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Cartoonist: Mohammed drawing not Mohammed

Published 09.02.10 14:22

Although it gained infamy as ‘the Mohammed cartoon’, Kurt Westergaard says drawing is not of Mohammed The cartoon that caused international uproar and rioting among Muslims was apparently not what it seemed. In 2005, Jyllands-Posten newspaper ran its now infamous...

The cartoon that caused international uproar and rioting among Muslims was apparently not what it seemed.

In 2005, Jyllands-Posten newspaper ran its now infamous feature with several different artists’ drawings under the heading ‘Faces of Mohammed’ – the most well-known being Kurt Westergaard’s contribution depicting a man with a bomb in his turban.

But according to Westergaard, the drawing was not the prophet Mohammed, to which it is commonly referred, but is instead a would-be terrorist.

But although it was Jyllands-Posten that gave the cartoon series its title, Westergaard blames many imams for creating the inflammatory situation that arose from the drawings’ publication.

‘The overall theme of the series was Mohammed,’ admitted Westergaard. ‘But many of the other drawings also depicted things other than Mohammed.’

‘I just chose to draw a terrorist. But it was a perfect opportunity for imams and other Islamic authorities, who operate using hate as the fuel to arouse common feelings, to say it was Mohammed.’

Westergaard said that the fate of the drawing’s interpretation was well out of his hands not long after it was published.

‘The interpretation problem will always be there now, so you have to see it however you want,’ he said. ‘But I don’t know whether that’s a misunderstanding or not. Terrorists often have Islam and Mohammed as their religion.’

And Westergaard isn’t apologising for his views or for the drawing and he criticised artists and writers who have not supported the publication of the drawing.

‘These comments don’t mean that I’m sorry about the drawing. It shows how terrorists are inspired to kill. And I’ve been proven right on that account, because someone tried to kill me for making the drawing,’ he said.

‘It’s unfortunate that so many creative minds have decided to take exception to it, because if they don’t champion freedom of expression, who will?’

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