Danish Muhammad Cartoon Reprinted
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Danish newspapers have reprinted one of several caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad which sparked violent protests across the Muslim world two years ago.
They say they wanted to show their commitment to freedom of speech after an alleged plot to kill one of the cartoonists behind the drawings.
Three suspects were held in Denmark on Tuesday “to prevent a murder linked to terrorism”, officials said.
The cartoons were originally published by Jyllands-Posten in September 2005.
Danish embassies were attacked around the world and dozens died in riots that followed.
‘Defiant’
Jyllands-Posten and many other major newspapers—including Politiken and Berlingske Tidende—reprinted the caricature in their Wednesday editions.
The cartoon depicts Muhammad wearing a turban shaped like a bomb with a lit fuse.
The editors say no-one should feel their life is threatened because of a drawing.
“We are doing this to document what is at stake in this case, and to unambiguously back and support the freedom of speech that we as a newspaper will always defend,” Berlingske Tidende said.
The cartoon was also broadcast on national television, and even newspapers that were originally against the publication of the caricatures are now backing the campaign to defend freedom of speech, the BBC’s Thomas Buch-Andersen in Copenhagen says.
One Danish tabloid published all 12 drawings, the Associated Press news agency reported.
‘Deeply shaken’
On Tuesday, the head of the Danish Security and Intelligence Service (Pet), Jakob Sharf, said its operatives had carried out pre-dawn raids in the Aarhus region.
The three suspects—two Tunisians and a Dane of Moroccan origin—had been detained “after lengthy surveillance”, he added.
The Danish citizen will be released pending further investigation, while the Tunisians will be held until they are expelled from the country.
The Pet did not identify the target of the alleged plot, but the online edition of Jyllands-Posten said its cartoonist, Kurt Westergaard, was the focus.
The newspaper, based in Aarhus, said Mr Westergaard, 73, and his 66-year-old wife, Gitte, had been under police protection for the past three months.
In a statement on Jyllands-Posten’s website, Mr Westergaard said: “Of course I fear for my life when the police intelligence service say that some people have concrete plans to kill me.
“But I have turned fear into anger and resentment.”
The editor of Jyllands-Posten, Carsten Juste, said he and his staff had been “deeply shaken” by the news.
“We’d become more or less used to death threats and bomb threats since the cartoons, but it’s the first time that we’ve heard about actual murder plans—that’s new,” he said.
Muslim anger
The BBC’s Thomas Buch-Andersen in Copenhagen says the arrests have stunned people in Denmark, where the furore over the cartoons was thought to have passed.
Mr Westergaard was one of 12 artists behind the drawings but he was responsible for what was considered the most controversial of the pictures.
The cartoons were later reprinted by more than 50 newspapers, triggering a wave of protests in parts of the Muslim world.
The demonstrations culminated a year ago with the torching of Danish diplomatic offices in Damascus and Beirut and dozens of deaths in Nigeria, Libya and Pakistan.
(Posted on February 13, 2008)
5 Nabbed Over Alleged Cartoon Plot
Press TV (Tehran), February 12, 2008
Danish police have made several arrests near the city of Aarhus to counter an alleged plan to murder the cartoonist of Prophet Mohammad.
The head of Danish security police Jakob Scharf said the suspects had been under surveillance for some time and were arrested as “a preventive measure”.
Public broadcaster Danmarks Radio (DR) announced that at least five arrests were made.
The Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard’s cartoons sparked large-scale protests in several Muslim countries and triggered boycotts of Danish goods.
Westergaard and his wife have for several months lived under police protection and have had to move to several secret locations.
Comments
“We are doing this to document what is at stake…” _Berlingske Tidende
Hey! Quit with the cub reporter bit already and run for leader of the free world! Okay? Please?!? Before it`s too late…
Posted by Tim Mc HUgh at 6:25 PM on February 13
I was disappointed there were no copies of the cartoons with the article.
Now I will have to search the web.
…and when I find them, I will email them to everyone I know or ever heard of with instructions for them to email them to everyone they know or ever heard of!
Posted by Sissy White at 7:23 PM on February 13
..let the islamic based killing begin…
Posted by toonces at 7:24 PM on February 13
“The three suspects—two Tunisians and a Dane of Moroccan origin—had been detained “after lengthy surveillance”, he added.
The Danish citizen will be released pending further investigation, while the Tunisians will be held until they are expelled from the country.”
This is why no Western nation should grant citizenship to any non-Westerner. The Tunisians can be expelled but they are stuck with the ‘Dane of Moroccan’ descent (in other words ‘a Moroccan who we foolishly granted citizenship’).
Posted by Civilized Neighbor at 7:38 PM on February 13
The three suspects—two Tunisians and a Dane of Moroccan origin—had been detained “after lengthy surveillance”….
In other words, two Tunisians and a Moroccan.
The demonstrations culminated a year ago with the torching of Danish diplomatic offices in Damascus and Beirut and dozens of deaths in Nigeria, Libya and Pakistan.
Which only proves that such paople are suffering from a grave mental ilness called Islam.
Posted by browser at 8:34 PM on February 13
How long will this Muslim threat of murders, bombings and mayhem continue? Will it be ten, 20, 30 or 50 years?
Will this foolish society that upset their peaceful, homogeneous country with an assinine desire to bring in outsiders who hate them and refuse to assimilate ever realize how much better off they would have been if they hadn’t opted for this madness?
Or will they continue pretending that diversity is their strength as they increase their police presence everywhere, watching, listening, waiting, hoping to catch a plot before it is hatched and many innocents killed?
Posted by ice at 11:00 PM on February 13
We must cultivate Romanians.
Romanians know how to deal with invading Muslims.
Vlad the Impaler - Dracula didn’t allow the invading Muslim Turks to broadcast Muslim “calls to prayer” 5 times a day.
Posted by JR at 11:58 PM on February 13
Interesting that whilst the BBC reports that the picrtures were reprinted in defiance against the attempts by Islamists to deny people freedom of expression, they themselves did not have the guts to do so.
The BBC has already lost all semblance of dignity in it cringe towards Islam.
However when the UK becomes an Islamic state the gays and feminists who run the BBC are swinging at the end of a rope or spreadeagled in a hareem some balance will be restored.
What goes around comes around.
Posted by Geoff Miller at 4:19 AM on February 14
I would like to see a work of the Koran in a bottle of urine. I think this would be legal. Wasn’t there an exhibit displayed in various museums not so long of Christ in urine? I think it was titled “Christ in Piss.”
Posted by Drew at 5:45 AM on February 14
Remember that during the original incident, no publisher in the U.S. would publish those cartoons. The Danes are far ahead of us in terms of commitment to real freedom and in integrity as well.
Posted by Whiteplight at 1:16 PM on February 14
If they were being truly defiant, they defy the Muslims by deporting all of them.
Posted by John R. Kennedy at 1:38 PM on February 14
“when the UK becomes an Islamic state the gays and feminists who run the BBC are swinging at the end of a rope or spreadeagled in a hareem some balance will be restored.”
Posted by Geoff Miller
————————————
And where will THEIR bosses be? What will have happened to THEM?
Posted by at 4:02 PM on February 14
Ice asked: How long will this Muslim threat of murders, bombings and mayhem continue? Will it be ten, 20, 30 or 50 years?
It will last for another 72 years, at least. Look at the dateline on the BBC article:
BBC News, February 13, 2080
2080? Now that’s a scoop!
Posted by Reg at 5:26 PM on February 14
What I fail to understand is why the Danes haven’t started the deportations of these people. Obviously they are trashing Denmark yet little is being done by the authorities. Guess their government is as spinless as the American government has become.
Posted by at 10:25 AM on February 15
I dont know if any of you guys have noticed the current trouble in immigrant areas of copenhagen over the last few nights looks like the intifada is coming to denmark.
Posted by at 11:33 AM on February 15
I push for all Western media sources to start publishing similar art work. It would be great to see so many people in the West flood the papers and televisions with depictions of the Pedophile Mohammed in this manner. Muslims would not be able to single out targets if almost every media and press source made mainstream images like these on a weekly basis. It would eat them alive and frustrate them beyond reality.
Posted by Team_Euro at 4:27 PM on February 15
The british people must make the politicians more afraid of them than the terrorist muslims.
folding to terrorist bully threats will only lead to the later slaughter.
Posted by at 5:01 AM on February 26