Showing posts with label Jyllands-Posten. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jyllands-Posten. Show all posts

Thursday, February 05, 2015

Editor at Centre of Mohammed Cartoons Controversy in Denmark Nominated for Nobel Prize

Flemming Rose
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Flemming Rose, of Jyllands-Posten, nominated over stance for freedom of speech

The Danish newspaper editor who published cartoons of the prophet Mohammed nearly a decade ago has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo massacre in France.

Flemming Rose, 58, who still lives under police guard because of death threats, was put forward for this year's award by Michael Tetzschner, a Norwegian MP.

The move was a response to the attack by Islamist gunmen on cartoonists at the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine in Paris last month.

"Giving the prize to a consistent defender of freedom of expression, even at a personal cost, would give a sign that those who try to muzzle that freedom through cowardly attacks against civilians, thus undermining peace between peoples, cannot ever succeed," Mr Tetzschner wrote in his letter to the Nobel committee, according to Norway's NTB news agency.

As cultural editor of Denmark's Jyllands-Posten, Mr Rose he was principally responsible for commissioning a series of drawings of Mohammed that were published in September 2005. Most strands of Islam disapprove of depictions of Mohammed, viewing it as akin to idolatry. » | Colin Freeman, Chief foreign correspondent | Wednesday, February 04, 2015

Saturday, August 10, 2013

Danish Muslim Leader Who Fuelled Uproar about Prophet Muhammad Cartoons Now Says He Was Wrong and Paper Was Right to Print Images

MAIL ONLINE: Ahmad Akkari led protests against drawings to Lebanon, Egypt and Syria / Dispute over caricatures of Prophet Muhammad became international crisis / Lebanon-born Muslim leader, 35, now says the trip was 'wrong'

He was one of the most vocal critics of Danish newspaper caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad that sparked violent fury throughout the Muslim world.

But seven years on Muslim leader Ahmad Akkari has had an unexpected change of heart, declaring his decision to travel to Lebanon, Egypt and Syria to garner support for the ensuing protest was 'totally wrong'.

Lebanon-born Akkari, now 35, was the spokesman for a group of imams who led the outcry against the satirical drawings, and their tour helped to turn the dispute into an international crisis.

He now says the Jyllands-Posten newspaper had the right to print the cartoons.

His about-face has received praise from pundits and politicians in recent weeks, though some question his sincerity. It has also disappointed some in the country's Muslim minority who were deeply offended by the cartoons.

Dozens were killed in weeks of protests over the drawings that included violent attacks against Danish missions in Syria, Iran, Afghanistan and Lebanon.

Tiny Denmark found itself on a collision course with the Muslim world — something Akkari now regrets.

'I want to be clear today about the trip: It was totally wrong,' Akkari told The Associated Press this week. » | Kerry McDermott | Saturday, August 10, 2013

Monday, June 11, 2012

Caricatures de Mahomet: douze ans de prison à l'issue d'un procès

ROMANDIE: Quatre hommes jugés au Danemark pour un projet d'attentat contre le journal "Jyllands-Posten", dans lequel furent publiées en 2005 des caricatures du prophète Mahomet, ont été condamnés lundi. Ils écopent de douze ans de prison chacun pour "terrorisme".

Les accusés, trois Suédois d'origine arabe et un Tunisien, ont été jugés coupables d'avoir projeté d'attaquer le journal avec l'objectif de tuer le plus grand nombre de personnes, a déclaré la présidente du tribunal de Glostrup, dans la banlieue de Copenhague.

La magistrate a ordonné en outre que les quatre hommes soient expulsés du Danemark à l'issue de leur peine et qu'ils remboursent les frais de justice.

Les quatre hommes avaient plaidé non coupable de l'accusation de terrorisme lors de leur procès qui s'était ouvert le 13 avril. Leurs avocats ont estimé que les images de vidéosurveillance sur lesquelles s'appuyaient notamment les procureurs ne constituaient pas une preuve suffisante. » | ats | lundi 04. Juin 2012

Friday, April 13, 2012


Danish Newspaper 'Massacre Plot' Trial Begins

AL JAZEERA ENGLISH: Four men plead not guilty to plotting to kill staff of Jyllands-Posten after it published cartoons of Prophet Mohammed.

Four men on trial over a suspected plot to murder staff of a Danish newspaper that first published controversial cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed have pleaded not guilty.

The men appeared in court on Friday in the Danish capital Copenhagen. The prosecution named them as Sahbi Ben Mohamed Zalouti, Munir Awad and Omar Abdalla Aboelazm, all Swedish citizens of Tunisian, Lebanese and Moroccan origin respectively.

The fourth man, Mounir Ben Mohamed Dhahri, a Tunisian national living in Sweden who pleaded guilty to arms possession, faces charges of "attempted terrorism".

Prosecutors say the four were plotting to "kill a large number of people" at the Jyllands-Posten daily's offices in Copenhagen when they were arrested on December 29, 2010.

Jyllands-Posten published 12 cartoons in 2005 of the Prophet Mohammed that Muslims believed were insulting, sparking violent and sometimes deadly protests around the world. » | Sources: Agencies | Friday, April 13, 2012

Monday, January 30, 2012

Norway Convicts Two Men over Al-Qaeda Plot on Danish Newspaper

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Two men were found guilty on Monday of involvement in an al-Qaeda plot to attack a Danish newspaper that caricatured the Prophet Muhammad, the first convictions under Norway's anti-terror laws.

A third defendant was acquitted of terror charges but convicted of helping the others acquire explosives.

Investigators say the plot was linked to the same al-Qaeda planners behind thwarted attacks against the New York subway system and a shopping mall Manchester in 2009.

The Oslo district court sentenced alleged ringleader Mikael Davud, to seven years in prison and co-defendant Shawan Sadek Saeed Bujak to three and a half years.

Judge Oddmund Svarteberg said the court found that Davud, a Chinese Muslim, "planned the attack together with al-Qaeda". Bujak was deeply involved in the preparations, but it couldn't be proved that he was aware of Davud's contacts with al-Qaeda, the judge said.

The third defendant, David Jakobsen, who assisted police in the investigation, was convicted on an explosives charge and sentenced to four months in prison – time he's already served in pretrial detention.

It wasn't immediately clear if any of the defendants would appeal. » | Source: AP | Monday, January 30, 2012

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Muhammad Cartoon Plot Trial Opens in Norway

THE GUARDIAN: Three men accused of plotting to bomb the offices of Denmark's Jyllands-Posten newspaper plead not guilty on opening day

Three Norwegians accused of plotting, with al-Qaida's help, to bomb a Danish newspaper for printing cartoons of the prophet Muhammad, have pleaded not guilty to the charges in an Oslo court.

The alleged ringleader, Mikael Davud, learned how to use explosives at an al-Qaida camp in Pakistan and made "an agreement" with [the] group to blow up the offices of the daily Jyllands-Posten newspaper, prosecutor Geir Evanger said on the first day of the trial.

The three acquired bomb-making ingredients such as hydrogen peroxide and acetone, and two of them may also have planned to kill a Danish cartoonist who had drawn Muhammad with a bomb in his turban, Evanger said in his opening statement.

"This is a ground-breaking case in Norway," Davud's lawyer, Arild Karl Humlen, said. "It is the first full-scale test of new [Norwegian] terror laws and the first time they [the prosecutors] are linking a terror conspiracy to an international organisation."

Jyllands-Posten was the first of several European publications to print cartoons lampooning the prophet in late 2005 and early 2006, sparking violent protests in the Middle East and Africa and a widespread debate about press freedom.

As recently as 2 November a firebomb attack gutted the headquarters of French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo after it put an image of the prophet on its cover. » | Reuters | Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Saturday, January 08, 2011

JYLLANDS-POSTEN: Wie es ist, wenn Muslime einen töten wollen

WELT ONLINE: Die Mitarbeiter von "Jyllands-Posten" leben wegen der Mohammed-Karikaturen mit einem ständigen Gefühl der Bedrohung. Ein Besuch.

Kurt Westergaard hat sich schick gemacht. Schwarze Hose, schwarzes Hemd, schwarze Lederweste, dazu ein farbiges aber dezentes Halstuch. In der rechten Hand hält er einen schwarzen Stock mit einem Knauf aus Silber. Seit zwei Wochen hat er einen Herzschrittmacher, den ihm seine Frau Birgitta zu Weihnachten geschenkt hat. „Der ganze Eingriff hat nicht mal eine Stunde gedauert“, staunt Westergaard, „kaum war ich aus der Narkose aufgewacht, durfte ich nach Hause gehen.“

Vor einem Jahr, am 1.Januar 2010, wurde Westergaard in seinem Haus von einem somalischen Islamisten heimgesucht, der ihn mit Hilfe einer Axt belehren wollte, dass man den Propheten Mohammed nicht ungestraft karikieren darf. Westergaard hatte Glück, die Tür zum Badezimmer hielt den Axthieben stand, bis die Polizei eintraf, ihn befreite und den Besucher abführte. Damals nahm er sich vor, alt zu werden und auf seine Gesundheit zu achten. Jetzt, witzelt Westergaard, schlage „ein Peacemaker“ in seiner Brust. „Die hätten dir besser einen Troublemaker einsetzen sollen“, sagt Erik Guldager, der Westergaard als Agent und Galerist betreut. „Hab ich nicht nötig, bin selber einer“, antwortet der Künstler mit einem Anflug von Trotz.

Guldager ist 47, Westergaard 75 Jahre alt. Der eine könnte der Sohn des anderen sein. Westergaard hat 25 Jahre als Lehrer an einer Grundschule unterrichtet, bevor er Karikaturist wurde. Guldager hat „absolut nichts“ gelernt, aber viel unternommen. Er war Vertreter von BASF, Kellog's und Kodak in Dänemark, 2005 machte er sich mit einer Galerie für zeitgenössische dänische Kunst in Skanderborg bei Aarhus selbstständig.

Auch für Westergaard war 2005 ein Schicksalsjahr. Am 30. September druckte „Jyllands-Posten“, Dänemarks größte Tageszeitung, zwölf Mohammed-Karikaturen. Eine davon hatte Westergaard gezeichnet: Der Prophet mit einer im Turban versteckten Bombe auf dem Kopf. Es dauerte ein paar Wochen, bis Millionen von Muslimen in aller Welt bewusst wurde, dass sie beleidigt worden waren, von einem Mann, dessen Namen sie nicht aussprechen konnten, und von einer Zeitung, die sie bis dahin nicht einmal zum Anzünden von offenen Feuern benutzt hatten.

Während die anderen Zeichner auf Tauchstation gingen, stellte sich Westergaard der Welle der Empörung entgegen. Heute ist er der bekannteste Däne zwischen Nordkap und Kap Horn, ein Symbol der „bürgerlichen Anarchie“, die das Rückgrat der dänischen Leitkultur ausmacht. „Wir lassen uns nicht gerne sagen, was wir machen sollen oder nicht machen dürfen.“ Weiter lesen und einen Kommentar schreiben >>> Autor: Henryk M. Broder | Samstag, 08. Januar 2011

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Denmark Arrests Four Over Suspected Terror Plot

THE GUARDIAN: Men arrested in connection with suspected plot to attack a newspaper that published cartoons of Prophet Muhammad

Denmark's intelligence service has arrested four people suspected of planning an "imminent" terror attack against a newspaper that printed the controversial Prophet Muhammad cartoons.

The Danish Security and Intelligence Service, known as Pet, said three of the four men were residents of Sweden and had entered the country last night.

Jakob Scharf, the head of Pet, said "an imminent terror attack has been foiled". He described some [of] the suspects as "militant Islamists". >>> Associated Press | Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Wednesday, October 20, 2010


Two Britons Linked to Al-Qaida Plans to Attack Danish Newspaper

THE GUARDIAN: Evidence from India shows two Britons, part of a new generation of jihad, were ready to back Danish attacks

A British al-Qaida sympathiser living in Derby volunteered last year to help with a terrorist attack on targets in Denmark including the offices of the newspaper that published cartoons of the prophet Muhammad, secret documents obtained by the Guardian reveal. A second British man is alleged to have handed over cash for the plot.

The two men were visited in August 2009 by David Headley, an extremist born in Pakistan but raised in the US, where he is now in custody. Headley, who was arrested two months later, was working for Ilyas Kashmiri, a senior Pakistani militant with links to al-Qaida.

Kashmiri, whom al-Qaida leadership figures have named as part of Osama bin Laden's group, told Headley to focus on a plan to attack the offices of the Danish Jyllands-Posten newspaper, which had published controversial cartoons of the prophet in 2005. He gave Headley $1500 (£954) to finance a surveillance trip. More general attacks in Denmark were also discussed. Headley said he understood that they might involve suicide bombings. >>> Jason Burke in Delhi | Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. Images: Google Images

Danish Editor Reprints Prophet Mohammad Cartoons

THE TELEGRAPH: The Danish editor whose 2005 publication of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad sparked violent protests around the globe released a book on Wednesday that reprints the pictures.

Thursday marks the fifth anniversary of the publication of the 12 drawings in Jyllands-Posten which one year later became a major global controversy leading to dozens of deaths.

Flemming Rose's book The Tyranny of Silence has fed worries of renewed unrest, similar to when the cartoons were reprinted by many newspapers in 2008 after a death threat to cartoonist Kurt Westergaard.

Danish Foreign Minister Lene Espersen met 17 ambassadors from Muslim countries on Wednesday as part of efforts to prevent any new cartoon crisis.

"The violence was committed by people who made a decision to react to these cartoons in a specific way," said Mr Rose, who has lived for years under police protection because of threats against him and his paper Jyllands-Posten.

"To publish cartoons, religious satire, in a Danish newspaper is not incitation to violence," he said. >>> | Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Friday, September 18, 2009

Danish Interview (with Translation): Naser Khader Interviewed by Flemming Rose


HT: Flemming Rose Interviews Naser Khader >>> Baron Bodissey | Sunday, March 29, 2009

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

The Understatement of the Century: 'Islam Sometimes Has Problems in Understanding Free Speech'

Photobucket
The cartoon of the prophet Muhammad that caused all the hullabaloo. Image courtesy of Google Images

MIDDLE EAST TIMES: Two years ago Denmark's daily newspaper Jylland-Posten published cartoons of Prophet Muhammad, depicting the most holy figure in Islam with a ticking bomb in his turban. The newspaper's decision to run the caricatures caused millions of offended Muslims to protest against Western values in front of Danish embassies around the world. The outrage mainly stemmed from a growing sentiment that the West opted for indifference when it came to empathizing with the Muslim plight in places such as Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine.

In late February, encore appearances of the cartoons in four other Danish papers to show solidarity to cartoonist Kurt Westergaard who received death threats, deepened the crisis further. While most Muslim leaders called to" forgive, but not forget" despite the continuing anger, the West questioned its own values of liberal democracy and how to accommodate others.

On the eve of the Eid, the Muslim holiday celebrating the end of the month-long dawn-to-dusk fasting of Ramadan, Denmark's Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen defended the publication of the cartoons and repeated that Islam had difficulty accepting core values of freedom and democracy.

Nevertheless, Rasmussen also sent a message of peace and positive dialogue to the Muslim world.

Photobucket
Photo of Anders Fogh Rasmussen courtesy of Google Images

The following interview was conducted last week at Columbia University in New York City, after the Danish prime minister addressed the university community in the World Leaders Forum. 'Islam Sometimes Has Problems in Understanding Free Speech' >>> By Afsin Yardakul | September 30, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback – Denmark) >>>

Monday, June 23, 2008

Danish Cartoon Ruling May Prompt "Islamophobia"-OIC

REUTERS: RIYADH - The Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), a league of 57 Muslim nations, said on Monday a Danish court's rejection of a suit against a paper for printing cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad could provoke "Islamophobia."

The High Court for western Denmark on Thursday rejected a suit against Jyllands-Posten, the newspaper that first published cartoons of Islam's prophet, leading to deadly protests in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

The court said the editors had not meant to depict Muslims as criminals or terrorists, the cartoons had not broken the law, and there was a relationship between acts of violence and Islam -- comments that provoked outcry among Muslim groups in Denmark.

"It is a known fact that acts of terror have been carried out in the name of Islam and it is not illegal to make satire out of this relationship," the court said.

The Saudi-based OIC, the largest grouping of Muslim countries, said the ruling could encourage "Islamophobia", a fear or dislike of Islam, which the group has identified as existing in the West. Danish Cartoon Ruling May Prompt "Islamophobia"-OIC >>> | June 23, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Dust Jacket Hardcover, direct from the publishers (US)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback, direct from the publishers (US)

Friday, June 20, 2008

Danish Muslims Plan to Take Jyllands-Posten to Europe’s Highest Human Rights Court

I am sorry to say, folks, but we are reaping exactly what we have sown! These problems with Islam and Muslims are endless. They don’t fit in in a Western, liberal democracy; and that’s it! And nor will they ever! - ©Mark

ISLAMONLINE.NET: COPENHAGEN — Danish Muslims are planning to take Denmark's Jyllands-Posten daily to Europe's highest human rights court over the publication of satirical drawings of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing be upon him).

"[Danish] Muslim organizations intend to take the case to the European Court of Human Rights," Muslim leader Mohammed Khalid Samha told IslamOnline.net on Friday, June 20.

The move comes a day after a Danish court rejected a suit by seven Muslim groups against newspaper editors for publishing the offensive cartoons.

"We were quite sure that the Danish judiciary would not be fair to Muslims," said Samha. Muslims Take Prophet Cartoons to EU Court >>> By Nidal Abu Arif | June 20. 2008

KLEINVERZET:
International Arrest Warrant for Geert Wilders >>> | June 21, 2008

COOPER REPUBLIC:
Jordan Wants to Arrest Geert Wilders >>> | June 20, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Dust Jacket Hardcover, direct from the publishers
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback, direct from the publishers

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Danish Court Rules Satirical Representation Not Illegal

NEWS.COM.AU: A DANISH appeals court has rejected a suit filed by seven Muslim organisations against newspaper editors who in 2005 first published a dozen controversial cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed.

The appeals court judges ruled that the caricatures, which have since sparked angry and in some cases deadly protests across the Muslim world, did not aim to insult followers of Islam, as the plaintiffs had charged.

One of the cartoonists is still in hiding under police protection following death threats.

The seven Muslim organisations, all based in Denmark, had accused the Jyllands-Posten daily's chief editor and culture editor of wilfully offending believers by printing the "offensive and degrading" drawings that "depict the prophet as bellicose and criminal, establishing a clear link between Mohammed and war and terror". Prophet Cartoons ‘Did Not Aim to Insult’ >>> | June 19, 2008

INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE:
Danish Appeals Court Rejects Lawsuit against Newspaper that Published Prophet Cartoons >>> | June 19, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Dust Jacket Hardcover, direct from the publishers
The Dawning of a New Dark Age –Paperback, direct from the publishers

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Flemming Rose on Free Speech and Radical Islam

Mr. Rose is the culture editor of Jyllands-Posten. He is writing a book about the challenges to free speech in a globalized world.

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL - Opinion: At a lunch last year celebrating his 25th anniversary with Jyllands-Posten, Kurt Westergaard told an anecdote. During World War II Pablo Picasso met a German officer in southern France, and they got into a conversation. When the German officer figured out whom he was talking to he said:

"Oh, you are the one who created Guernica?" referring to the famous painting of the German bombing of a Basque town by that name in 1937.

Picasso paused for a second, and replied, "No, it wasn't me, it was you."

For the past three months Mr. Westergaard and his wife have been on the run. Mr. Westergaard did the most famous of the 12 Muhammad cartoons published in Jyllands-Posten in September 2005 -- the one depicting the prophet with a bomb in his turban. The cartoon was a satirical comment on the fact that some Muslims are committing terrorist acts in the name of Islam and the prophet. Tragically, Mr. Westergaard's fate has proven the point of his cartoon: In the early hours of Tuesday morning Danish police arrested three men who allegedly had been plotting to kill him.

In the past few days 17 Danish newspapers have published Mr. Westergaard's cartoon, which is as truthful as Picasso's painting. My colleagues at Jyllands-Posten and I understand that the cartoon may be offensive to some people, but sometimes the truth can be very offensive. As George Orwell put it in the suppressed preface to "Animal Farm": "If liberty means anything, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear."

Sadly, the plot to kill Mr. Westergaard is not an isolated story, but part of a broader trend that risks undermining free speech in Europe and around the world. Consider the following recent events: In Oslo a gallery has censored three small watercolor paintings, showing the head of the prophet Muhammad on a dog's body, by the Swedish artist Lars Vilks, who has been under police protection since the fall of 2007. In Holland the municipal museum in The Hague recently refused to show photos by the Iranian-born artist Sooreh Hera of gay men wearing the masks of the prophet Muhammad and his son Ali; Ms. Hera has received several death threats and is in hiding. In Belarus an editor has been sentenced to three years in a forced labor camp after republishing some of Jyllands-Posten's Muhammad cartoons. In Egypt bloggers are in jail after having "insulted Islam." In Afghanistan the 23-year-old Sayed Perwiz Kambakhsh has been sentenced to death because he distributed "blasphemous" material about the mistreatment of women in Islam. And in India the Bengal writer Taslima Nasreen is in a safe house after having been threatened by people who don't like her books. Every one of the above cases speaks to the same problem >>> By Flemming Rose

LETTERS TO THE WALL STREET JOURNAL APROPOS OF THIS ARTICLE:
Do You Have a Right to Avoid What You Don't Want to Hear?

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

In Solidarity with the Cartoonist, Kurt Westergaard, Danish Newspapers Reprint the Cartoons of Muhammad

Photobucket
Cartoon courtesy of Jyllands-Posten

It is to be noted that no newspaper in the United Kingdom or in the United States has yet had the courage to reprint any of the cartoons of the prophet Muhammad. Denmark is a small country, but its people have more courage, it seems, than than the British and Americans combined! The proud Danes put PRINCIPLE before PROFIT. If 'freedom of speech' and 'freedom of expression' survive this onslaught by the 'people of the desert', then we will have the Danes - and other courageous Europeans - to thank! Shame on the home of freedom, the USA! Shame on the home of the 'mother of parliaments', Great Britain! - ©Mark

BBC: Danish newspapers have reprinted one of several caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad which sparked violent protests across the Muslim world two years ago.

They say they wanted to show their commitment to freedom of speech after an alleged plot to kill one of the cartoonists behind the drawings.

Three suspects were held in Denmark on Tuesday "to prevent a murder linked to terrorism", officials said.

The cartoons were originally published by Jyllands-Posten in September 2005.

Danish embassies were attacked around the world and dozens died in riots that followed.

'Defiant'

Jyllands-Posten and many other major newspapers - including Politiken and Berlingske Tidende - reprinted the caricature in their Wednesday editions. Danish Muhammad cartoon reprinted >>>

JYLLANDS-POSTEN:
Newspapers reprint Mohammed cartoon

THE COPENHAGEN POST:
Newspapers reprint Mohammed cartoon

WATCH BBC VIDEO:
Danish Cartoon ‘Plotters’ Held

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)
Three Arrested for Plot to Kill Mohamed Cartoonist

THE INDEPENDENT: Three men were yesterday arrested in Denmark accused of plotting to murder a cartoonist, two years after a dozen cartoons lampooning Islamic fundamentalism sparked violent demonstrations around the world.

The target was said to be Kurt Westergaard, 73, a staff cartoonist on Jyllands-Posten, the Danish newspaper that first published the cartoons. Westergaard's drawings depicted the Prophet Mohamed with a bomb-shaped turban and a burning fuse.

Two Tunisians and a Danish man were arrested before dawn in Aarhus, Denmark's second city and the home of the newspaper. It also has a large community of Arabs and Turks.

Police said they arrested the men while the plot to kill Westergaard was still in the planning stage. The chief of the Security and Intelligence Service, Jakob Scharf, said the arrests came after a long period of surveillance. They were intended, he said "to prevent a terror-related assassination of one of the cartoonists behind the cartoons of the Prophet Mohamed".

Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the Prime Minister, said: "Unfortunately... there are in Denmark groups of extremists that do not acknowledge and respect the principles on which Danish democracy is built. In Denmark, we have freedom not only to think and talk, but also to draw." Three arrested for plot to kill Mohamed cartoonist >>> By Peter Popham

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)