Norway: Controversial Mohammed cartoons reprinted

Posted by Elizabeth Redman on January 11, 2010 at 4:25 PM

A Norwegian newspaper has republished the controversial cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed, after an axe attack on a Danish cartoonist in his own home, The Telegraph reported.

The newspaper Aftenposten, in an article about cartoonist Kurt Westergaard, last week printed six out of the 12 controversial images that ignited global debate and protest after their initial publication by Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten in 2005. Westergaard's drawing depicted the prophet wearing a turban in the shape of a bomb.

Editor of Aftenposten Hilde Haugsgjerd said that it seemed "natural and justified to republish the artistic and journalistic body of work that is likely the cause of this violence".

Westergaard was at home with his wife and granddaughter when an assailant armed with an axe and a knife broke in through a window, according to reports in The Guardian. Westergaard hid in a panic room and alerted police. They arrested the attacker, who now faces two charges of attempted murder and one of terrorism.

The cartoons were originally published in Jyllands-Posten in response to an author's complaint that no-one would illustrate his book about the Prophet Mohammed. The Islamic faith considers the production of images of the prophet to be blasphemous.

Protests, both peaceful and violent, were staged by Muslims around the world. The newspaper's editors faced a lawsuit accusing them of racism, but were acquitted.

In reporting on the controversy, newspapers around the world had to make difficult decisions about whether to reprint any or all of the cartoons. Over 130 newspapers, or 1.7% of the world's daily newspapers, chose to reprint some or all of them. This was often framed as a question of freedom of expression.

Westergaard has been subject to other thwarted attempts on his life, after which newspapers have again printed the cartoons.

Sources: The Telegraph, The Guardian (1), The Guardian (2), Reuters