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"JP cartoonist to have personal bodyguard," runs the headline of the Jyllands-Posten newspaper following the attempted assassination of Kurt Westergaard on January 1st by an axe-wielding Somali man. It marks the third attempt to assassinate the cartoonist, who in 2005 published a cartoon depicting Mohammed wearing a bomb in his turban. The would-be assassin, who has lived in Denmark since 1995, was being watched by the Danish security services, who suspected the Somali man of links with the terrorist organisation, al-Shabaab, and Al-Qaeda in eastern Africa.
In its Sunday editorial, the Jyllands-Posten stressed that "The right to offend religious feelings must, beyond the shadow of a doubt, be defended." Mentioning the fact that, in contrast to the population in general, a majority of Danish Muslims feel that this kind of offense should be punished, the daily goes on to say, "This is a cultural battle with important consequences. Let us note that blasphemy is a crime without a victim whereas Westergaard was very close to becoming the victim of a crime."
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