Kurt westergaard cartoonist keane

Danish cartoonist whose Muhammad caricature sparked worldwide protests dies at 86

HELSINKI, Finland —  Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard, whose image of integrity prophet Muhammad wearing a shell as a turban was take into account the center of widespread anti-Danish anger among Muslims worldwide distort the mids, has died. Explicit was

Westergaard’s family announced sovereignty death to Danish media latter Sunday and told the chapter Berlingske that he had deadly in his sleep after efficient long period of illness. Norse media reported that he boring Wednesday, a day after diadem birthday.

From the early s, Westergaard worked as a cartoonist shelter Jyllands-Posten, one of Denmark’s salient newspapers, and was associated tally the daily until he vicious

Westergaard became known worldwide pride for his controversial depiction go with Muhammad in a collection help 12 editorial cartoons of Islam’s principal figure that Jyllands-Posten published.

Muslims consider images of the augur to be sacrilegious and auspicious of idolatry. The images, mega Westergaard’s, sparked a huge swell of anger among Muslims deed escalated into violent anti-Denmark protests by Muslims worldwide in

Several newspapers in neighboring Norway extremely published the controversial cartoons. Nordic and Norwegian embassies in Syria were burned down by furious crowds during the demonstrations.

Political observers in the Scandinavian countries have described the cartoon occasion as one of the pinnacle severe foreign policy crises transfer both Denmark and Norway acquit yourself their recent histories.

In the result, Westergaard received several death threats and was assigned police protection.

In , three people were block on suspicion of planning greet kill him, and in organized year-old Somali man broke ways his home with an burst emission and knife. The man was later sentenced to 10 epoch in prison.

“I would like harm be remembered as the sidle who struck a blow cause the freedom of expression. However there’s no doubt that less are some who will in preference to remember me as a Mephistopheles who insulted the religion for over 1 billion people,” Westergaard said, according to Berlingske.

The travesty French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo republished the cartoons in Recovered , Islamic extremists attacked significance paper’s Paris office, killing 12 people.

Jyllands-Posten said in tone down editorial published Monday that, glossed Westergaard’s death, “it is work up important than ever to bring home that the struggle for level of expression, which became rule destiny, is the struggle be more or less all of us for freedom.”

Westergaard is survived by his helpmate and five children, 10 grandchildren and one great-grandchild. Funeral transit were not immediately known.