Danes clash on web in Prophet row

The controversy in Denmark over the reprinting of one of the 12 cartoons satirising the Prophet Muhammad this week has triggered an unusual dialogue on social networking group Facebook, writes the BBC's religious affairs correspondent Frances Harrison.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7247286.stm

 

 

The Jyllands-Posten

Murder plot against Danish cartoonist

Published 12.02.08 08:21 - updated 17:31

Early Tuesday morning, Danish police arrested three men with a Muslim background suspected of conspiring to kill Kurt Westergaard, a Danish cartoonist with Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten.

Two of those arrested are Tunisian citizens, one a Danish citizen, according to the Danish Security and Intelligence Service, which has kept the group under surveillance for months.

The 40-year old Danish citizen is of Moroccan origin. Upon his arrest, he was charged with attempted violation of section 114 of the Danish anti-terrorism act. On Tuesday evening, after being interrogated, he was discharged.

Pursuant to the regulations of the Danish aliens’ act, the two Tunisian citizens are held in custody in preparation for expulsion from Denmark. On Thursday 14th Feb., the two Tunisian citizens will be brought before a judge for the latter to determine whether detention regulations have been observed. The Danish Ministry of Refugee, Immigration and Integration Affairs has sanctioned their expulsion from Denmark.

Mohammed with a bomb

Kurt Westergaard is one of the 12 cartoonists who on 30 September 2005 published cartoons of Muslim prophet Mohammed.

The cartoons and an explanatory article led, as is well known, to the so-called Mohammed crisis involving violent demonstrations, the boycott of Danish goods and the burning of Danish embassies.

Kurt Westergaard’s cartoon depicting the prophet wearing a bomb turban with a lit fuse attracted particular attention. What the cartoonist wanted to say with his cartoon was that many people exploit the prophet to legitimize terror. However, the cartoon was widely seen as a depiction of the prophet as a terrorist.

Editor-in-Chief deeply worried

Statement by Carsten Juste, Editor-in-Chief of Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten, overall content responsibility under Danish media laws:

"Deeply worried and for several months, the management of Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten have followed the discreet efforts by the Danish Security and Intelligence Service to protect Kurt Westergaard from concrete murder threats. The arrests have hopefully thwarted the murder plans. We sympathize with Kurt Westergaard and his family who are forced to live under unreasonable pressure. It is appalling that as a reward a man who to the best of his ability goes about his work and carries it out in accordance with Danish law, the Danish media ethics code and Danish media traditions was demonized and had his life threatened. We are grateful to the Danish authorities for protecting our colleague competently and professionally."

Cartoonist: I fear for my life

Statement by cartoonist Kurt Westergaard:

"Of course I fear for my life after the Danish Security and Intelligence Service informed me of the concrete plans of certain people to kill me. However, I have turned fear into anger and indignation. It has made me angry that a perfectly normal everyday activity which I used to do by the thousand was abused to set off such madness. I have attended to my work and I still do. I could not possibly know for how long I have to live under police protection; I think, however, that the impact of the insane response to my cartoon will last for the rest of my life. It is sad indeed, but it has become a fact of my life. "

JP