Swedish Artist Says Sketch of Prophet Aimed to Mock All Religions

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: March 10, 2010

STOCKHOLM (AP) — The point of a caricature depicting the Prophet Muhammad with the body of a dog was to show that artistic freedom allows mockery of all religions, including the most sacred symbols of Islam, the Swedish artist who created the depiction said Wednesday.

The artist, Lars Vilks — who prosecutors said was the target of a murder plot involving an American woman who dubbed herself JihadJane — said in an interview that he had no regrets about the drawing, which deeply offended many Muslims.

“I’m actually not interested in offending the prophet,” Mr. Vilks said. “The point is actually to show that you can. There is nothing so holy you can’t offend it.”

Mr. Vilks made his sketch showing Muhammad’s head on a dog’s body more than a year after 12 Danish newspaper cartoons of the prophet set off furious protests in Muslim countries in 2006. Islamic law generally opposes any depiction of the prophet, even favorable ones, out of concern about idolatry.

Mr. Vilks submitted his drawing to an exhibit at a Swedish cultural heritage center, which turned it down, citing security concerns. The matter went largely unnoticed until a Swedish newspaper printed the drawing with an editorial defending freedom of expression.

The publication led to protests from Muslim countries, and briefly revived a heated debate about religious sensitivities and the limits of free speech. It also led to many death threats against Mr. Vilks, who was temporarily moved to a secret location after Islamic militants put a $100,000 bounty on his head in September 2007.

Mr. Vilks, 63, said he had built his own defense system, including a “homemade” safe room and a barbed-wire sculpture that could electrocute potential intruders. He also has an ax that he said he would use to confront anyone trying to climb through his home’s windows.

“If something happens, I know exactly what to do,” he said.

He said he believed the latest suspects in a plot to kill him — including seven people arrested in Ireland and a Pennsylvania woman arrested by American authorities — were not professionals, but “rather low-tech.”

He said that he knew that the American media had reported that the woman, Colleen R. LaRose, who called herself JihadJane in a YouTube video, had visited his area of southern Sweden, but that he did not know if she had in fact been there.

“I’m glad she didn’t kill me,” Mr. Vilks said, with a half-smile.

Nalin Pekgul, a moderate Muslim and high-ranking member of Sweden’s Social Democratic Party, told Swedish Radio that the threats against Mr. Vilks were unacceptable, while adding that his drawing had profoundly hurt Muslims.

“A dog is unclean,” said Ms. Pekgul, a Kurdish immigrant from Turkey. “To describe Muhammad as a dog is like saying you are unclean.”

Mr. Vilks, who has disheveled gray hair and thick glasses, described his life as a movie plot.

“It’s a good story,” he said. “It’s about the bad guys and a good guy, and they try to kill him.”

From: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/11/world/europe/11sweden.html?ref=europe