Qaeda puts bounties on heads of Swedes in cartoon row

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5g1KyJ192e7gsHj31Fx2iS1yFgdbw

Qaeda puts bounties on heads of Swedes in cartoon row

10 hours ago

DUBAI (AFP) — An Al-Qaeda front organization in Iraq has offered rewards to anyone who kills two Swedes behind a cartoon depicting the Prophet Mohammed as a dog, in a statement posted on the Internet.

The self-proclaimed Islamic State in Iraq placed a bounty of at least 100,000 dollars on the head of the cartoonist Lars Vilks and 50,000 dollars on Ulf Johansson, editor in chief of the Nerikes Allehanda newspaper which published the caricature.

"We call for the liquidation of the cartoonist Lars who offended our prophet," said the statement issued in the name of the group's leader, Sheikh Abu Omar al-Baghdadi.

"We announce a reward of 100,000 dollars to anyone who kills this infidel criminal. This reward will be raised to 150,000 dollars if his throat is slit," said the statement whose authenticity could not be verified.

The statement also threatened attacks on Swedish firms unless unspecified "crusaders" issued an apology.

"We know how to force you to apologise. If you do not, expect us to strike the businesses of your major firms like Ericsson, Scania, Volvo, IKEA and Electrolux," it said.

The Swedish TT news agency said Saturday that Vilks was temporarily abroad, and quoted him as feeling safe but on guard.

"I think there's no reason to worry for the moment because I am moving around but when I am back home, in one spot, it will be very easy to track me down," he said.

"This last threat means of course I have more discussions with the police to determine how to act and what we are going to do," Johansson, who has refused to apologise for the cartoon, told AFP.

He said he had received police protection and Swedish authorities were analysing the tape to determine who Sheikh Abu Omar al-Baghdadi was and if he really existed.

Muslim Council of Sweden chief Helena Benouda denounced the threats, saying that Muslim organisations in Sweden were capable of handling the cartoon issue themselves.

"We don't think like this at all. It is criminal to call to kill somebody," said Benouda. "It is really unnecessary and it's ugly, especially in the moment of Ramadan," the Muslim holy month.

The Swedish ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Jan Thesleff, offered an apology to the Organisation of the Islamic Conference on September 11 for the controversy created by the cartoon's publication.

Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt also held talks with envoys from 22 Muslim nations on September 7 in a bid to defuse the row.

The publication of the sketch in Nerikes Allehanda on August 18 -- featuring the prophet's head on a dog's body -- sparked a fiery debate in the Swedish media on freedom of expression and prompted protests by Muslims in the western town of Oerebro, where the newspaper is based.

A strict interpretation of Islam forbids the depiction of Mohammed in any form.

The cartoonist has received previous death threats, while the Swedish foreign ministry has also advised its nationals to exercise caution in the Middle East.

A series of 12 cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed published in Denmark's biggest daily more than a year ago led to riots in several Muslim countries.
_________________
"May God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't." -General George S. Patton

Psalm 82-8: Arise, O God, judge the earth, for You inherit all the nations.

Sweden cartoonist gets protection UPDATE

Sweden cartoonist gets protection

The Swedish cartoonist at the centre of a row over drawings of the Prophet Muhammad says police have taken him to a secret location for his own safety.
Lars Vilks said he was only able to pick up a few things when he returned from Germany at the weekend before police escorted him from his home.

The purported head of al-Qaeda in Iraq has offered $100,000 (£49,310) to anyone who kills Mr Vilks.

Muslims regard visual representation of the Prophet as blasphemous.

Several Muslim countries have protested against the cartoon.

Mr Vilks said the Swedish secret services considered the threat against him as "very serious".

"The police guard was non-existent before this. It's 100% now," Mr Vilks said in a telephone interview with Associated Press agency.

"I can't live in my home, I've only been allowed to pick up some things."

Local laws

A man said to be the head of al-Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, offered a reward for the murder of Mr Vilks in an audio message aired on the internet.


The $100,000 (£49,310) reward would be raised by 50% if Mr Vilks was "slaughtered like a lamb", he said.

The cartoon showed the Prophet Muhammad's head on a dog's body and was published by Nerikes Allehanda newspaper on 18 August.

Many Muslims regard the dog as an impure animal.

But Ibrahim el-Zayat, of the Federation of Islamic Organisations in Europe, told the BBC that Muslims in the West had to live with the local laws on freedom of expression.

He said there were much more important issues to worry about, and praised the Swedish government for trying to defuse tensions.

This month, Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt met ambassadors from 22 Muslim countries over the issue.

Last year there were riots over Danish cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, first published in September 2005 by the newspaper Jyllands-Posten.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/middle_east/6999652.stm

Published: 2007/09/17 18:31:23 GMT

© BBC MMVII
_________________
"May God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't." -General George S. Patton

Psalm 82-8: Arise, O God, judge the earth, for You inherit all the nations.

Swedish media rallies around threatened cartoonist

http://www.jihadwatch.org/dhimmiwatch/archives/018168.php

September 17, 2007

Swedish media rallies around threatened cartoonist


Euro anti-dhimmitude, and a courageous showing from Lars Vilks. An update on this story. From AFP (thanks to Geeza):

STOCKHOLM -- The Swedish media rallied Sunday behind a cartoonist whose depiction of the Islamic prophet as a dog earned him death threats from Al Qaeda in Iraq, as Swedish companies braced for a backlash.
Cartoonist Lars Vilks said he was ready to die after extremists in Iraq offered $150,000 to anyone who slit his throat, or $100,000 for his murder by other means.

"We must not give in," he was quoted as saying in the Dagens Nyheter daily that republished the cartoon in small format Sunday.

"I'm starting to grow old. I could die at any time - it's not a catastrophe," he said.

The group calling itself the Islamic State of Iraq, otherwise known as Al Qaeda in Iraq, also put $50,000 on the head of Ulf Johansson, editor in chief of the Nerikes Allehanda newspaper that published the caricature.

Swedish media condemned the threats, issued through the Internet Saturday in the form of a statement in the name of the group's purported leader, Sheikh Abu Omar Al Baghdadi.

"We live in a country where freedom of expression is not dictated by fundamentalists, nor by governments," wrote Dagens Nyheter chief editor Thorbjorn Larsson in an editorial.


And let's keep it that way, shall we?
_________________
"May God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't." -General George S. Patton

Psalm 82-8: Arise, O God, judge the earth, for You inherit all the nations.