News:

Just a few days ago, a Danish paper had access to the secret press policy of the Danish Defense Force in regards to the new coalition war in Iraq and Syria. It reveals that Denmark is coordinating the communication very closely with both USA and Great Britain, and that Denmark directly has told the US Central Command (CENTCOM), not to mention Danish airstrikes in Iraq.

The secret press policy states: "It is the objective of the collective communication activity, to strengthen the understanding and support of the military contribution within the population and the decision makers".

Comment:

All systems and governments need public opinion to in order to maintain a stable and productive society, and this is where the battle for hearts and minds become crucial. In order to justify political decisions, politics, media and public opinion become close related.

Denmark has participated in all US-led coalition wars since the first invasion of Iraq in 1990, but there has been as good as no debate about it, and now 15 years later, it has become completely natural for the population to send their sons and husbands to war without any consideration. It is to the extent, that analysts say that the Danes have become more American than the Americans, because no one debates American decisions. This is unique for Denmark since it is due to an almost unanimous support for the wars across the political spectra and from all large national media, which is found very few places in the world.

A Senior Researcher at Danish Studies for International Affairs (DIIS), who studied the Danish war mentality, earlier stated, that the lack of debate stems from the understanding that, as a small nation there has to be political consensus about security policy. Based on this consensus, moral and diplomatic arguments to the public, have justified 15 years of unbroken loyalty to US led wars.

All this is uncritically supported and portrayed by mainstream media, which only adds to create and cement public opinion. A study, from the University of Copenhagen, by the title: "When Media of a Small Nation Argue for War", states that, to a large extent Danish media reflects the opinion of the political elite. This is further strengthened by the fact that all Danish journalists are embedded when visiting conflict zones, and always focus on ends and not means. The focus is on humanitarian goals and not civilian casualties.

In line with Obama, they claim that it is a war on terror and not against Islam. This is while creating negative stereotypes of Muslims and Islam and frightening the population with talk of overhanging terror threats.

It is vital for Muslims at large, and especially for those who have taken it upon themselves to resume the Islamic way of life, to understand these relations, mechanisms and our role. We need to expose the real motivations and the devastating result of wars against Islam and in Muslim lands. Not only towards the Muslim minority, but also towards the original western populations.

An increased awareness within the original population could result in lack of public support for further invasions of Muslims lands. This will not only benefit us as a Muslim nation on a short run, but also on the long run. When the Righteous Khilafah "Caliphate" according to the method of the Prophet ﷺ is established, it might weaken support for declaring unconditional war.

It is time for us Muslims, here in the west, to break loose from the mental chains of inferiority and fear. We need to challenge stereotypes and propaganda and engage in the battle for hearts and minds.

Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Junes Kock
Media Representative of Hizb ut Tahrir in Scandinavia