TheDude
Dedicated LVC Member
Not sure this is the best way to perpetuate the "Islam is a religion of peace" approach, but... (no, I'm not implying all Muslims support this)
-Stockholm/Cairo (dpa) - Stakes were raised Saturday after a reward was posted for the death of a Swedish artist and editor of a newspaper that recently printed a caricature of Islam's Prophet Mohammed depicted as a dog.
The leader of the al-Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq, an insurgency group held responsible for several acts of violence, put a 100,000 dollars reward on the head of Swedish artist Lars Vilks.
"From this day on we call for spilling the blood of the cartoonist who dared to denigrate the prophet's position," said an audio statement carried by the Islamist al-Hesbah website on Saturday.
The 30-minute statement was attributed to Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, leader of the Islamic group in the Abu Ghraib area.
"We announce in Ramadan, the month of giving, a reward of 100,000 dollars for whoever kills this criminal and infidel," said the statement, which raised the reward to 150,000 dollars if the capturer "slaughtered him like a sheep."
Vilks seemed unruffled when contacted for comment by Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa during a brief visit to Germany.
"The price was a little low," he told dpa by telephone, adding that "one can die at any moment" and that he was getting used to the threats.
Vilks said he was in regular contact with Swedish police and informed them of his movements, before ending the call.
Al-Baghdadi also put a price on the head of Ulf Johansson, the editor-in-chief of the Swedish newspaper Nerikes Allehanda where the cartoon was published August 19.
The Islamic State of Iraq is an umbrella organization for al-Qaeda militant groups in the war-ravaged country.
"We have taken steps," police spokesman Torbjorn Carlson of the Orebro police told dpa.
Carlson however declined to spell out what measures the police had taken regarding Johansson who authorized the publication of the caricature along with an editorial on freedom of speech and religion.
The publication sparked criticism from Muslims and others in and beyond Sweden.
The newspaper has since published an English and Arabic translation of the editorial under the headline "The Right to Ridicule a Religion."
Johansson who has received several earlier threats via email said he "was more scared than earlier," he told his newspaper's web site.
Johansson added that he was in touch with police.
Local Muslims in Orebro have staged two peaceful demonstrations and Muslims in the Swedish city of Uppsala have also protested against the caricature.
The Swedish government Saturday had no comment to the threats, saying it was a police matter.
Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt a week ago met with some 20 ambassadors from Muslim countries where they discussed freedom of speech and that of religion.
The ambassadors welcomed the meeting and the premier's visit to a main mosque in Stockholm where he met members of the Muslim community.
Stockholm is anxious to avoid a crisis of the magnitude sparked when a newspaper in neighbouring Denmark published 12 caricatures of Mohammed in 2005.
That publication later triggered angry protests in many Muslim countries in January and February 2006, including attacks on Danish embassies.
http://www.eux.tv/article.aspx?articleId=14565
-Stockholm/Cairo (dpa) - Stakes were raised Saturday after a reward was posted for the death of a Swedish artist and editor of a newspaper that recently printed a caricature of Islam's Prophet Mohammed depicted as a dog.
The leader of the al-Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq, an insurgency group held responsible for several acts of violence, put a 100,000 dollars reward on the head of Swedish artist Lars Vilks.
"From this day on we call for spilling the blood of the cartoonist who dared to denigrate the prophet's position," said an audio statement carried by the Islamist al-Hesbah website on Saturday.
The 30-minute statement was attributed to Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, leader of the Islamic group in the Abu Ghraib area.
"We announce in Ramadan, the month of giving, a reward of 100,000 dollars for whoever kills this criminal and infidel," said the statement, which raised the reward to 150,000 dollars if the capturer "slaughtered him like a sheep."
Vilks seemed unruffled when contacted for comment by Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa during a brief visit to Germany.
"The price was a little low," he told dpa by telephone, adding that "one can die at any moment" and that he was getting used to the threats.
Vilks said he was in regular contact with Swedish police and informed them of his movements, before ending the call.
Al-Baghdadi also put a price on the head of Ulf Johansson, the editor-in-chief of the Swedish newspaper Nerikes Allehanda where the cartoon was published August 19.
The Islamic State of Iraq is an umbrella organization for al-Qaeda militant groups in the war-ravaged country.
"We have taken steps," police spokesman Torbjorn Carlson of the Orebro police told dpa.
Carlson however declined to spell out what measures the police had taken regarding Johansson who authorized the publication of the caricature along with an editorial on freedom of speech and religion.
The publication sparked criticism from Muslims and others in and beyond Sweden.
The newspaper has since published an English and Arabic translation of the editorial under the headline "The Right to Ridicule a Religion."
Johansson who has received several earlier threats via email said he "was more scared than earlier," he told his newspaper's web site.
Johansson added that he was in touch with police.
Local Muslims in Orebro have staged two peaceful demonstrations and Muslims in the Swedish city of Uppsala have also protested against the caricature.
The Swedish government Saturday had no comment to the threats, saying it was a police matter.
Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt a week ago met with some 20 ambassadors from Muslim countries where they discussed freedom of speech and that of religion.
The ambassadors welcomed the meeting and the premier's visit to a main mosque in Stockholm where he met members of the Muslim community.
Stockholm is anxious to avoid a crisis of the magnitude sparked when a newspaper in neighbouring Denmark published 12 caricatures of Mohammed in 2005.
That publication later triggered angry protests in many Muslim countries in January and February 2006, including attacks on Danish embassies.
http://www.eux.tv/article.aspx?articleId=14565
