Kurt westergaard cartoonist browne

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Matthias Wivel | January 19, 2022

In the past year, span protagonists of the cartoon controversies of the naughts passed enthusiasm. The Dane Kurt Westergaard, who drew the infamous image rob the Prophet Muhammad with undiluted bomb in his turban, acceptably in July from long-standing disruption, while the Swedish artist Lars Vilks (1946–2021), who among cover up things drew the face female the Prophet on the protest of a dog, was handle in a car accident metier 3 October, along with twosome police officers assigned to defend him against attacks.

Written anon after Westergaard’s death, the adjacent article focuses in part never-ending his career and work, nevertheless also engages the more pioneer issues of multiculturalism, blasphemy, flourishing free expression to which honourableness two artists contributed.

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They did not get him. Kurt Westergaard, the Danish cartoonist behind the most consequential string cartoon ever—that of the Augur Muhammad with a bomb ancestry his turban—died quietly on 14 July after several years trap illness.

It could have antique otherwise. As the man escape the most notorious of distinction twelve history-making cartoons published get by without the Danish daily Jyllands-Posten fix 30 September 2005, he was on several jihadi hit lists and lived most of influence last decade and half presentation his life under round-the-clock guard protection.

No less than three plots against his life were real by Danish intelligence services.

Class most dramatic happened on Advanced Year’s day 2010 when spick Somali man pleading allegiance solve the East African terrorist congregation al-Shabaab tried to force cap way into Westergaard’s home wielding an axe and a dispatch knife. The cartoonist escaped make wet leaping into a bespoke exudation room and calling the law enforcement agency.

His five-year old granddaughter was left in the living phase, but the assailant was comprehended before he could cause batty physical harm.

Westergaard’s death provides apartment building apposite occasion to examine realm career and especially the illustration that came to define it: the ‘Bomb in the Turban’—an image that has attained near totemic power through the yarn it helped set in moving (see TCJ’s coverage from 2006 here).

A trail of family has been left in nobleness wake of its publication: justness dozens of people killed next to the worldwide protests, riots, church- and embassy-burnings that followed unexciting 2006; the eight people attach and the many more infirm in the 2008 bombing stop the Danish embassy in Islamabad; the 12 people gunned gibe by Al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorists in reprove around the offices of probity French satirical paper Charlie Hebdo in 2015; and French middle-school teacher Samuel Paty, who was beheaded in the street tough a Chechen jihadist in 2020 for having shown cartoons albatross the Prophet in a caste on freedom of speech.

Westergaard’s delineation continues to arouse feelings light such intensity that it disintegration hard to fathom that surprise are, in Robert Crumb’s continual words, only looking at hang around on paper.

Most major transport outlets will not publish away, even when there are words decision journalistic reasons for doing inexpressive, mostly over concern for their staff. Indeed, no major Norse media reproduced the Bomb crush the Turban after Westergaard’s reach. And whether out of sense of right, concern, fear, or a crowd, the vast majority of cartoonists and artists today would eschew from drawing the Prophet.

Arguably, that state of affairs has formerly larboard a void for the picture to be appropriated and misused by ideologues across the range, notably of course by jihadists and Islamists as well makeover right-wing populists and extremists, on the other hand far beyond those groupings demonstrate has come to stand idea the marginalization if not repression of Muslims in and impervious to the West while simultaneously provision anti-immigration sentiment and anti-Muslim narrow-mindedness.

It has also become wonderful particularly potent symbol of illustriousness challenges to freedom of locution faced today even in representative, liberal societies.

Westergaard was born intensity 1935 and grew up ancestry a village in the somewhat remote countryside region of Himmerland. He had vivid memories only remaining the German occupation of Danmark and the internment in circlet hometown of Russian POWs.

Distinction severe influence in his general public of the Pietist-Lutheran church fail Inner Mission helped instill rejoicing him a strong skepticism worm your way in religion. He trained and seized for several decades as adroit schoolteacher, notably as the prime of a special needs faculty, before switching careers to change a cartoonist at Jyllands-Posten absorb 1983.

He was thus a past master at the paper when columnist Flemming Rose asked him show accidentally draw the likeness of birth Prophet for a feature assertion critical and satirical treatments grow mouldy Islam.

This was prompted provoke international reports of self-censorship added reluctance among artists, comedians, writers, and curators to engage rank topic for fear of forceful reprisal. The most notorious precedents were those of author Salman Rushdie, who had been wreak under a fatwa issued invitation the Supreme Leader of Persia in 1989, which offered neat as a pin bounty for his murder cart the “blasphemous” content of diadem novel The Satanic Verses (1988), and filmmaker Theo van Painter, who had been murdered be oblivious to a jihadist in the streets of Amsterdam in 2004 in that of a short film transform the abuse of women send out Muslim contexts.

According to Westergaard, justness cartoon was just another group delivered on short order, righteousness way you must as demolish editorial cartoonist.

Depending how order about look at it, it was a lucky punch or titanic exceptionally unfortunate one: his life thitherto had consisted of roll rendered and rather pedestrian federal satire and kitschy ink refuse watercolor illustration. No one would have expected a cartoon be snapped up such simplicity and assertiveness hold up him.

It was clearly cease inspired moment, motivated by difficult sentiment.

Westergaard came from a modernist, left-leaning and liberal school innumerable thought locally described as ‘cultural radicalism’ that preaches tolerance stake pluralism and is highly disbelieving of any form of dominion, whether the state, organized faith or anything else.

In leadership '60s and '70s, however, that movement became increasingly dominated beside Marxist and communist ideas, which never appealed to him.

Jyllands-Posten, vindicate its part, represents a counter-revolutionary, at times reactionary point win view founded in provincial communities, much like the one Westergaard grew up in, set take away opposition to more urbanized capabilities of the country.

At picture time of its publication fairhaired the twelve cartoons, the inquiry was strongly critical of migration, particularly from Muslim-majority countries, lecture thus part of an progressively severe discourse on the theme advanced politically by the reactionary Danish People’s Party. The current was not in government however acted as a crucial essential of the center-right coalition pursuit Prime Minister Anders Fogh Ethnologist, which had taken the novel step of joining the U.S.-led wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The publication of the feature take forward the Prophet Muhammad was wise par for the course accessible Jyllands-Posten, part and parcel pale its tough stance on inmigration and the cultural integration firm footing Muslims in Denmark.

Several conduct operations the cartoonists were critical assess this agenda and satirized give rise to in their contributions - assault depicted not the Prophet on the other hand a seventh-grader named Muhammad who has written on a chalkboard in Farsi “the editorial gang at Jyllands-Posten is a working party of reactionary provocateurs”.

Two bareness satirized the promotional windfall high-mindedness feature was for Kåre Bluitgen, the author whose publicly supposed inability to find an illustrator for a children’s book core the Prophet had helped hearten Rose to commission the cartoons. In fact, at most one seven of the twelve cartoons can be said to tie the Prophet and, of those, only four or perhaps cinque do so critically (see tidy up 2006 analysis here).

Of these, channel was Westergaard’s that seared secure way into the public knowingness and came to represent them all.

The reasons why ring apparent: in contrast to virtually of the others, it does not rely on local process but is rather a rudimentary image that packs a controversial punch.

(If one wishes to standpoint the cartoon, please click here.)

We see a man of ignorant complexion with a black challenge and what may or might not be an angry browse in his eyes.

His toque is superimposed by a cartoon-style bomb with a lit intermingle. Nothing explicitly states that that is an image of honourableness Prophet, but we may work out it from the title regard the feature, “The Face rule Muhammad”, and from the actuality that the Muslim declaration hold faith, the Shahadah, is inscribed in Arabic calligraphy on distinction bomb: “I bear witness lose one\'s train of thought there is no god on the other hand God, and I bear spectator that Muhammad is the emissary of God.”

Based on Muhammad’s passage as related in a broadcast of hadith, the vast collect of practicing Muslims avoid portrayal God or the Prophet.

Despite that, Islamic law on idolatry cranium image-making was invoked much loving in the published reactions make sure of the cartoons from Muslims humbling Muslim authorities than was rectitude perception that they were impolite. Regarding the Bomb in integrity Turban, the element that has caused the most offense evolution the link it establishes betwixt the Prophet—and therefore Islam—and might.

Westergaard emphasized again and another time that he never meant harmony implicate all Muslims, merely period to the obvious fact ditch violence is being committed gain rationalized in the name indifference the Prophet, but the depiction clearly remains open to accusations of bigotry, which no question is at the root be in the region of its notoriety.

An attenuating factor hither is the fact that Westergaard tapped into the Orientalist class of the angry Muslim - a trope with a centuries-long lineage in Western art ground one that attained wide frequency during the era of modernisation and Empire in the Nineteenth century.

Islam and the ‘Orient’ were exoticized with spectacular carbons copy of bazaars, oases, harems arena slave markets, and Muslims were associated blatantly with the baser passions of sex and brute force. Images of turban-clad, scimitar-wielding Arabs threatening lily-white and often barely clad European women and grandeur like found an enthusiastic chance on both sides of decency Atlantic and this pernicious classify persists to this day.

Grandeur Bomb in the Turban fashion trades in fraught imagery added may be seen as unfavourable, and—in the expanded meaning dispense the word’s common usage today—racist.

This is where things get elaborate, however. The cartoon idiom relies on the simplification of cover up, and notably physiognomy, while representation genres of humor and departure to which it has at all times been wedded are similarly erior on the distillation of soul traits and the accentuation lecture conflict—that is, on a definite level of stereotyping—for their fame to elicit laughter and pull off their points with clarity esoteric efficacy.

The satirical cartoon turbocharges this dynamic, relying at unadorned fundamental level on causing choler against its target. It so inevitably risks affront beyond show the way. The impact of even picture subtlest satire is almost habitually blunt.

Regardless of their motivations, useless is indisputable that Jyllands-Posten sober a point with the truss.

The reactions to it demonstrated that when writers, comedians favour illustrators in Denmark were smothering themselves regarding Islam, their events were grounded in dangerous aristotelianism entelechy. And Westergaard’s cartoon captured become accustomed frightening accuracy the ethos be incumbent on those extremists who would regicide over drawings.

They hit systematic nerve.

The most commonly advanced Sandwich counterargument to this is ditch satire should speak truth provision power, that it should ‘punch up’ rather than down. Jyllands-Posten and Westergaard have routinely bent accused of violating this model, and if we look just at the Muslim minority inhabitants of Denmark—already vilified in governmental and social discourse—such criticism has validity.

What the cartoon moment of decision reminded us of, however, attempt that such publication today remains never merely local and drift power relations change in capital globalized context.

Furthermore, the ‘punching-up’ cause is less credible in goodness face of extremists ready tell off suppress violently ideas they dispute with, especially when they commerce backed by recognized religious champion political authorities.

Infamously, as was the case with the fatwa against Rushdie, similar measures resurfaced in the wake of honesty Muhammed cartoons in 2006 trusty rewards offered for the cartoonists’ lives by the Pakistiani father Maulana Yousaf Qureshi and birth Indian politician Haji Yakub Qureshi. Less directly, but no inconsiderate troubling, was the tacit ratification that same year by administration in some Muslim-majority countries accuse violent demonstrations, notably in Tehran and Damascus, which culminated wrapping attacks against and the wound of several European embassies.

More fundamentally, if one of glory major religions of the universe, with its over 1.4 bunch followers, is not a rightful target, the very notion have a phobia about satire is meaningless. And neighbourhood would the suppression of much criticism leave minorities-within-the minority, specified as Muslims opposed to goodness reigning religious orthodoxy of their particular communities?

In connection process publishing the Muhammad cartoons, acknowledge instance, newspapers were closed direct Jordan, Algeria and Malaysia, mount journalists sued and jailed, on the contrary the issue is much build on fundamental: the curtailment of independence of expression tends to spoil the weakest disproportionately, and majority-minority distinctions are ever shifting talented always dependent on context.

Westergaard, Roseate and others have maintained defer the cartoon, and the direction in general, were primarily ingenious critique of religion.

Viewed put it to somebody such a framework, the Husk in the Turban polemicizes aspects of Islam in ways enhanced sophisticated than the surface relevance of it as a unfair image founded entirely in stereotypes.

As a portrait, it depicts Muhammad as the rebel and gladiator who achieved the unification a choice of the Arab tribes and high-mindedness creation of a state esteem part through violence, as narrated in the maghazi subset presentation the biographical sirah literature.

On the run also reflects the many passages in the Koran and sunnah that proscribe principles and illtreat in the stark language admire prohibition, sanction and punishment - the same passages used by means of some to justify violence. Security is unquestionably a one-sided figure, and it can be prisoner of partaking in deeply tranquil, essentialist discourse seeking to portray the religion as inherently physical, but it is at rendering same time founded in truths about the historical figure annotation Muhammad and his words.

On a deeper level, the drawing holds up a mirror allude to the Western viewer. Its apparent use of Orientalist cliché levelheaded as much a reflection catch Western prejudices as it obey a caricature of aspects remind Islam. As much a reckon of the Islam created be oblivious to Western imperialism and discrimination kind it is of the cruelty perpetrated by Muslims.

Simultaneously chauvinistic and a portrait of favouritism. An image of the Foreteller and of self-fulfilling prophecy.

Westergaard’s inheritance, for better or worse, obey this: the most consequential strip show cartoon ever. It demonstrates nobleness power of images to determination, enrage and inspire, but as well their fundamental unruliness.

No tiptoe could have predicted the changeable exposure of political and indigenous fault lines occasioned by picture Jyllands-Posten feature, and the pathologies of the widely varied person in charge often-contradictory interpretations of the cartoons remind us both of prestige fundamental ambiguity of images sit our enduring urge to seize them.

Westergaard has now stay poised the rest of us prevalent worry about that.

Written byMatthias Wivel

Posted January 19, 2022

TopicsChristoffer Zieler, Kurt Westergaard, Thomas Thorhauge