Terror Tunes

In Danish cartoon madness news (yes, the nutters are still pissed about them), three people were arrested today by the Danish security services on conspiracy charges. The Guardian reports:

Three people have been arrested on suspicion of plotting to kill a cartoonist who drew a caricature of the prophet Muhammad, Danish police said today. Two Tunisians and one Dane of Moroccan origin were arrested in an early morning raid in Aarhus, in the west of the country. Earlier reports said five suspects had been detained. Police officials said they made the arrests to "prevent a terror-related murder" after a long period of surveillance, but did not say which cartoonist had been targeted.

The cartoonist, according to Danish sources, is Kurt Westergaard, illustrator of the famous bomb-in-turban drawing of the Muslim prophet.

Some further info from the Danish press: When contacted by Jyllands-Posten, Muslim parliamentarian and founder of the Denmark's "Democratic Muslim" movement, Nasar Khader, said he was "deeply shocked" by the arrests. "I know the illustrators. We were on the same side during the Mohammad conflict..." As Flemming Rose pointed out, Khader was one of the great heroes in the showdown with those who demanded government intervention to assuage the sensitivities of Denmark's Muslim population. Surprisingly, no English-language outlet has mentioned that Berligske Tidende, the country's second-largest circulating broadsheet and a paper that has thus far refused to publish the cartoons, has decided to print Westergaard's drawing "in solidarity." JP reports: "For the first time, Berligske Tidende is publishing Kurt Westergaard's cartoons of Mohammad with a bomb in his turban. Politiken too has reprinted the cartoon."

Westergaard sent a justifiably irritated statement to the paper: "...I have turned fear into anger and indignation. It has made me angry that a perfectly normal everyday activity which I used to do by the thousand was abused to set off such madness. I have attended to my work and I still do. I could not possibly know for how long I have to live under police protection; I think, however, that the impact of the insane response to my cartoon will last for the rest of my life. It is sad indeed, but it has become a fact of my life. "

Comments

tim | February 12, 2008, 3:03pm | #

I'm calling BS PR stunt. Rolling Stone showed definitively in a recent peer reviewed article that domestic terror is a myth. So unless you are ready to accuse Rolling Stone of the USAocentric stance that domestic only means in the USA (good luck, they're worldwide), this story is a load of crap.

carl | February 12, 2008, 3:07pm | #

Berligske Tidende is still refusing to print cartoons depicting Frylock and Meatwad, however. I wouldn't call them free-speech heroes just yet.

Episiarch | February 12, 2008, 3:09pm | #

Berligske Tidende is still refusing to print cartoons depicting Frylock and Meatwad, however.

What about Shake?

Plant Immigration Rights Supporter | February 12, 2008, 3:10pm | #

Isn’t religion beautiful?

Episiarch | February 12, 2008, 3:11pm | #

Even though they were stopped, the message got out: some fanatics are serious about killing people for cartoons.

The fear gets spread whether they succeeded or not.

Mohammed | February 12, 2008, 3:13pm | #

Can't we all just get along?
Or I'll saw your head off.

Richard | February 12, 2008, 3:15pm | #

tim, Rolling Stone has "peer-reviewed" articles? Just like the AMA Journal? Really? And The Guardian, that known right-wing rag, is in on this PR stunt?

SugarFree | February 12, 2008, 3:16pm | #

Since were talking about cartoons...

The Venture Bros. 3rd season is supposed to start in June.

Hank! We've got big troubles. The Apaches are back! Look. Tepee in your trunks!

My pants are haunted! My pants are haunted!

Ska | February 12, 2008, 3:18pm | #

Man, that show is so good.

Episiarch | February 12, 2008, 3:21pm | #

When they go so long between Venture Bros. seasons I have a hard time realizing when they are starting up again.

Cesar | February 12, 2008, 3:22pm | #

All this bullshit over cartoons that weren't even that funny or particularly shocking.

SugarFree | February 12, 2008, 3:22pm | #

Epi,

It's not you. The 3rd season was supposed to air last November.

Reports are it will be a full 13 episodes.

Episiarch | February 12, 2008, 3:24pm | #

All this bullshit over cartoons that weren't even that funny or particularly shocking.

WTF are you talking about Cesar? You didn't think the Cybernetic Ghost of Christmas Past from the Future was funny? What the hell is wrong with you?

Cesar | February 12, 2008, 3:26pm | #

Epi-

I suspect you're joking but in case you really are confused I meant the Muhammad cartoons.

Episiarch | February 12, 2008, 3:27pm | #

(yes I was joking)

Wikipedia Fanatic | February 12, 2008, 3:29pm | #

"All this bullshit over cartoons that weren't even that funny or particularly shocking."

[Citation needed]

Adamness | February 12, 2008, 3:35pm | #

Nothing like proving a cartoonist wrong who illustrated the violent nature of Islam by trying to kill him!

Terrorist | February 12, 2008, 3:38pm | #

I agree with Cesar. I am unwilling to kill over unfunny cartoons.

But that rascally Garfield shall feel my wrath!

Tom Walls | February 12, 2008, 4:19pm | #

What happens to children who draw innocent pictures of Allah or Mohammed? Are they punished?

I did see an Army guy whack his kid when he dropped a little American flag on the ground once.

tk | February 12, 2008, 4:41pm | #

I did see an Army guy whack his kid when he dropped a little American flag on the ground once.

When that happens, you are just supposed to burn it.
The kid, that is.
Or is it the flag?
I always mess that one up.

the little things are important | February 12, 2008, 6:35pm | #

tunes = toons

Plant Immigration Rights Supporter | February 12, 2008, 10:08pm | #

Little things, I could be wrong but I think that is a play on the Luny Tunes - I mean of course the Reggaeton production team. You can see the connection right?

Aamir | February 13, 2008, 8:46am | #

Does freedome of speach = violate other people's rights = disrespectful of other religions and cultures = harrass everyone else who does not agree with you? When all of these morons know that Muslims are very sensitive about their Prophet, why the heck they want to mock them every other day? I DARE anyone who is claiming to be a champoin of "free speech" to draw a "funny" cartoon of holocost and portray hitler as a holy man of God just for giggles....... Does anyone of you have the guts to do that? FREE SPEECH??really??

Episiarch | February 13, 2008, 8:54am | #

Aamir, fuck Mohammed, Jesus, Budda, Hitler, and you.

Graphite | February 13, 2008, 1:41pm | #

Aamir, actually the Gloriously Submissive Islamic Republic of Iran already sponsored a Holocaust-denial cartoon contest. So far, my country's Jew-run media has not reported any incidents of violence or attacks on the cartoonists as a result.

Maybe it's because Jewish culture doesn't praise apelike shit-chucking violence as a legitimate reaction to every perceived slight to their faith.

Plat Immigration Rights Supporter | February 15, 2008, 7:53pm | #

Aamir, a religion is a set of ideas. Ideas should NEVER be taboo for debate - either through words or cartoons. I oppose ALL faith based religions, not just Islam. I think they should ALL be open for debate.