Murder plot against Kurt Westergaard

Kurt Westergaard at work (movie still from "Bloody Cartoons")

Murder plot against Danish cartoonist (Jyllands-Posten, English article)

Early Tuesday morning, Danish police arrested several people with a Muslim background suspected of conspiring to kill Kurt Westergaard, a Danish cartoonist with Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten.

Apparently the would-be murderers are two Tunisians (who will be deported) and a 40-year old Danish citizen of Moroccan descent, who'll be released after interrogation. The police have known about the plans for at least 3 months: Interview with artist. Running from murder plans (Danish text, my translation):

"When I came home, three bodyguards were standing with guns. We were told that we could do whatever we wanted. As long as we disappeared from our homes."

[. . .] the threat has never been as concrete as the information that the Security and Intelligence Service (PET) brought to him 3 months ago: "They want to kill you. They will do it here in your home. They know where you live. And they know your home well enough that they have been able to draw a basic plan over the design of the house."

Speaking of Islamofascists - do you remember the Iranian rioter who was shown "red-handed" in front of the Danish Embassy in Iran during the riots in 2006?



Danish journalist Karsten Kjaer has made a documentary where he travels around the Middle East, interviewing all the muftis and imams who were behind the riots. It turns out - surprise, surprise - that none of them had ever seen the cartoons.

Karsten Kjaer located the old man (who turned out to be pretty pleasant when he isn't busy burning down Danish embassies). He hadn't seen the cartoons either - he had simply been told by the government's Basij Forces that "the infidel Danes have insulted our Prophet".

Karsten Kjaer proceeds to show him the terrible Kurt Westergaard cartoon, and the old man hides his face from fear: His eternal soul is clearly in danger:



But when he actually sees Kurt Westergaard's cartoon, he relaxes again: Mohammed looks like an Indian Sikh:





Indeed. Who is to tell whether a given cartoon "is the Prophet Mohammed". Just like this famous poster shown below: Karsten Kjaer bought it at a religious supermarket in Iran, where he was told by his governmentally assigned guide that it was the last Mohammed-poster for sale. According to the guide, the supermarket stopped selling Mohammed icons and posters after the Mohammed crisis. Something about Shiite Muslims respecting Sunni dogma. Or something.

Other people will tell you the poster is not a picture of Mohammed, but instead his cousin Ali. So who's to say whether Westergaard's cartoon is an image of Mohammed, Ali or an Indian Sikh?



You can see the movie here: Bloody Cartoons (English dialogue and sub-titles). See below


Added: In case you never saw the original page back in September 2005, Jyllands-Posten has put it online here: Jyllands-Posten's twelve cartoons (PDF-file)



Added: The above link to the movie is only to a short teaser. The whole movie can be streamed from this address: mms://wms.dr.dk/storage/PP/dril/dmb/03-10-2007/51729_320x240x500K.wmv. Alternatively, you can go to Denmark's Radio, click "2" and then click "Se filmen".