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Danish Cartoonist Who Drew Muhammad Caricature Is Attacked In His Home

By Howard M. Friedman

In Aaarhus, Denmark yesterday, a 28-year old Somali man broke into the house of cartoonist Kurt Westegaard armed with an axe and a knife, shouting that he wanted to kill the 74-year old Westegaard. Westegaard drew the now-famous caricature of the Prophet Muhammad with a bomb in his turban that was published along with 11 other cartoons in 2005 by the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten. The cartoons set off a series of violent demonstrations around the world. (See prior posting.) Today BBC News reports that Westegaard, who was at home with his 5-year old granddaughter, locked himself into a safe room and pressed a special panic button alerting police to the attacker. The suspect, who could not be named under Danish law, tried but failed to break into the safe room and then attacked police with his axe when they arrived. Police shot the suspect outside Westegaard's home. The head of Denmark's intelligence agency says that the attack was "terror related." Apparently the suspect is connected to the radical al-Shabab group in Somalia.

Full post as published by Religion Clause on January 02, 2010 (boomark / email).