North Rhine-Westphalia: Gov't wants ban on Muhammad cartoons

North Rhine-Westphalia: Gov't wants ban on Muhammad cartoons

Via Parool:

The government of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia wants to curtail the display of the Danish Muhammad cartoons.  Minister of the Interior Ralf Jäger (SPD) said he hoped such a ban will stand up in court.

This after a Pro NRW demonstration in Bonn displaying Muhammad cartoons led to violent clashes between police and Salafists.  Pro NRW also held demonstrations outside mosques in Aachen and Leverkusen, with calm counter-demonstrations.

Bonn: Salafists clash with police over Muhammad cartoon protest (UPDATED)

Bonn: Salafists clash with police over Muhammad cartoon protest

Salafists in Bonn clashed with police on Saturday after a Pro-NRW protest displaying anti-Islam cartoons.  29 police agents were injured, and over 100 people were arrested.

Update: Video was mistakenly dropped from original post. English-language report: AGI.

Germany:Police arrest 30 Salafists after clashes

Germany:Police arrest 30 Salafists after clashes

Police spokeswoman Anja Meis said a group of Salafists protesting against a far-right march threw stones and attacked officers separating the two rallies in the western German city of Solingen Tuesday. Three policemen and a passer-by were injured. (source)

UK: Can we talk about this? Freedom of speech, censorship and Islam

UK: Can we talk about this? Freedom of speech, censorship and Islam

Sweden: Protesters throw eggs at Muhammad cartoonist

Sweden: Protesters throw eggs at Muhammad cartoonist

A Swedish artist who angered Muslims by depicting the Prophet Muhammad as a dog was pelted with eggs during a university lecture when he presented another drawing of Islam's revered prophet, police and the artist said Wednesday.

After Vilks was whisked away by security, the attackers started shouting Allah Akbar (video)

London: Muhammad cartoon row leads to resignation

London: Muhammad cartoon row leads to resignation

Via the BBC (h/t Talk Islam):

The president of a London university atheist society has resigned over a row about an image of the Prophet Muhammad.

The society at University College London (UCL) published an image on its Facebook page showing "Jesus and Mo" having a drink at a bar.

The atheist group was asked by the UCL union to remove it, but refused and started a petition defending its freedom of expression.

A student Muslim group began a counter-petition asking for its removal.

(source)

Sweden: Three men cleared of plotting to kill Muhammad cartoon artist

Sweden: Three men cleared of plotting to kill Muhammad cartoon artist

Via M&C:

A Swedish court on Friday acquitted three men charged with plotting to kill artist Lars Vilks, whose depiction of the Muslim prophet Mohammed as a dog sparked outrage worldwide in 2007.

Abdi Aziz Mahamud, and Salar Sami Mahmood and Abdi Weli Mohamud, Somalis who hold Swedish citizenship, were however fined for violating a law against carrying a knife in public, the court said.

The trio were arrested in September on suspicion of planning to kill Vilks.

(source)

Norway: Terror suspect says target was Chinese Embassy

Norway: Terror suspect says target was Chinese Embassy

France: Charlie Hebdo front cover depicts Muslim man kissing cartoonist

France: Charlie Hebdo front cover depicts Muslim man kissing cartoonist

The Guardian did not, of course, dare display this cartoon on its site

France: 'Charlie Hebdo, we're with you!'

France: 'Charlie Hebdo, we're with you!'


French cartoonists drew their cartoons yesterday in support of satire and freedom of expression.

France/Belgium: Death threats force 'Mohammed' paper offline

France/Belgium: Death threats force 'Mohammed' paper offline

(Charlie Hebdo printed a special cartoon supplement, see more here)

France: Muslim leaders condemn paper arson attack

France: Muslim leaders condemn paper arson attack

(The Charlie Hebdo site was defaced by Turkish hackers)

Paris: Satirical paper firebombed for mocking Muhammad

Paris: Satirical paper firebombed for mocking Muhammad

Gothenburg: Vilks was target of planned attack

Gothenburg: Vilks was target of planned attack

Via the Local:

Controversial Swedish artist Lars Vilks was the target of a foiled attack at the Röda Sten art gallery in Gothenburg on September 11th, according to a report in the Metro newspaper.

Vilks has meanwhile decided to cancel his participation in a debate on Friday at the Gothenburg Book Fair due to the security risks involved.

"The debate will be held but the security situation dictates that it wouldn't have been were I to be present," Vilks said.

(source)

Sweden: Hockey referee suspended for publishing Muhammad cartoon on Facebook

Sweden: Hockey referee suspended for publishing Muhammad cartoon on Facebook

Nobody bothered reporting which cartoon.

Via Gates of Vienna (translated from Aftonbladet):

A Swedish Premier Division hockey referee published a caricature of the Prophet Mohammed on Facebook.

Now he has been suspended and, according to sources, SÄPO [the security police] were contacted.

“We had a meeting with this person and we agree that he should take a time out,” said Swedish Hockey Association’s security chief Peter Anderson.

(source)

Wikileaks: US Embassy pressured Danish paper not to reprint Mohammed cartoons

Wikileaks: US Embassy pressured Danish paper not to reprint Mohammed cartoons

Norwegian paper Aftenposten recently started going through the entire Wikileaks archive. Its recent finding (EN): the US Embassy in Copenhagen was very concerned when it heard Jyllands-Posten intended to reprint the cartoons a year after it's first publishing:

Denmark: Swedish, British terrorists recruited for Copenhagen attack

Denmark: Swedish, British terrorists recruited for Copenhagen attack

Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten's offices in Denmark were not the only target for one of the world's most wanted terrorists, Ilyas Kashmiri.

In 2009 he checked the possibility of attacking other targets in Copenhagen, according to a confidential Indian report of the interrogation of American-Pakistani terrorist David Headley, obtained by Jyllands-Posten (DA, DA).

Gothenburg: Terrorist arrests related to Mohammed cartoons? (UPDATED)

Gothenburg: Terrorist arrests related to Mohammed cartoons?

Police in Gothenburg arrested four men Saturday, who supposedly planned to detonate a bomb in the city that day. The men are all Syrian family-members (SE): Two brothers (28 and 33 years old), their cousin (39) and their uncle (48). All four are married with children, and had come to Sweden about 20 years ago. The two brothers are highly educated, the other two run their own service company. On Fridays they all go together to the Gårdsten mosque.

Denmark: Fifth anniversary of Mohammed cartoons, Minister trying to avoid new cartoon crisis

Denmark: Fifth anniversary of Mohammed cartoons, Minister trying to avoid new cartoon crisis

(Mohammed cartoons)

Norway: Terrorists intended to shoot Mohammed cartoonist, attack Chinese embassy

Norway: Terrorists intended to shoot Mohammed cartoonist, attack Chinese embassy

More confessions from the Norwegian AQ terror cell.

Shawan Sadek Saeed Bujak (37) confessed that he had planned to buy a gun and kill a cartoonist, most probably Mohammed cartoonist Kurt Westergaard (75).

Meanwhile, co-suspect Mikael Davud confessed to planning attacks on Chinese interests in Norway, possibly the Chinese embassy in Oslo. His two co-suspects did not know about this plan.

Source: VG (Norwegian)