* Unfortunately for Kurt Westergaard, who sued Geert Wilders over using his “Muhammad with bomb in turban cartoon” in his movie ‘FITNA’ without authorization, there is only ONE Islam and that’s the one that wants him dead. But that doesn’t seem to worry the old chap too much, he’s getting back to work:
Danish Muhammad Cartoonist Returns with New Work
One of the controversial Danish cartoonists who sparked riots in the Muslim world in 2005 by drawing caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad is set to return soon with new works reflecting on the incident.
Kurt Westergaard, the Danish caricaturist forced into hiding after the publication of his depiction of the Prophet Muhammad in the newspaperJyllands-Posten in 2005, is set to return with a new set of potentially controversial drawings.
According to a report in the Copenhagen Post, Westergaard is expected to have 26 illustrations in a new book that compiles the sardonic columns by Danish writer Lars Hedegaard for the Berlingske Tidende newspaper.
The paper writes that one of the drawings in the book features former Danish Foreign Minister Uffe Ellemann-Jensen, who spoke out against the original Muhammad cartoons, kneeling with an inkwell that reads “freedom of expression.” A black-bearded man with a bomb in his turban is peering out of the inkwell. Writer Hedegaard told the paper there was “no intention to depict the so-called prophet,” but that people could always interpret drawings in different ways. He said he expected no backlash as a result of the publication.
Westergaard, 73, was forced to go into hiding under protection from the official state secret service agency PET and had to live in safe houses after a plot to kill him was uncovered. Last summer he returned home, though he still remains under protection.
The cartoonist has repeatedly stated that he has no regrets about drawing the original caricature for Jyllands-Posten. Westergaard has also said that he is not anti-Muslim, telling SPIEGEL ONLINE last spring: “I know a lot of Muslims living here in Denmark who accept democracy completely and who live their religion as a very private matter. I hope that all Muslims will adapt to secular society. There is currently friction between Muslim and Christian culture. But I am quite sure that our Western Democratic culture will prevail over the darker version of Islam. We must have Islam-light.”
Responding to the protests and deadly riots the caricatures sparked in the Muslim world, Westergaard said: “If it hadn’t been the cartoon, it would have been a book or play or a film that would have provoked the protests. We have to get through this period of friction between the two cultures. I hope that our Muslim fellow citizens will understand what it means to live in a democracy. Even if you are against the democracy, you can still live there, but you must fight with peaceful means.”
One of the two Tunisian born-men arrested in February for plotting to kill Westergaard remains in Denmark because he faces torture should he be deported to Tunisia. Over the weekend, though, the government in Copenhagen agreed to transfer him from Aarhus, where Westergaard lives, to Sandholm Asylum Center north of Copenhagen. The suspect will be able to move freely in and out of the facility, but he must be in daily contact with the police. The Copenhagen Post reported that Westergaard was happy about the transfer.
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
“Islam light”? Half as heavy as the regular Islam but just as deadly!