Cartoonist 'not so afraid' of threats - Stands behind free speech 4 years after Muslim outcry

A few pen strokes thrust Kurt Westergaard into the midst of an international crisis, exposing him to death threats and an alleged assassination plot.

Terror charges brought against two Chicago men last week show how the 74-year-old Dane remains a potential target for extremists, four years after he drew a caricature of the Prophet Muhammad wearing a bomb-shaped turban.

"I am an old man so I am not so afraid anymore," Mr. Westergaard said in an interview with Jyllands-Posten, the Danish newspaper that first published his drawing in September 2005 along with 11 other cartoons of Muhammad.

The drawings triggered an uproar a few months later when Danish and other Western embassies in several Muslim countries were torched by angry protesters who felt the cartoons had profoundly insulted Islam.

Islamic law generally opposes any depiction of the prophet, even favorable, for fear it could lead to idolatry.

Mr. Westergaard has said it took him 45 minutes to make the drawing, considered by many Muslims to be the most offensive of the 12 cartoons. He has rejected calls to apologize to Muslims, saying poking fun at religious symbols is protected by Denmark's freedom of speech (...)

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• Universal Human Rights and "Human Rights in Islam"

• Islamic Law vs Human Rights

• Universal Declaration of Human Rights

• Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam - Diverges from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in key respects

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Freedom of expression?

UN Human Rights Council banned Discussion of religious questions
Petition for defence of individual rights at the UN Human Rights Council
Creeping Dhimmitude at the United Nations
Universal Human Rights and "Human Rights in Islam"
World’s Press Criticises UN Human Rights Council
IHEU "ambushed" at Human Rights Council
World’s Press Criticises UN Human Rights Council

Free Speech?

Salute the Danish Flag - It's a Symbol of Western Freedom
Background: Muhammad cartoons controversy
Robert Spencer about Muhammad cartoons controversy
Motoon crisis Version 2

Wilders Controversy: Do Europeans Still Belong in Europe?
Released: Fitna the Movie - Update
“Fitna” Downloads & News

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Protecting Our Journalists From Libel Terrorism
How to prepare a video for YouTube

Does Anyone Still Think Eurabia Is a Conspiracy Theory?
Beheading Nations: The Islamization of Europe’s Cities
Defend the individual and so the West
We need to stop being such cowards about Islam
Eurabia - How Far has it gone?

The Church: Part of the Problem or Part of the Solution?
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Islam?

A Proposed Charter of Muslim Understanding
Moderate Islam?
Muhammad and his wifes – a Conditional Model for Muslims
Struggling with pedophilia in Islam
10 Myths About Islam - Knowledge is Power
The Funny Side of Islam: Muhammad and the Hadith
The Koran and The Psychopathology of The Prophet
The Truth About Muhammad

Islamic Economics?

Islamic Economics: What Does It Mean?
Generosity is good, Zakat is bad
Jihad Economics and Islamic Banking
The Economics of Democracy in Muslim Countries
Fastest and Safest Way to fund Terrorist

Racism?

Antisemitism in the Qur’an: Motifs and Historical Manifestations
The Legacy of Islamic Antisemitism
Hitler's Legacy: Islamic Antisemitism in the Middle East
1948, Israel, and the Palestinians - The True Story
Timeline of Israeli-Arab Peace Initiatives since 1977

The Hamas Charter - The Covenant of the Hamas 1988

Country Reports?

AUSTRIA - 2007 Country Report on Islamisation
BELGIUM - 2007 Country Report on Islamisation
DENMARK - 2007 Country Report on Islamisation
FINLAND - 2007 Country Report on Islamisation
GERMANY - 2007 Country Report on Islamisation
ITALY - 2007 Country Report on Islamisation
NETHERLANDS - 2007 Country Report on Islamisation
NORWAY - 2007 Country Report on Islamisation
SWITZERLAND - 2007 Country Report on Islamisation
UNITED KINGDOM - 2007 Country Report on Islamisation

Islam and democracy: The practice - and the theory?

ALGERIA: Political killings, Censorship, Harassment & Intimidation
BAHRAIN: Executions, Abuses of detainees & Censorship
EGYPT: Censorship, Limited Judicial Independence & Police Tortures
IRAN: Torture, Repressed Minorities, Discriminated Women, Unfair Trials, Censorship & Executions
LYBIA: Censorship, Killings of Demonstrators & Prisoners
MOROCCO: Discriminated Women, Abused Prisoners, Migrants & Refugees
OMAN: Discriminated Migrants, Abused Woman & Domestic Workers, Trafficking in Human Beings
IRAQ: Violence against women, Thousands of killed Civilians & Executions
KUWAIT: Torture, Abuse of Migrant Workers & Executions
QUATAR: Violence against Women, Human Trafficking, Torture & ill-Treatment
TUNISIA: Censorship, Limited Judicial Independence, Torture & ill-Treatment
SAUDI ARABIA: Violence against Women, Migrant worker Abuse, Torture, Unfair Trials, Censorship & Executions
SYRIA: Censorship, Torture, Arbitrary Detention, Discrimination of Woman & Minorities
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: Stoning, Flogging, Death Penalties & Cruel Judicial Punishments
YEMEN: Executions, Censorship, Political Prisoners & Unfair Trials