The storm over the publication in Denmark of a cartoon depicting the Prophet Muhammad wearing a bomb-shaped turban will not die down. Three men have been arrested for allegedly plotting to kill Kurt Westergaard who drew the cartoon that was published in the newspaper, Jyllands-Posten back in September 2005.
It was considered the most offensive of 12 cartoon images that triggered violent protests across the Islamic world after appearing in several western newspapers. Now the news of the arrests has shocked Danish people who thought the protests were largely over.
The response by Jyllands-Posten (J-P) was to republish Westergaard's drawing on its website. Several other papers, including Politiken, Berlingske Tidende and the Ekstra Bladet also ran the cartoons as an act of solidarity. The J-P website also carried statements in English by Westergaard and the paper's editor, Carsten Juste, confirming that the cartoonist had been under police protection for more than three months. If you understand Danish, here is Juste on video.
Westergaard, who is 73 and has been on J-P's staff for more than 30 years, has continued to work despite the threats against his life. "I have turned fear into anger and indignation," he said. "It has made me angry that a perfectly normal everyday activity, which I used to do by the thousand... set off such madness."
There is an explanation here about the escalation of the row. The key objection is that Islamic law generally opposes any depiction of the prophet.
