogradio/article867698.ece Politiken.dk - "Borgerlige smæk til Trykkefrihedsselskabet", 24 December 2009]
21. [http://www.berlingske.dk/politik/lars-hedegaard-fortryder-ikke-sine-udtalelser Berlingske.dk - "Lars Hedegaard fortryder ikke sine udtalelser", 23 December 2009]
22. [http://politiken.dk/indland/ECE866452/lars-hedegaard-meldt-til-politi-for-racisme/ Politiken.dk - "Lars Hedegaard meldt til politi for racisme" - 22 December 2009]
23. "''Copenhagen Post'' - "Chairman faces racism charges" - August 4 2010".
24. "''The Copenhagen Post'': "Free speech advocate acquitted on racism charges", February 1, 2011".
25. (2011-05-03). "President of Danish Free Press Society convicted for 'Racism'". Europe News.
26. Ann Snyder. (2012-04-21). "Danish Supreme Court Acquits Hedegaard". The Legal Project.
27. (11 January 2018). "International counter-jihad organisations: International Free Press Society (IFPS)". Hope not hate.
28. [http://www.hopenothate.org.uk/counter-jihad/country/UK#id-135 Hope Not Hate Profile: Paul Weston] {{webarchive. link. (2014-03-10)
29. [[Associated Press]]: [https://web.archive.org/web/20130206144936/http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/report-gunman-fires-at-danish-anti-islam-writer-misses/2013/02/05/791ebd06-6f97-11e2-b35a-0ee56f0518d2_story.html Gunman fires at Danish anti-Islam writer, misses] ''[[Washington Post]]'', 5 February 2013
30. Kenneth Lund:[http://politiken.dk/politik/ECE1889431/politikere-er-forfaerdede-nu-maa-vi-staa-sammen/ Politikere er forfærdede: Nu må vi stå sammen] (In [[Danish language. Danish]]) ''[[Politiken]]'', 5 February 2013