Anders Gravers Pedersen (born 13 May 1960) is a Danish anti-Islam activist. He is the chairman and founder of Stop the Islamisation of Denmark (SIAD) and leader of Stop Islamisation of Europe (SIOE). [1] He has also been part of the transatlantic connections between SIOE and Stop Islamization of America. [2]
Gravers Pedersen has been instrumental in forming the street-based activist parts of the counter-jihad movement since he founded SIAD in 2005. [3]
In March 2012, Gravers Pedersen participated in staging a rally and arranging an anti-Islamic conference along with the English Defence League in Århus. [1] Two years earlier, in 2010, he was allegedly assaulted at a rally in Aalborg. [4] In 2008 SIAD and Gravers Pedersen in the capacity of leading SIOE were each sentenced to pay fines of DKK 10,000 for violating a court order against using Kurt Westergaard's Muhammad cartoons at a rally. [5] [6]
Gravers Pedersen attempted to run for a seat in the Danish parliament, Folketinget, in 2012 [7] and in 2009. [8] He contested municipal elections in Aalborg in 2005 and gained 383 votes and the group Stop the Islamisation of Denmark [ da ] received a total of 1,172 votes. This represented less than 1% of the votes cast in the election. [9] At the 2007 Danish Parliamentary Election Pedersen stood in Jutland and gained 73 votes. [10]
The Danish People's Party is a nationalist and right-wing populist political party in Denmark. It was formed in 1995 by former members of the Progress Party (FrP).
The Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons were first published by Jyllands-Posten in late September 2005; approximately two weeks later, nearly 3,500 people demonstrated peacefully in Copenhagen. In November, several European newspapers re-published the images, triggering more protests.
Kristian Thulesen Dahl is a Danish director and former politician who served as Leader of the Danish People's Party (DPP) from 2012 to 2022. He was a Member of the Folketing (MF) from September 1994 until July 2022, first representing Fremskridtspartiet until 6 October 1995 and then the DPP from that date until 29 June 2022, when he became an independent.
Descriptions of the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons include explanations for Danish cultural references as well as English translations of Danish and Persian captions; these cartoons became the center of widespread controversy upon their publication in September 2005.
The Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy began after the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten published 12 editorial cartoons on 30 September 2005, most of which depicted Muhammad, a principal figure of the religion of Islam. The newspaper announced that this was an attempt to contribute to the debate about criticism of Islam and self-censorship. Muslim groups in Denmark complained, and the issue eventually led to protests around the world, including violence and riots in some Muslim countries.
Storvorde is a small town to the east of Aalborg in Denmark with a population of 3,431.
Inger Støjberg is a Danish convicted felon, politician, businesswoman and former reporter who served as a government minister in the Danish Parliament.
Morten Messerschmidt is a Danish politician and since 2022 leader of the Danish People's Party. He was an elected Member of the Folketing at the 2019 Danish general election having previously served from 2005 to 2009. At the 2014 European Parliament election, he was elected a Member of the European Parliament for Denmark with 465,758; the highest number of personal votes ever cast at a Danish election.
Stop Islamisation of Europe (SIOE) is a pan-European counter-jihad organisation with the stated goal of "preventing Islam from becoming a dominant political force in Europe". It is a political interest group which has been active in Denmark and has conducted anti-Islamic protests in the United Kingdom. The group originated out of the joining of the Danish group Stop Islamisation of Denmark with English anti-Islam activists.
Stop Islamisation of Norway is a Norwegian anti-Muslim group that was originally established in 2000. Its stated aim is to work against Islam, which it defines as a totalitarian political ideology that violates the Norwegian Constitution as well as democratic and human values. The organisation was formerly led by Arne Tumyr, and is now led by Lars Thorsen.
Stop Islamization of America (SIOA), also known as the American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI), is an anti-Muslim, pro-Israel American counter-jihad organization known primarily for its controversial, Islamophobic advertising campaigns. The group has been described as extremist and far-right. The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) lists SIOA as an anti-Muslim hate group.
Freedom – Civil Rights Party for More Freedom and Democracy, also known as The Freedom, was a political party in Germany which identified as conservative-liberal or classical liberal. The party, described by German mainstream media as right-wing populist, was known for its criticism of Islam.
Counter-jihad, also known as the counter-jihad movement, is a self-titled political current loosely consisting of authors, bloggers, think tanks, street movements and campaign organisations all linked by beliefs that view Islam not as a religion but as a worldview that constitutes an existential threat to Western civilization. Consequently, counter-jihadists consider all Muslims as a potential threat, especially when they are already living within Western boundaries. Western Muslims accordingly are portrayed as a "fifth column", collectively seeking to destabilize Western nations' identity and values for the benefit of an international Islamic movement intent on the establishment of a caliphate in Western countries. The counter-jihad movement has been variously described as anti-Islamic, Islamophobic, inciting hatred against Muslims, and far-right. Influential figures in the movement include the bloggers Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer.
Stop Islamisation of Denmark is a Danish anti-Islam organisation founded in 2005. The group was founded by Anders Gravers Pedersen who influenced the development of the counter-jihad movement.
The European Defence League (EDL) is a largely UK-based offshoot of the English Defence League founded by Tommy Robinson which campaigns against what it considers sharia law and itself has various offshoots. The group was set up in October 2010 and held its first demonstration that month in Amsterdam, Netherlands, at the trial of Dutch anti-Islam politician Geert Wilders.
Stram Kurs is a nationalist, Anti-Islamic political party in Denmark and Sweden founded in 2017 by Danish-Swedish lawyer Rasmus Paludan. The party is almost exclusively associated with its founder and his anti-Islam activism and demonstrations. It is considered a radical far right fringe party by political scientists and news media.
Pernille Skipper is a former Danish politician. She was a member of the Folketing from 2011 to 2022, and was political spokesperson for the Red–Green Alliance from 2016 to 2021, succeeding Johanne Schmidt-Nielsen. In 2021 she was replaced by Mai Villadsen.
Rasmus Prehn is a Danish politician who is currently serving as the Minister for Food, Agriculture and Fisheries. He previously served as Minister for Development Cooperation from 2019 to 2020. He has been a member of the Folketing since the 2005 Danish general election.
Theresa Birgitta Brønnum Scavenius is Danish politician. She is an associate professor at Aalborg University Copenhagen with climate politics as her research area. She is a member of the green political party The Alternative, and was a candidate at the 2019 Danish general election, but did not get elected. She was a candidate to succeed Uffe Elbæk as political leader of the party, when he resigned in February 2020, but lost to Josephine Fock.
The International Civil Liberties Alliance (ICLA) is an international counter-jihad organization that was originally founded in 2006, and which has spanned over twenty countries. Central to the organization has been Edward S. May of the Gates of Vienna blog, Christine Brim and Alain Wagner.
Media related to Anders Gravers Pedersen at Wikimedia Commons