(Published in ET on Feb 14, 2011)
Kurt Westergaard, the Danish cartoonist who outraged the Islamic world with a few strokes of his pen, tells Rishi V K that it was not a comment on the religion, but a defence for freedom of speech
Kurt Westergaard is one of the toughest people to meet in Denmark. It’s much easier to meet top executives and ministers, even the crown prince – all you need is to fix an appointment and walk in with your identity proof.
Kurt Westergaard, the Danish cartoonist who outraged the Islamic world with a few strokes of his pen, tells Rishi V K that it was not a comment on the religion, but a defence for freedom of speech
Kurt Westergaard is one of the toughest people to meet in Denmark. It’s much easier to meet top executives and ministers, even the crown prince – all you need is to fix an appointment and walk in with your identity proof.
But to meet Westergaard, a retired cartoonist who worked for a Danish language newspaper, you must send copies of your passport and other travel documents at least two days in advance, submit yourself and all your belongings including mobile phone and camera for a thorough frisking and checking before an army of 4-5 policemen double your size outside his house, and answer all their questions until they are satisfied with your reasons to meet him before the door finally opens.
And why do you want to meet this bald, old man in white beard who slow-motions around with the help of a walking stick and talks in a soft, trembling voice, late in the night, travelling more than four hours in train from Copenhagen at the risk of missing your early-morning flight back to India?
Because he is the one who made that infamous illustration of the Prophet Mohammed wearing a bomb as turban --- the cartoon that triggered violent protests across the Islamic world back in 2005 and placed Westergaard in the death list of Bin Laden's terrorist network Al-Qaeda. Also, because a biography of his, 'Manden bag Stregen' ('The Man Behind the Drawing'), was soon going to be out, potentially reviving the old tension.
So, did he expect a few strokes of pen to change his life for ever and make him an enemy of the second largest religion in the world? Does he regret doing it?
He didn't; and he doesn't.
Talking slowly across the dining table over a cup of black coffee under candlelight in his large living room at a peaceful locality in Aarhus, Westergaard says the Muslim world failed to grasp the spirit of the cartoon.
He says it was not a comment on the Prophet, but a call for Muslims to join the mainstream that believes in free speech.
“It was not a hate cartoon; it was a defence for freedom of speech.”
“It was not a hate cartoon; it was a defence for freedom of speech.”
In a blue jacket with a muffler around his sagging neck, this 82-year-old grand father with a friendly smile does not look aggressive or rebellious.
His aggression and free spirit come alive in the numerous paintings that adorn the walls on his living room—in the free-roaming horses and in the bold, wide-open eyes of the nudes—and in his words.
Take this for sample: "They say god created man in his own image; as an atheist, I think it's the other way: man created god in his own image."
For Westergaard, the Prophet cartoon and the accompanying article in Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten was the start of a discussion on freedom of speech and religion.
It all started when some artists refused to do illustrations for a children's book on Prophet Mohammed because they were scared. Then, Jyllands-Posten published an article on Muslim alienation along with 12 cartoons. Westergaard's turned out to be the most controversial among them.
The day the article was published, there was a demonstration against it in Copenhagen. And Westergaard was perfectly fine with this. He is all for freedom of expression without violence.
“As long as a discussion does not end up in a funeral, it is alright,” says the man who survived a deadly attack in January 2010.
“We tried to explain that we recognise you and this is not to exclude you, but to include you...But some Muslims found it difficult to understand.”
“As long as a discussion does not end up in a funeral, it is alright,” says the man who survived a deadly attack in January 2010.
“We tried to explain that we recognise you and this is not to exclude you, but to include you...But some Muslims found it difficult to understand.”
The trouble started almost three months later when suddenly violent protests rippled across the Muslim world. Soon Westergaard, Jyllands-Posten and Denmark became high profile targets for Islam extremist groups such as Al-Qaeda. Within Denmark, a wide section of people including businessmen who lost their export orders from Islam nations felt the cartoon indeed went overboard.
Now he was planning to publish his biography and everybody was tense once again.
Besides Westergaard's book, then culture editor of Jyllands-Posten Flemming Rose, who assigned the article and illustrations, was to bring out a book, 'Tavshedens Tyranni' ('Tyranny of Silence'), that would include all the 12 drawings of the Prophet printed in the newspaper in 2005.
Adding to the tension was the revelation that a man who accidentally exploded a bomb in a Copenhagen hotel on September 11, 2010 (the ninth anniversary of 9/11) wanted to blow up Jyllands-Posten offices. Also, a fresh death list issued by Al-Qaeda had Westergaard, Rose and Jyllands-Posten's former editor-in-chief Carsten Juste in it.
Since then, both the books have been released without any untoward incident.
Adding to the tension was the revelation that a man who accidentally exploded a bomb in a Copenhagen hotel on September 11, 2010 (the ninth anniversary of 9/11) wanted to blow up Jyllands-Posten offices. Also, a fresh death list issued by Al-Qaeda had Westergaard, Rose and Jyllands-Posten's former editor-in-chief Carsten Juste in it.
Since then, both the books have been released without any untoward incident.
But Westergaard knows he lives in danger.
In January 2010, a Somali citizen broke into his house with an axe when he was babysitting his 5-year-old grand daughter Stephanie. He was in the bathroom when he heard the glass of the door shattering. “I had two options: either to confront him or go to the panic room and call the police,” he says in a gravelly voice, his eyes wide, face agitated, body trembling.
He shut himself up in the panic room, which was specially made due to the threat on his life.
He could hear Stephanie’s cry and the attacker, Mohamed Geele, asking her where her grandfather is. But he didn't hurt her. The police came very fast and foiled Geele's attempt to flee.
In January 2010, a Somali citizen broke into his house with an axe when he was babysitting his 5-year-old grand daughter Stephanie. He was in the bathroom when he heard the glass of the door shattering. “I had two options: either to confront him or go to the panic room and call the police,” he says in a gravelly voice, his eyes wide, face agitated, body trembling.
He shut himself up in the panic room, which was specially made due to the threat on his life.
He could hear Stephanie’s cry and the attacker, Mohamed Geele, asking her where her grandfather is. But he didn't hurt her. The police came very fast and foiled Geele's attempt to flee.
Westergaard had his first face-to-face encounter with Geele one year after the attack, in a court in Aarhus where the hearing on the case is still on.
“He is a fanatic,” says the cartoonist who started his work life as a school teacher before joining Jyllands-Posten for a 27-year stint.
“He is a fanatic,” says the cartoonist who started his work life as a school teacher before joining Jyllands-Posten for a 27-year stint.
Westergaard insists he is not worried about such threats.
It's not the panic room, or constant presence of huge security officers. (You train you lens on the wall paintings and one of them comes out of the kitchen into the frame to let you know: “No other photograph; only Mr Westergaard.”)
He gets his courage from age. “The older you get, the braver you get.”
It's not the panic room, or constant presence of huge security officers. (You train you lens on the wall paintings and one of them comes out of the kitchen into the frame to let you know: “No other photograph; only Mr Westergaard.”)
He gets his courage from age. “The older you get, the braver you get.”
http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2011-02-14/news/28539552_1_crown-prince-prophet-mohammed-kurt-westergaard
No comments:
Post a Comment