SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2007
16:12 MECCA TIME, 13:12 GMT
Bounty set in Sweden cartoon row
Muslims in Sweden demanded an apology from the newspaper that
published the cartoon [File: EPA]
The leader of an Iraqi group linked to al-Qaeda has offered $100,000
for the murder of a Swedish cartoonist over a recent drawing of the
Prophet Muhammad.
Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, leader of the so-called Islamic State in Iraq,
also threatened attacks on Swedish businesses in a half-hour audiotape
posted on a website on Saturday.
"We are calling for the assassination of cartoonist Lars Vilks who
dared insult our prophet, peace be upon him, and we announce a reward
during this generous month of Ramadan of $100,000 for the one who
kills this criminal," he said.
"The award will be increased to $150,000 if he were to be slaughtered
like a lamb."
Free speech
The Nerikes Allehanda newspaper published the drawing, which depicted
the head of the prophet on the body of a dog, last month in what it
called a defence of free speech.
Vilks's drawing was part of a series which art galleries in Sweden had
declined to display.
"We can only hope that Muslims in Europe and in the Western world
choose to distance themselves from this and support the idea of
freedom of expression"
Lars Vilk,
cartoonist
Muslim countries including Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan have
expressed anger over the caricature.
Iran, the first country to protest against the publication of the
drawing on August 27, summoned Sweden's charge d'affaires in Tehran to
complain.
Last year, demonstrations were held around the world after a Danish
newspaper published cartoons of the prophet that were reprinted by
other European newspapers.
Vilks told the Associated Press news agency that he believed the
matter had been blown out of proportion.
"We have a real problem here," he said. "We can only hope that Muslims
in Europe and in the Western world choose to distance themselves from
this and support the idea of freedom of expression."
Ulf Johansson, the editor-in-chief of Nerikes Allehanda, who is the
subject of a $50,000 bounty from al-Baghdadi, said he took the
situation "more seriously" than other threats he had received.
"This is more explicit. It's not every day somebody puts a price on
your head."
Economy threatened
Al-Baghdadi said in his statement that his group could attack major
Swedish cmpanies if Sweden did not issue an apology over the cartoon.
"We know how to force them to withdraw and apologise, and if they
don't, they can wait for our strikes on their economy and giant
companies such as Ericsson, Volvo, Ikea ...," he said.
Al-Baghdadi also used the statement to announce a new campaign of
attacks during the month of Ramadan that has traditionally witnessed
an increase in violence in Iraq.
"I am honoured to announce the invasion of the martyr Abu Musab
al-Zarqawi [former leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq] at the beginning of
Ramadan," he said.
He criticised Iraqi groups such as the 1920 Revolution Brigades and
Hamas of Iraq, accusing them of fighting al-Qaida, and threatened
attacks on the Yazidi minority that was targeted last month by a car
bomb that killed hundreds of people.
Source: Agencies
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