Kurt Westergaard

Elsevier: Lafheid kwam bij vrijheidslezing in De Balie uit onverwachte hoek

“...In zijn boek Tyranny of Silencevertelt Flemming Rose - chef buitenland van Jyllands-Posten, de Deense krant die de Mohammedcartoons plaatste - een interessant verhaal over een Iraanse man.
Een 76-jarige Iraniër gooide in februari 2006 een molotovcocktail naar de Deense ambassade in Teheran. Dat deed hij omdat hij boos was over Westergaards Mohammedcartoon. Hij had die bewuste tekening zelf niet gezien...”
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WorldPost: Why I Published Cartoons of Muhammad and Don't Regret It

“...Back in 2005, I was trying to cover a story about self-censorship and fear among writers, artists, museums, publishers, comedians and other people in cultural life in Denmark and Western Europe. A children's writer had made headlines when he claimed that he had difficulties finding an illustrator for a book about the life of the Prophet Muhammad; the reason, he said, was fear. That was the starting point for a debate about self-censorship in dealing with Islam. Several other examples followed. In one example, a Danish comedian admitted he was afraid of mocking Islam the same way he did with Christianity. In another, two imams called on the Danish government to pass laws criminalizing criticism of Islam.
This last example added another dimension to the debate. What do you do when people adhering to a faith or ideology insist that others with different convictions submit themselves to taboos outside sacred places?”
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DR.DE Mediathek video: Dänemark Verzicht auf Pressefreiheit

Das Magazin euroblick hat sich zum Ziel gesetzt, europäische Zusammenhänge am anschaulichen Beispiel zu erklären und dabei die farbigen Unterschiede europäischer Regionen lebendig darzustellen. Der Blick auf Land und Leute innerhalb Europas hat dabei einen besonderen Stellenwert. Ziel ist es, Verständnis für ein zusammenwachsendes Europa zu schaffen.
Moderation: Natalie Amiri Autor: Gerhard Losher Redaktion: Gerhard Losher
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The Comics Journal: Cartoons of Mass Destruction: The Whole Story Behind the Danish 12

“In 2006, 12 Danish cartoonists controversially drew pictures of Muhammad at the urging of Flemming Rose, the culture editor of the Danish weekly Jyllands-Posten. This news story from The Comics Journal #275 (April 2006) offers a multitude of perspectives — from cartoonists, Danes, Muslims, Danish Muslims — and is being rerun to help supply context for the Charles Hebdo killings.
Michael Dean and R.C. Harvey, with the assistance of Eric Millikin and Houria Kerdioui”
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Stern: Angst Frisst Freiheit

stern_4_2015_Interview Rose

SFGate. com: Intimidation and the tyranny of silence

"Swedish and Danish authorities arrested four suspected militant Islamic jihadists last week for allegedly planning a terrorist attack before this weekend. Their target was the Jyllands-Posten news bureau in Copenhagen. In 2006, the newspaper became the target of terrorist threats after it printed controversial cartoons of the prophet Muhammad in 2005. Authorities say the suspects arrested planned to use the same "swarm" tactics used in the 2008 Mumbai killing spree that left 163 people dead. Kurt Westergaard drew a cartoon that depicted Muhammad wearing a bomb-shaped turban. Last January, a Somali man wielding an ax and demanding "revenge" broke into Westergaard's home. In 2009, Danish authorities arrested three men for planning to behead Westergaard. Like Westergaard, Jyllands-Posten Editor Flemming Rose, who commissioned the cartoons, now has round-the-clock security. I asked via e-mail, How many planned attacks against his paper and cartoonists have been thwarted? Rose answered that this latest episode represents the sixth or seventh foiled attack. In his new book, "Tyranny of Silence," Rose explains that he asked cartoonists to submit works on Muhammad in order to stand up to "my perception of prevalent self-censorship among the Danish media" on the subject of radical Islam. Now he has a target on his back." Read More